Windshield Repair Forum

I did a newer chevy truck, 4 lights up front. It took me 2 hrs. lots of paper, I should of used a heavier grit. There was not a lot of dust like normal either......

I have to question what system or methods you are using that it takes that long ? something seriosly wrong

Today I was tested and I prevailed. 2000 Chevy Impala. Head lights looked like it had some sort of after market chemical on it. It was dark brown AND THE LENS WAS COMPLETELY CLOUDED. I used 24, 320 grit pads, 4, 600 pads, 1, 1500 pad
1, 3000 pad. It took me 3 hours and 20 minutes to sand, and restore those headlights. It was 89 degrees F outside today.
I have no idea what was on those lens nor did the driver. This was my weekend special, back- to- school for $40. I plan to call Delta Monday and order the new pad. I have used several pads in the past on a few vehicles, but never this many. I took a photo of the after, but I dont know how to load it on my computer. The vehicle looked great except for the headlights. The owner was pleased with the results. He was prepared to pay extra had I asked. I stuck to my price and the owner was happy with his bargain and his night illumination restored. Candyman I got a wsr job on his other vehicle after I finished the Chevy. Note: I have done over 250 HLR's and this was the hardest.

Candyman, sorry to hear that it took you so long and that you used so many sanding discs. May I ask, when sanding are you applying pressure to the lens? I ask this because I was restoring a headlight several days ago and it seemed to be taking me longer than normal. Bruce pointed out to me that I should apply a little more pressure and that I should move the Metabo a little bit slower over the surface of the lens. The headlight I was restoring appeared to have a coating on it but once I used one 180 grit sanding disc, applied more pressure, and moved the tool slower across the surface the oxidation was removed and the lens was evenly sanded. I think the 180 grit sanding disc will a huge difference when you use it. If you need more supplies, feel to email or call me.

candyman wrote:Today I was tested and I prevailed. 2000 Chevy Impala. Head lights looked like it had some sort of after market chemical on it. It was dark brown AND THE LENS WAS COMPLETELY CLOUDED. I used 24, 320 grit pads, 4, 600 pads, 1, 1500 pad
1, 3000 pad. It took me 3 hours and 20 minutes to sand, and restore those headlights. It was 89 degrees F outside today.
I have no idea what was on those lens nor did the driver. This was my weekend special, back- to- school for $40. I plan to call Delta Monday and order the new pad. I have used several pads in the past on a few vehicles, but never this many. I took a photo of the after, but I dont know how to load it on my computer. The vehicle looked great except for the headlights. The owner was pleased with the results. He was prepared to pay extra had I asked. I stuck to my price and the owner was happy with his bargain and his night illumination restored. Candyman I got a wsr job on his other vehicle after I finished the Chevy. Note: I have done over 250 HLR's and this was the hardest.

Man that is horrible. As Korey said, start with a more aggressive pad. If they look really bad I start with a 180, then on to a 220 and progressively move on through the ranks to the buffing pad.

Sorry to hear you worked for $10 an hour in that heat.

When I use a new pad 320, it works fine for about 2 minutes and only removed less than an inch or two, before it starts gliding over the surface and achieving nothing. I pick one small area and keep sanding untill I reach the lens surface. I applied pressure, less pressure and my best result was tilting the pad and working form the edge backward. my rpm was set between 3 & 4 on the metabo. It would get so hot I had to stop after each pad to let it cool a minute. I didn't want that bolt to snap. I have another bolt after the last one broke and I have a backup orbital that I used also. The pad that hold the disc pads got so hot it seperated after about the 14th pad. I have seen similar coatings on a few lens, but it never took this long or as many pads. I normally can do an entire vehicle with 4 pads total in less than 40 minutes, and thats doing the bill and taping the lens off. 3 pads when I was using the polish. I plan to order the newer pad that was talked about on an earlier post that you mentioned. I even used a compound with a small green pad and it didn't even faze it. Once I got that layer off, I had no problem with the 600 or other pads. I am using the new red pads, that you introduced a few months back and they are better than the old pads we used. That car had clear coat or something sprayed on it. That could not be a factory coating.
The center of the 320 pads were hardly worn, because it simply glided over the lens surface. Once the surface of the coating was penetrated the entire pads surface helped wear down the remainder of the coating. The coating had something that looked like drip runs about 1/4 inch wide and was brown in color, causing the lens to appear to have white cracks everywhere. Once it was removed the lens looked normal. The owner purchased the car used and he he said other than a car wash, he had it detailed only once during the time he owned it. Normally when I see brown, the pre spray will cause it to loosen and rum down the lens. The pre spary had no impact when I first used it. I used it again after I sanded. to clean the surface prior to the UV coating.

candyman wrote:When I use a new pad 320, it works fine for about 2 minutes and only removed less than an inch or two, before it starts gliding over the surface and achieving nothing. I pick one small area and keep sanding untill I reach the lens surface. I applied pressure, less pressure and my best result was tilting the pad and working form the edge backward. my rpm was set between 3 & 4 on the metabo. It would get so hot I had to stop after each pad to let it cool a minute. I didn't want that bolt to snap. I have another bolt after the last one broke and I have a backup orbital that I used also. The pad that hold the disc pads got so hot it seperated after about the 14th pad. I have seen similar coatings on a few lens, but it never took this long or as many pads. I normally can do an entire vehicle with 4 pads total in less than 40 minutes, and thats doing the bill and taping the lens off. 3 pads when I was using the polish. I plan to order the newer pad that was talked about on an earlier post that you mentioned. I even used a compound with a small green pad and it didn't even faze it. Once I got that layer off, I had no problem with the 600 or other pads. I am using the new red pads, that you introduced a few months back and they are better than the old pads we used. That car had clear coat or something sprayed on it. That could not be a factory coating.
The center of the 320 pads were hardly worn, because it simply glided over the lens surface. Once the surface of the coating was penetrated the entire pads surface helped wear down the remainder of the coating. The coating had something that looked like drip runs about 1/4 inch wide and was brown in color, causing the lens to appear to have white cracks everywhere. Once it was removed the lens looked normal. The owner purchased the car used and he he said other than a car wash, he had it detailed only once during the time he owned it. Normally when I see brown, the pre spray will cause it to loosen and rum down the lens. The pre spary had no impact when I first used it. I used it again after I sanded. to clean the surface prior to the UV coating.

This the reason you need a more aggressive pad on some lenses. You can determine the need for the more aggressive pad by properly evaluating the condition of the lens.

If the damage or previous coating looks bad, I always start with a 180 - 220 pad.

Too much heat on the lens can be bad too. That is one of the reasons I used to wet sand. Now I just try to use a more aggressive pad and stay on the lens less time.

Those Chevy Impala's are the hardest, craziest lense I have ever restored. I did a set for a Lamborghini Gallardo and they had a super hard factory coating on them too....I used over a dozen 320 grit discs on it. I have since purchased the 180 grit discs in hope that they will do the trick next time I encounter a tough set.

Remember I was the first to post how bad the Impala was and you all thought I was doing something wrong. I do not envy every ones first set of Impala lights but it is a good learning curve.

Another thing you may consider is using a Jepsen type grinder/sander, you will not have to worry about not having enough power to spin the disc, slow speed and hard pressure, and clean the disc often. Just slap the disc off by hand often to take the dust off. Only when they start building up chunks on the disc that will not come off or when it is smooth then I need to change disc's.

You may even check with your local body shop supplier and see if they will get you some sample disc's to try. I like the 3M for my 220 and 320. They last longer.

The B/S Supplier may have their choice of disc also. Let them know what you are using them for and will help you our.
Check their prices, They have 3" backing plates, Interface pads, and most names out there for sanding discs.
Most do not have the foam sanding pads, but they can be bought from D/K or a supplier on the net...

Norton disc's are also a good, and just as good as 3M.... and a few cents cheaper.

If we were able to edit our post I would had this after thought added there.