The Detailing Hand Book

 

Over time your S2000’s headlights may “fog.”  If you do not properly care for your headlights, this condition will occur faster.  This “fogging” can impact the performance of your headlights.  Properly caring for your headlights will allow them to function better and therefore enable you to see better at night.  Plus, your car will look much better with properly detailed lights.

 

 

 

You should only need to polish your headlights at most once per year.  However, you should seal them every time you wax or seal the rest of your car.

 

What you’ll need . . .

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• Shade – Most polishes are not designed to be used in direct sunlight.  Therefore, it is important to find a shady spot to work in.  This can be under a car port, a canopy, or in a garage.  It is not recommended that you detail under a tree as sap, leaves, pollen, or other debris could fall on your car during the detail.

• Porter Cable R/O polisher – Either model 7424 or 7336SP work well.  In fact, both models are virtually the same machine.  The only difference is the counterweight and most cannot tell the difference between the two.  The 7424 comes with a 5” counterweight and the 7336SP comes with a 6” counterweight. 

• 3” backing plate – You’ll need an appropriate size backing plate to mate the PC with the foam pads.  The diameter of the backing plate should be at least an inch less than the diameter of the pads being used.

• 4” foam buffer pads – A variety of pads may be needed to restore headlights.  It’s best to have on hand (1) cutting pad, (1) light cutting pad, and (2) polishing pads.  Be very careful with 4” pads.  The smaller size of this pad allows it to generate more heat than a larger pad.  It is much easier to burn the surface of your car with a 4” pad.
• Polish – Depending on the condition of your headlights you may need to use 1-2 different levels of polish.  You will certainly need a finishing polish (ex. Menzerna FPII or Poorboy’s SSR1), but there may also be a need for a medium cut (ex. Menzerna Intensive Polish or Poorboy’s SSR2.5) or heavy cut polish (ex. Menzerna Power Gloss or Poorboy’s SSR3).  You can also try using a chemical polish like Poorboy’s Pro Polish.

• Plastic Sealant – Your choice of sealant.  Once you’ve gone through the effort of restoring your headlights, you’ll want to seal them to protect the work you’ve done.  There are products made specifically to protect plastic like Plexus and Wolfgang Plastik Sealant, but paint sealants like Menzerna FMJ and Wolfgang work equally as well.
• Applicator – your choice of applicator.  There are many tools which can be used for wax/sealant application.  Application can be done using a foam wax applicator, a microfiber applicator, or a folded microfiber towel.  Paste wax is typically easiest to apply using a foam applicator and liquids are easiest to apply with the other types of applicator mentioned.
• Microfiber towels – high quality microfiber towels are critical for polish & wax residue removal.  After a long day detailing you don’t want to use a cheap towel which will undo all of your hard work by instilling scratches in your headlight’s surface.  To test the “softness” of a microfiber simply rub it gently on a blank CD making sure to use both the center of the towel and the edging.  If the towel leaves scratches then it could possibly scratch your paint.  Always be sure before testing a new towel or using it on your paint that it is clean and that any tags have been removed.  One last item to note is that microfiber towels with a shorter knap will remove residue faster than towels with a deeper knap, but will also clog with residue faster.