Sanding my headlights? Removing the clear coat?!

Sorry right off the bat... I forgot to take pictures! I am trying to clean up my headlights since they are starting to yellow out a little and I can see some blemishes in the lenses. The kit I bought was just a generic one from my auto parts store but it has what I need so far... 500 grit, 800 grit, 3000 grit and fine polish foam head. I also bought a tube of plastic polishing compound. So whats my problem? The damn lights were clear coated and I am having a hell of a time removing it!!! The blemishes are tiny flaws in the clear coat now that I can see it clearly and if I can remove the clear coat the lenses will be good to go for my polishing. HELP, I dont' want to burn the lenses!!! What should I use to remove the damn clear coat?

All lenses are coated from the factory. Remove it using the most abrasive sand paper you have supplied. Be sure to apply a UV protectant after cleaning, or they will yellow after a month or two. (I like opti coat)

Thanks for the input SWEET VICTORY... the current clear coat is definitely a rattle can job or a spray job done in a dirty environment. I can really "look" into the coating now that I gave it a once over and its embedded with crap and tiny bubbles/flaws... I will give it another try with some more aggressive stuff... but I'm thinking about doing it all as a Wet Sand job... cant be to careful about the lenses!

I've done headlight restoration on numerous friends cars here's my kit and process that I used. I found that each of the big box store kits had a part of the solution but not all the steps. blue tape spray bottle w/ water paper towels 5" foam sanding disc holder (I would recommend the 3m 85095) https://www.ebay.com/i/183050081067?chn=ps multiple grit 5" sanding discs : https://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-20pcs-H...QAAOSwt21azopH hand drill hand drill attachments: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rogue-River...kAAOSwr6RZnxE6 Meguiars 105 Meguiars 205 Meguiars PlastX And then a headlight UV protectant of your choice Microfibers Procedure: Prep: Clean the area around the headlight, the cleaner the surface the better blue tape will hold. Blue tape off the area around the headlight, make sure you do a good job on this because you will be saturating the headlights with water as lubricant and the blue tape is protecting your paint. Sanding: Saturate the headlight with water, this will act as the lubricant for your sand paper and add spritzes of water as you go. Start with the most aggressive disc and progress towards the least abrasive. I personally use 500 (grit), 800, 1000, 1500, 2500, 3000; but whatever you do make sure you have an even number of sanding stages. With each grit, only sand in 1 direction and you will be sanding in a cross hatching pattern. 500: vertical; 800: horizontal; 100: vertical and so on and so on. But it's key to have an even number so that the final stage is the opposite of whatever you started with. Make sure to evenly sand light to medium pressure. You don't want high and low spots, you just want a smooth surface. Between each stage of sanding, make sure you to wipe the surface clean with a paper towel and then dry it with a microfiber. Polishing: By the time you are at your final, grit, the headlights should be an even condition, pretty clear when wet but hazy when dry. Grab the Meguiars 105 compound and prime one of the foam pads by damping the pad and adding 105, you can use dots or concentric circles - whatever you feel is your method of adding the cutting compound to the pad. Work the 105 into the foam pad. Connect the foam pad to the velcro drill attachment and set in your drill. Set the drill at the lowest speed setting. With the drill still off, press the pad with the compound multiple times across the headlight to spread the compound around. Now turn on the drill and work the foam pad with light to medium pressure around the headlight. Let the compound and pad do the work but make sure to evenly work the headlight. The headlight should be getting real clear by the end of this process. Take a clean microfiber wipe off the excess and buff it clean. Repeat with the 205 Grab the Meguiars 205 compound and prime a NEW foam pad by damping the pad and adding 205, you can use dots or concentric circles - whatever you feel is your method of adding the cutting compound to the pad. Work the 205 into the foam pad. Connect the foam pad to the velcro drill attachment and set in your drill. Set the drill at the lowest speed setting. With the drill still off, press the pad with the compound multiple times across the headlight to spread the compound around. Now turn on the drill and work the foam pad with light to medium pressure around the headlight. Let the compound and pad do the work but make sure to evenly work the headlight. The headlight should be getting real clear by the end of this process. Take a clean microfiber wipe off the excess and buff it clean. Repeat with the Plastx Grab the Meguiars Plastx compound and prime a NEW foam pad by damping the pad and adding Plastx, you can use dots or concentric circles - whatever you feel is your method of adding the cutting compound to the pad. Work the Plastx into the foam pad. Connect the foam pad to the velcro drill attachment and set in your drill. Set the drill at the lowest speed setting. With the drill still off, press the pad with the compound multiple times across the headlight to spread the compound around. Now turn on the drill and work the foam pad with light to medium pressure around the headlight. Let the compound and pad do the work but make sure to evenly work the headlight. The headlight should be perfectly clear by the end of this process. Take a clean microfiber wipe off the excess and buff it clean. UV headlight protectant - slightly different Repeat with the 205 Grab the Meguiars UV headlight protectant and add it to the cotton buffing pad. Work the protectant into the cotton buffing pad. Connect the cotton buffing pad to the velcro drill attachment and set in your drill. Set the drill at the lowest speed setting. With the drill still off, press the pad with the compound multiple times across the headlight to spread the compound around. Now turn on the drill and work the foam pad with light pressure around the headlight. Let the compound and pad do the work but make sure to evenly work the headlight. The headlight should be getting real clear by the end of this process. Take a clean microfiber wipe off the excess and buff it clean. It will nearly crystal clear and look like new. If you look really really closely, you may still see some tiny scratches but for the most part, it should look amazing and your lights will be brighter. Done!!!

Or start with the right kit. The Sylvania kit has a dissolver for the clear coat. Even I can do it.

Rockhouse as in Harbor Island?

Thanks for sharing as I need to do this once I get my car up and running. Could be a good project to start during the down time.

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Much more obscure and low class than that. I'm a hillbilly.

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awesome instructions�the only thing I do different is an addition at the end with a 5,000 grit rubbing cloth dry� this will pick up all of the residue and then finish with your maguires or I have used insect repellent as well😎