Windshield Repair Forum

On the Ram, I never could get a smooth transition from the bubble domes to the flat surfaces. Using a 3" disc on a drill, even at low speed I was leaving deep scratches all around the domes

2006 range over....1 1/2 hours.....top coating was a nightmare. in addition, you can't get to the bottom part of lenses, because the centers bulge too much. they looked good when completed, but not awesome..........i always want awesome

ATX

davidc11291 wrote:About 2 weeks ago, I did a 2003 Dodge Ram that was a nightmare. The problem was the shape of the lenses. Each lens had 2 bubble shaped domes on them. Because of the shape, machine sanding was incredibly difficult. A lot of small areas around the domes where the drill couldn't lay flat to sand smoothly. Hard to describe accurately without pics, but if you've done 1 with similar headlights, you know what I'm talking about.

I have done many of those Dodge Ram pick-ups. They aren't fun. I do the whole job by hand sanding. I think its easier than with the discs.

I restored a corvettes headlights on Friday. I used eight, 180 pads , then the nomal proceedure after that. I ordered a new drill a few weeks ago, but it hasnt arrived from the factory. I plan to test Pommys method on these hard to do vehicles. It took me 2 hours. I noticed the WS had a break on the bottom drivers side. The owner said he wasnt aware it could be fixed. He was trying to keep everything original on the corvette. I will fix that for him Monday. He wasnt around when I finished the headlighhts or I would have repaired the WS while I was there. I had 2 calls I had to service afterward and didnt have tme to wait for him to show up. I will keep you posted on my findings.

part-timer wrote:

davidc11291 wrote:About 2 weeks ago, I did a 2003 Dodge Ram that was a nightmare. The problem was the shape of the lenses. Each lens had 2 bubble shaped domes on them. Because of the shape, machine sanding was incredibly difficult. A lot of small areas around the domes where the drill couldn't lay flat to sand smoothly. Hard to describe accurately without pics, but if you've done 1 with similar headlights, you know what I'm talking about.

I have done many of those Dodge Ram pick-ups. They aren't fun. I do the whole job by hand sanding. I think its easier than with the discs.

Been having great success using a flex shaft system with 1, 2 and 3" disks. Essentially weightless. Use a rotating pattern to mimic D/A. Allows getting in small places. Easy to change backing plates. They simply unscrew. The flex system is very powerful (1/3 HP) and being able to control it with a foot pedal allows using two hands on handle. Don't have to manually switch on and off like the Metabo or Groit's, so sanding always begins and ends with motor off and doesn't fling sanding aid all over the place. Experimenting now with using a compound instead of expensive 3000 grit 3M disks at $3.00 each. Using coarse compound followed by fine. Infinity has no problems sticking to this surface.

Have also been using a razor blade on really tough coatings. Sounds horrible, but damage is easily removed with 500 grit. Also, blades are cheap (10 cents) far cheaper than good sanding disks.
ray6

candyman wrote:I restored a corvettes headlights on Friday. I used eight, 180 pads , then the nomal proceedure after that. I ordered a new drill a few weeks ago, but it hasnt arrived from the factory. I plan to test Pommys method on these hard to do vehicles. It took me 2 hours. I noticed the WS had a break on the bottom drivers side. The owner said he wasnt aware it could be fixed. He was trying to keep everything original on the corvette. I will fix that for him Monday. He wasnt around when I finished the headlighhts or I would have repaired the WS while I was there. I had 2 calls I had to service afterward and didnt have tme to wait for him to show up. I will keep you posted on my findings.

Good info on the Vette. I was asked to do one a couple of weeks ago. All It had was a bit of road rash so I told the dealer to skip it.

davidc11291 wrote:
About 2 weeks ago, I did a 2003 Dodge Ram that was a nightmare. The problem was the shape of the lenses. Each lens had 2 bubble shaped domes on them. Because of the shape, machine sanding was incredibly difficult. A lot of small areas around the domes where the drill couldn't lay flat to sand smoothly. Hard to describe accurately without pics, but if you've done 1 with similar headlights, you know what I'm talking about.


Did a pair of those a week ago for the first time. Used the Griots and foam interface pad with twice the time but
a great deal of skill with the DA. Came out great. Way to many pads. Great for steep learning curve when you are in the mood. To say they were a pain would be an understatement.

If you tilt the groits , you can get most of the area around the bubble. You may still need to hand sand slightly in the valley. Sometimes on these headlights I use the clear2coat instead of the Infiniti 4.1. The reason! It does a better job in my opinion. It's more forgiving in rough spots and smooths the lens out. I still get the WOW factor. Most of the time those trucks are work horses. The Rams Ive done were used to pull horse trailers, campers, farm use etc... .

The other day I did a 2001 BMW 330ci. Oh what major fun! Fortunately the lens shape was flat and easy to work with, but that bugger took (3) 180 grit pads per lens to get the original coating off. After that it was all good.

The 180 grit pad worked very well and actually quite quick, but it would lose it's abrasion soon and thus swapping it out with a new one. The 320 grit took very little time to take out the scratches from the 180 grit.

After dealing with that, I will always carry that low of grit sandpaper. Makes you kinda cringe when you start because of the coarseness, but it really did the job on this car very nicely.

A 2003 Pontiac Aztec was just as hard to remove the original coat, has double lenses and the lens shapes are a challenge to work with. Took me 2.5 hours. Take note and charge accordingly.

Yep, BMW's can be tricky. I've been doing them for years now and with time you learn exactly what to do to each type of lens by just analyzing them.