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Hey y’all! Just picked up a 13’ GS. Loving the car…except the damn headlights are shot. I want the c7 ones, but before I order those and spend $1500 on that instead of wheels…is there anything I can do to fix these up a little?
those white marks are driving me nuts. You can’t feel them at all - they look like you could, but they are completely flat on the surface. I tried a lens restore kit from advanced (Mothers brand I believe) but it didn’t do a damn thing. Also, I have no idea what made these white marks lol…
Get yourself a sanding/polishing kit and go to town. If it doesn't take out the cracks/blemishes then go from there whether or not you want to sell or try and replace the lens. Yours will likely need completely sanded like mine did to fully remove the OEM clear coat GM put on them. From there you can work back up to 3k wet sanding, and then a UV clear.
you can replace the lenses( cost about $60) but it seems like a real pain. Putting the assembly in the over.prying off the rubber gasket etc. I would buy another set and try with that one before I messed with mine I had mine done with very light smoke wrap and it hid the marks like yours. Full light still there for legal distance requirements- at least in my case. No chance I'd spend $1500 on headlights- but I'm old!!!!!
you can replace the lenses( cost about $60) but it seems like a real pain. Putting the assembly in the over.prying off the rubber gasket etc. I would buy another set and try with that one before I messed with mine I had mine done with very light smoke wrap and it hid the marks like yours. Full light still there for legal distance requirements- at least in my case. No chance I'd spend $1500 on headlights- but I'm old!!!!!
I watched a video of a guy that pulls the whole light out and replaces the lens, but at that point, I’m just gonna get those c7 ones. I’m hoping someone can come in (maybe a detailer guru) and say “use this and this and some elbow geese” and it’ll look much better…but I might be out of luck lol
Looks like etching either on the outside or inside. If inside, nothing you can do unless replace a new lens or take apart and polish the inside which would be a chore.
I've been in detailing and the business for about 10 years and the best way to clean the outside is clean with IPA, do a couple passes with correcting compound, couple passes with finishing compound then couple layers of wax. This assumes you have delamination (fog), scratches and etching which this will fix completely. Cracks in the lens or stuff on the inside obviously polishing cant fix.
Get yourself a sanding/polishing kit and go to town. If it doesn't take out the cracks/blemishes then go from there whether or not you want to sell or try and replace the lens. Yours will likely need completely sanded like mine did to fully remove the OEM clear coat GM put on them. From there you can work back up to 3k wet sanding, and then a UV clear.
Get yourself a sanding/polishing kit and go to town. If it doesn't take out the cracks/blemishes then go from there whether or not you want to sell or try and replace the lens. Yours will likely need completely sanded like mine did to fully remove the OEM clear coat GM put on them. From there you can work back up to 3k wet sanding, and then a UV clear.
dang that worked well! It can’t get worse so I guess I’ll give that a try! What did you start with grit wise for sanding? All wet sanding right? Lol did you make a thread on this process I can just go read? Looks like a cool project
Wow, all that effort to sand and polish and they’ll be cloudy again in a few months because you just removed the protective coating. For 150 bucks I got new lenses and in less than three hours had them installed on my headlights.
Wow, all that effort to sand and polish and they’ll be cloudy again in a few months because you just removed the protective coating. For 150 bucks I got new lenses and in less than three hours had them installed on my headlights.
Reading is hard isn't it. Must have missed the part where I applied the UV clear coating that comes with the kit. Headlights stayed like the day I applied the clear until the day I traded the car in.
Originally Posted by LSxFTMFW
dang that worked well! It can’t get worse so I guess I’ll give that a try! What did you start with grit wise for sanding? All wet sanding right? Lol did you make a thread on this process I can just go read? Looks like a cool project
Believe I started with 180, but you can start with like 400 and see how it goes. And yes it was all wet sanding - no I didn't make a thread. The trick to getting it to turn out right is you need to strip the entire factory clear from the lights since that's what's crazed - not likely the plastic housing. You can see in the pic below towards the bottom, there's little slivers of what look like 'clear' still on the light. When you're sanding you'll see it and helps you make sure you've got it all off if none is visible.
Or just lightly smoke them and you won't see it; with the lighter shades you can still drive at night fine...might hold you over until you want to correct or replace.
wet sand with 320, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000 etc
then spray with 2k catalyst clear coat paint
that may or may not hide the "cracks" but they will look 100% better if you have foggyness
second option is to **** with the lense replacements. Third option ...new lights
Wow, all that effort to sand and polish and they’ll be cloudy again in a few months because you just removed the protective coating. For 150 bucks I got new lenses and in less than three hours had them installed on my headlights.
New lenses is probably the right option, but they do make effective ceramic and vinyl headlight coatings nowadays.
Mine were really bad too. Polished, nothing, Sanded and polished, did look great but didn't last long and they faded in the sun. I did the work and replaced the lenses myself. Wasn't so bad. then when the C7 lights came out, I had to get some and I replaced them.
Your car looks like Cyber Grey, same as mine. I'll sell you mine if you like.
Dang. Thank you guys all for so much feedback. I’m gonna give sanding them and then putting a clear on a shot. I also don’t mind the stock lights and I would much rather spend 1500 on a better wheel tire combo. Beadlocks with MTs is the plan 🙏🏽
I’ll post up how it goes when I tackle it! Will keep ya updated in this thread!
Yeah you really got nothing to lose on trying the sanding. Worst case just replace go the lens replace route or sell em with the intent of the new owner needing to replace the lenses
Fix or Replace?
