Restoring the headlights (sweet, sweet tools)

Tue, 20 Aug 2013 01:10:00 +0000

So I got to restoring my headlights today, and am I pleased! (and thank you for the suggestions Strat! )

I asked my neighbor if he had any sandpaper I could use (I get lost in home depot...) and he told me to use his sander & his polisher. I feel like using a machine makes a big difference. It felt more even and not as much work for a great result!

If you decide to do this yourself, I suggest watching lots of videos! All cars have different wear and tare on the headlights so what I did might not work for you.

I always watch a ridiculous amount of videos of people doing these things to their car and it helps me get a better understanding of what I'm doing. Some people use different methods and by looking at all the different ways of doing it, you get an idea of what you're suppose to be doing for each step and how it's suppose to look. It also might help you decide what works best with your situation.

Don't be afraid to ask your local automotive store a bunch of questions too, especially when it comes to products. There are so many different kinds that claim to do the same thing so I always have a hard time deciding without googling and questions. Mine hates me for asking a billion things about different products, but I'd rather get the right thing then go in blind when choosing. I use the internet to research products too before going in because sometimes the employees at the auto store will tell you anything to get you out. At the end you have to use your best judgement but it doesn't hurt to do research before.

Anyways, here's the pics you probably just want to see instead of reading my blabber!

Spoiler

Here's an overall pic of my 2001 Ford Explorer ;

Rims are spray painted, have had them painted for about 2 years now and have only felt the need to touch them up once since I was cleaning the rims anyways. Lots of prep work goes into making them look right, that's why they've held up nicely for so long. I have recently heard about plastidip as an alternative but I'm sticking with what has worked for me.

Back windows are limo tinted and front is very lightly tinted (can't remember the %, I want to say 50% but not too sure). Very dusty right now since I've been working too much but I plan on washing tomorrow.

Next I am trying to get the hard water spots off of my car. I have tried clay bar & the vinegar/water method with no results. If you have any tips/suggestions, I'd love to hear!

Renewing the trim.

Sun, 18 Aug 2013 00:11:00 +0000

I love fixing cosmetic stuff on my car. It's a 2001 Ford Explorer, and to me it's the world.

I spray painted the rims myself and I wish I would have taken more pictures and shown a step by step process because I was so happy with the way they came out so I decided to make a little blog with stuff I do to my car because why not?

So late at night I saw this infomercial about this stuff that will renew (Wipe New) the trim on your car. I was interested, but there's no way I was going to call one of those late night infomercial things and pay $1,000 for 30 months or whatever "deal" they had going.

A few days later I saw the same product in Walmart. It was $20 so I thought why not give it a try.

The process was fairly easy, except if you use this I must stress that it is not like armorall, though it seems like it is. You want to do quick swift wipes and not go back and forth. Use the product sparingly because they give you very little. I also recommend watching videos of people doing it to their cars because it helped me kind of know how to use it effectively. Be sure to read all of the instructions. It might save you from a mistake, and remember it needs 24 hours to cure and you should apply it and let it cure in the shade. I did mine at about 5pm when it was cloudy outside since I have no where to put my car in a shady spot.

I took pictures of my results and I must say I'm pretty happy...so far. Time will tell if it actually lasts as long as it's suppose to.

Sorry if the photos aren't the best quality, it was getting dark out so I kind of took them fast.

Plastic Trim Before & After:

Spoiler

In addition to the wipes and the product itself, it gives you this little sand paper piece to help restore your headlights. You're suppose to sand them down with water until the water isn't milky looking anymore when you spray and sand. After that you dry, then apply the product. I wasn't that pleased with the results, but you can see a difference. I don't know if my headlights are just too bad off or if I needed to sand more.

Headlights Before & After:

Spoiler

The next 2 things I want to do is restore my headlights, and get the hard water spots off of my car.

For the headlights, I have already tried restoration products, as well as the toothpaste method with no results.

I have really bad water spots on the passenger side of my car (from it being parked by a sprinkler...there's no where I can park by my house that doesn't hit my car with a sprinkler and I didn't know/think that it would get permanently spotted until it was too late ). I have already used a clay bar and the spots still remain. At this point I feel like the only way to get rid of them is to repaint it, but I won't use my money to do that since it will just get hit by sprinklers again and evil people that swing open their doors and other elements that end up scratching your car/ruining the paint.

If anyone has any tips/suggestions/etc with water spots/headlight restoration, I would greatly appreciate it!

My Explorer

Restoring the headlights (sweet, sweet tools)

Renewing the trim.