Clearcoat on headlights is peeling

ThunderHorse

New Member
May 25, 2008
26
0
0
Ok so I noticed that the clearcoat on my headlights is peeling off up in the corners. Ive heard about wetsanding but I have no clue how to do it. I tried using the search button but couldnt find much. Could someone please give me some tips on what to do? Thanks.:SNSign:
 
Alright cool. Thanks a lot. While Im at it I have to go to the dealership for some touch up paint tomorow. I wont be taking the stang since its still in storage. Does anyone know the paint code for mineral gray? I believe it was TK but I could be wrong.:shrug:
 
Yeah thats what i thought too but the last time I had to go there for some touch up paint the guy at the parts counter was like "paint code???" and I said "uhhh Idk the code but its mineral gray" and he kept saying he still needed the paint code. He then proceeded to go out to my car to look at the code on the inside of the door. So I was just asking because if this happens again Ill be out of luck because the car isnt even in the same state as me right now. Haha.:D
 
Wet sand and rub. I just did it to my Ford OEM 96 Cobra headlights. They came out like brand new. Too bad I wasted 200 bucks on some China ones from Mustang Parts & Accessories - 50resto I think I might sell 'em on Ebay since they are realy Fords and they are now mint.

Start with 1000 and got to 2000 and rub out. Get a rough 3M compound, rub them, change the pad and use a lighter compound or a polish and they'll be good.
 
Ok so I wet sanded the driver side light beause it was the one where the clear coat was peeling. After that I polised by hand with plastic-x. Its looks ok I guess. No more peeling clear coat but the whole light looks slightly hazy compared to my other head light. Am I doing something wrong? Should I sand more?
 
I tried the sanding method when I had the 99. The problem was that the
sanding got rid of the oxidation on the outside surface but I looked at the
headlight lens with a magnifing glass and you could see tiny cracks inside the lens
that nothing will get rid of, probably extream sun damage.
 
Don't sand them unless you are going to reclear them, which is also a good time to mix in some black basecoat and tint them, giving this result:

2hd2nvo.webp
 
Start with 1000 and got to 2000 and rub out. Get a rough 3M compound, rub them, change the pad and use a lighter compound or a polish and they'll be good.

^ After reading I went out to the car removed the head lights went to the garage and started working on them. it took about 10-15 minutes per headlight. mirror the photos and you have an ideal of what the other side looked like:D
before:
View attachment 263904
View attachment 263905
after:
not exactly new but they look much better.:nice:
View attachment 263906
View attachment 263907
Thanks SVT32VDOHC