I'm getting into this

[jayjacque]

Had some dealers interested, so I just decided to get into this and ordered Bright Solutions, aka Right Look chemicals, since one of my main suppliers carried it at a good price. In the future might give Dvelup a try also. For a sander am leaning towards the Metabo SXE400 (as per consensus from this board) from Tools Plus, but a 18v cordless drill with a hook it system, for not having to plug in, seems also tempting. Definitely going to skip hand sanding route. I know a machine is well worth it in the long run.

Here's some of the questions I have. Hopefully you guys can steer me in the right direction:

Will a 300 watt inverter be strong enough for plugging in the Metabo? (since I already have one of those in my van)
For polishing do you recommend a random orbiter or drill or just by hand?
Do some of you use the same machine for both sanding and polishing, something that can change out quickly from sandpaper disc to buffer?
Is a 2 speed drill too limited, since you can't adjust the speeds like a R/O?
Where do you get the fine grit sanding discs to fit the Metabo (or other sanders). Auto Parts stores or Body Shop supply stores?
Jepson has been recommended as a polisher. Why is that? It seems on their website the smallest they have is a 6" head. Isn't that too big?

And a few other other misc. questions:

Do you recommend a heat gun to help cure the chemicals? (I know the inverter won't work for that). Or given an extra 5-10 minutes it just dries easily?
Do you always mask off around the lenses?
Do you sand at one speed and polish at a different speed?

Sorry for the amount of questions. But just trying to get a good start on this. Thanks!

[GlassStarz]

I use the two speed drill with the 3m hook it driver and sanding discs 600 grit and 1200 grit works well for me 'I dont mask and pretty much use one speed (High)

[ray6]

We use right angle 18 volt drills from DeWalt for sanding. We don't polish at all. The DeWalt is pricey, but it saves me alot of time. I have 4 batteries and a charger that runs off the car's 12 volt system (also from DeWalt) and will easily charge the battery while I'm using a spare.

I will mask off around the headlight with tape just in case I slip while sanding. I sand at low speed so little material is flung off. We also use a proprietary sanding paste which also helps control fling.

We use 1 5/8, 2 and 3" disks which we have made up for us. We use different disks depending on the size of the headlight, generally 2". We didn't have much luck with conventional cordless drills because it is too difficult to control. Also, we prefer the portability of not needing any 110 volt power.

Hope this helps and good luck with your new venture.

Ray Raffa

[chips1144]

The Jepson is sold with the 6 inch head but many places sell a 3 inch backing plate that works.

I like Rays thoughts of using even smaller pads, some headlights have very tight corners, too tight for a 3 inch head, in that instance you need to sand by hand or use a smaller pad.

[jayjacque]

Anybody else help me out on my questions? It'd sure be appreciated. And thanks to you guys who did answer.

[ray6]

We don't polish because the UV/Hardcoat easily fills the 2000 or 3000 grit surface. It also helps the UV coat to stick.

Polishing also can interfere with the adhesion of some UV coats from a chemical view and surface roughness.

I don't know about drying times of other UC coats, but what we use is about 10 minutes until it is tack free. If it is cold or high humidity, we turn on the headlights on high beam to accellerate the drying time.

[t4k]

Same here....I don't polish. One of the brands discussed previously recommends roughing up the surface after polishing to facilitate the sticking of the top coat. So...just sand to a surface prep of 3000 and you will be good to go.

[jayjacque]

For you guys using drills instead of sanders: Do you use right angle drills or hammer drills which have side handles? Technically I don't think most of the right angle drills have an extra handle.

[DASARO]

About 2 years ago my wife took her 2000 VW Bug to a drive thru car wash, a few days later we noticed the tail lights were real foggy looking plus you could run you finger nail over it and acturally get some glue like stuff off it.
I called a friend of mind that does windshield repair and ask him to stop by and check it out, he said he had never done this before but what could it hurt, so he sanded it down with different grits up to 2000 and then wiped it down with something and to this day, they look great! While he was there I said can you do this to the head lights also, you all know that the bug headlights are one big piece, but again to this day, they look great. He now lives in AZ doing windshields and headlights.
I'm in IA, retired and now I have decided to give this a try, I was a home improvement salesman for 35 years so I can sell about anything, not afraid to knock on doors to running fair booths. So here is the question!

Suggestions on where to start? Who to buy from? What to buy? I have been looking at the Velup package for $420.00, it has the sander and polisher with the supplies.

My son got me several different light sets from friends that changed to after market for me to practice on, plus my Windstar van needs done. I have lots of lights to practice on, figure I would just take the next few months and learn how to it and then next spring I will have a plan.

Any suggestions will be helpful, I like knowing my product, my options and my market before starting.

Thanks,
Dan

[Flip2620]

Another relative newbie to the fold. I've been trolling this group for a few months, and read the majority of the posts in this particular board. A buddy of mine moved out of South Carolina, right about the time I was fighting a losing battle in the finance industry. He turned me on to headlight restoration, and the rest is history.... I just wanted to thank you guys for the tips/tricks that you've passed along, some threads that I read were 3 or so years old, before GT was using power to sand with.

Hopefully over time, I will be able to pass along information to the new newbies, the same way that you have to me.

In one of the threads, Ben, and others were mentioning using WD-40 as a sanding agent, then there were some thoughts that it wasn't a good idea. What's the latest on that development? I haven't tried it yet, but it seems interesting. I've been sanding dry, 500, 1000, 1500, then buffing with medium compound, then the clear. They look fine, but I'm thinking of dumping the buffer and going to the Metabo, adding 2000 to the mix, then just clearing over the 2000.

What's the latest on your end, are the majority of you doing it this way? Lastly, who's going to be the one to ask Metabo to turn the 400 into a cordless unit? :)