Headlights- blissfully ignorant

So my brother in law has a Carrera , lovely car in silver. He is not really into cleaning/detailing but I gave him some help recently. Clay barred the entire car, then 2 stage paint correction and waxed. He was over the moon with it. IMG_3183 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr So he mentioned his headlights which were discoloured, hazy and looked awful. No problem I say, bring them around and I will wet sand them and bring them back to shiny. I chuck them in the garage for a few days and then start work on them. Now normally , on other headlights, I start with 600-800 grit, wet and dry , work my way up to maybe 1500, quick polish and protect. Job done. These ones for some reason seemed to have some bastard lacquer on them which was impossible to shift. I went down to 240 wet and still no joy. So had to go dry and 240 at that, never gone that low but needs must. This is what I was dealing with IMG_3196 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr IMG_3195 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr IMG_3194 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr After sanding. I sent him some pictures going dont panic, it will be fine IMG_3198 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr IMG_3199 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr Then worked my way up dry to 1500, then wet from 240, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 and finally 2500. Followed by compounding heavy cut, polish and some sealant. Think he was happy with the final results IMG_3240 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr IMG_3241 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr IMG_3242 by Chris Dodsworth , on Flickr Now this is the funny part. He didn't actually tell me how much these lights are worth !!!  He let me blissfully sand away and only when I handed them back did he mention that they are around £4000 . What a git !! If I had known that, there was no way I would have touched them. Thank god they turned out ok but christ never again. "‹"‹"‹"‹"‹"‹"‹

Very nice 911uk approved :lol: :thumb: could you reveal a secret what did you put on lights to protect it?

Cheers :thumb: No secret, you can spend a fortune on ceramic coatings or just put on meguiars headlight protectant, much cheaper and last for about 3 months. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meguiars-G17110-Headlight-Protectant-295ml/dp/B009YCTGKU

thank you!

If you or your partner need an idea for xmas, you could always ask for this £50 ...eekk https://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/nanolex-si3d-headlight

...it's rather ironic that a car ostracized and unloved because of it's headlights is the one whose very same headlights are the most valuable?!

I never knew that about the 996. TBH they are a bit weird

Wowzers, top work! The amount of people I see (usually with French cars) where their headlights are opaque is crazy. Must be like shining a torch through the security frosting you get in the office toilet's windows ha ha

Nice job! I did the same with my litronics with the 3M kit, which was brilliant. I made the mistake of looking up the price of Replacements before I started. My wife would occasionally visit me in the garage and make 'encouraging' remarks as I sanded them... A detailing place near me offers a light polishing service, they finish off with a clear laquer. When I was polishing them I came to really appreciate the intricacy of the design, I think they are a real feature, ahead of their time- car design now is often about introducing challenging elements.

Great work as always. :worship:

...like a previous poster I genuinely think the lights are a design highlight adding to the aesthetic not detracting from it....additionally I do wonder if this unique 911 idiosyncrasy will prove to be it's defining highlight in years to come?

GMG I think shape of these lights already catch up with people, only because some morons point that 996 is ugly there is still some "dogma" about it, same with interior, in my opinion 996 got the best looking door panels....piece of art.

I love the 'encouraging remarks'. My wife kept walking past me , shaking her head and going " mmm they look buggered" .

The 996 is too "modern" looking for the beards-and-sandals brigade who run/ruin the clubs/some forums. In time though, modern design comes of age.....it even happened to the Mondeo Mark 1 (eventually)!

Mine are worse than your's at the start point - do you want a £150 to do mine?