I think I'm gonna go over to Harbor Freight tomorrow and get my own cordless drill - they have a kit with a 18 volt drill 0-900 rpm, a flashlight, one battery, and a charger for 20 bucks, a second battery is another 10 bucks. I'm sure it's a cheap piece of crap but you can't beat the price. Should do what I need, I don't need contractor grade tools. I'm toying with the idea of starting a mobile service at a lower price than the body shop, I think I can do a better job from what I saw of their work.
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2003 F150XL 4.2 short cab/bed 4x2 5 speed manual 3.55 LS
For condensation, I usually take the head lights out and set them under a low heat lamp (like from a terrarium, etc.) The ability of the gaseous H20 to be able to escape via the bulb socket is great. I then run a bead of clear or black silicon around the lens seal to make sure it stays dry. I've done a few of my friend's lights and they've been extremely impressed. For the little amount of time it takes, it's well worth it to some people.
As RP was saying, I find Plast-x to have just enough cut to get rid of the marring induced by the wool and #85.
I tried out using just straight up Plast-X on my girlfriends dad's van. I knew he had some pretty faded headlights, so I wanted to see how well just Plast-X would work (this was a test to see if I should get the wetsanding method from ADS)
Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures
It did surprisingly better than i had expected. They were yellow, but are now no longer yellow. They still had a bit of haze in them. I would say it was about 1/4 of the haze that your lights looked like after wetsanding, but was nowhere close to the completely clear headlight that you got.
Thanks for the review, I definitely think that Rick's kit will be worth the money if someone wants a full headlight restore, but if you don't care too much I think Plast-X alone can do a pretty decent job.
You should be able to pay for the kit with one or two restoration jobs. The only things you need that are not provided are a bucket of soapy water, masking tape, and a drill.
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2003 F150XL 4.2 short cab/bed 4x2 5 speed manual 3.55 LS
great ideas guys.. my crown vic lights are faded big time and have condensation. i was gonna pick up some new ones on ebay but...much better ideas here.
The lights do look great. I have several cars that have had the lights polished. It makes the car look much better. I believe as the plastic ages the UV stablizers disappear. Even after polishing, the lights dull back much quicker than new lights. A light polish/wax every few months keeps them looking good.
For best durability, the lights should be wet sanded with 1000 grit and clear coated with a catalized automotive clear coat. I did my '91 Mustang almost 3 years ago with no wax or polish. After 3 years outdoors, the lights still appear new. I'd think if you sanded and masked them you could find a body shop to do them cheaply. They could use a little of the clear at the bottom of the cup that would normally go into the paint waste. It would probably take less than an ounce to do 2 coats on both headlights.
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97 XLT S/C Long Bed 2wd, 4.6 Romeo, 4R70W trans, 325,000 miles
To remove the condensation, remove the light bulb from the housing (with the housing still installed on the van). Then take a hair dryer and blow hot air into the hole until all the water evaporates. This should not take long once you get it to temperature.
The new site (www.autodetailingsolutions.net) does not have the #2 kit any more - just the PlastX kit that Meguiars packages themselves at the factory. I'm disappointed.
To put one together yourself, you will need the following:
1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper with flexible sanding block
M85 Diamond Cut
PlastX
Small wool buffing pad for drill
Small foam buffing pad for drill
Detailing brush for cleaning pads
Maybe Rick will still put them together on request - probably need to call or e-mail him.
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2003 F150XL 4.2 short cab/bed 4x2 5 speed manual 3.55 LS
Is there any other kit out there for restoring very badly faded headlights? I looked at the Meguiars kit but don't want to get all the extras. Is there any other kit that has everything included? I looked at some websites but 1. I couldn't find what I was looking for, and 2. I don't know exactly what I am looking for lol. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
What kit did you look at? The actual Meguiars kit contains only 3 things. PlastiX, Drill mounted pad, and an mf towel. Now the other kit that ADS offers will dork great and $40 is a lot cheaper than new headlights.
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