6th gen headlight plastics

Discolouration is not an issue. But 100K miles, much in the winter time, has really pitted them a lot so I think I am going to have to try that fine sanding and polishing.

 

I also used wet and dry sandpaper think 200. because my headlights were pitted to try doing that it will work

 

200 grit is pretty coarse. I use 400 grit or there about as a final sand for oak. Maybe 2000 grit. Come on Duc. Hit those "0" keys like a man.

 

Brain fart....should of proofed what I typed. fat little fuckin fingers.....400 is what I have on the shelf...cheers

 

Hey Randy

The headlight one my bike was badly sand blasted when I bought my bike and I removed it and wet sanded and polished it and it worked great. I started with 800 grit to get out the pit marks, went to 1500 next to smooth it out and then 2000 grit to finish. After that I used some polish compound to polish up the lens to near perfect. After that I took it to a local guy that installs the clear 3M vinyl hood tape and he covered the whole lens for me so that the problem does not resurface again. (Pardon the pun). If the vinyl starts to look bad later, I can peel it off and install more without having to redo the headlight again. Only if you plan on keeping the bike though, and since you only have a few miles on your bike.....................

I had my wheels powder coated in Kelowna by Falcon Powder Coating, and they only charged me $50 per wheel to media blast and powder coat the wheels semi gloss black. The guy said that semi gloss black was the most common color they do here so that was the cheapest, but he said he would also do white, red, or gloss black for a bit more because they were also fairly common colors. The wheels need to have the tires removed and the front wheel also needs the bearings removed as well because he does not have the ability to do that work. I left my bearings in because I was replacing them afterward.

I know you come through Kelowna every once in a while so maybe check with me before you come down and I would be happy to polish up the headlight for you and I might be able to arrange a better price on the wheels for you as well. Of course this would mean that you would have to come up in the fifth wheel and bring your wheels and headlight with you, OR you could ride up, leave me your bike, take MY bike, continue to Vernon, then come back. Hmmmm, what say you, most honourable Randymeister, oh great VFR constable of Vancouver..

 

If you decide to try sanding and polishing the lights yourself be cautious when polishing. If you leave the polisher in place too long and generate too much heat, well, bad shift can happen. If you get a polish from Lordco or Miller Wyatt auto parts called Farecla G3, you can use that to polish out the headlight after you sand it. Best to do off the bike as the Farecla is water soluble (it is body shop grade stuff, contains no silicones, and is basically clay mixed with a bit of water) and it can make a bit of a mess. Use a dollop the diameter of a dime on the lens, spray buffing pad with water and polish until nearly dry, mist lens with water, polish some more but don't add any more polish. At anyone you can wipe with a damp rag to remove any polish residue and see how it looks. The only down side I'd the Farecla is fairly pricey (about $45/liter) and I'm not sure how small a bottle you can get. It is best used with a high speed (non-orbital) polisher set at about 1600 rpm.

 

The nice folks at Ventura make Lexan shields for many Hondas. The mach 1 91 is glass and what that would cost to replace I don't even want to know.

There are shops that specialize in applying the 3M film. Great stuff. Some of the apps are die cut and they might sell enough to cover that headlight if you ask.

A straight rotary type buffer requires a light hand. Better to use a random orbit type. In a pinch, a quarter sheet palm sander can be modded to work. The restoration kits work both chemically and physically.

The ultra fine grit wet and dry sandpapers are a little hard to come by. A bit pricy but 3M also make several grits of rubbing compounds.

There are powdercoaters and there are powdercoaters. Some are botiques some are commercial...Same stuff same process, same results. The major difference is price. I send mine out to a company in Seattle that does all the plating and powdercoating for Kenworth. They are pro's.

Best way IMO to have wheels powdercoated is to have them blasted, primed and then finished. The wheels on the mach 1 are painted.. five coats of Martin-Senour's Fire Orange. Old nicks and chips were feathered out , primed and sanded back. The tires were not removed. Just masked off. The centers of the discs were painted separately.

 

Lots of ideas here for sure. I will have to wait until I get back from my September ride down south to figure this out. That clear film over the head lights, the lights are not too hot for that are they? I have HID which I think burn a little hotter that the stock but not certain on that. Correct me if I am wrong. Would be nice to make it out that way one more time on the bike before the winter sets in on the Coquihalla and the Connector. Late September and it is a toss up up that high. I've been caught in snow before on the bike, but not out in the middle of nowhere. Just in Surrey, middle of hell.

I will get back to you if I come out and thanks.

 

With the HID lights there is a possibility of burning the film and actually I ran in to that problem with my last car. The problem is compounded with projector style lamps because they focus the beam and thus the heat. The alternative would be to leave the lens unprotected and redo the wet-sanding and such again at a later date. The 3M film might brown a bit after a while but you can always reapply if that happens. My Mazdaspeed 6 had the HID projector headlights and it took nearly 3 years to notice a problem with the film.

If you are infested in having me do the headlight for you, just let me know Randy. Once winter hits you could send me the headlight and I could repair it for you. No cost for the work, but I would ask for shipping charges. Haha. WAIT a minute, that won't work, you ride your bike year round. What was I thinking, removing your transportation. Geez, some friend eh. LOL

 

If that polishing compound is really just clay and water, at $45.00/ltr that's really pricy. Rats! I forgot that is only $1.99 in real metric money.

Most of us were under the impression that Randy could see in the dark but I guess not..

Various clays are available from ceramics dealers and drilling fluid suppliers or another fine grade compound can be made up with rottenstone which is basically decomposed granite. Any full line paint supplier should have some and maybe even Homer Despot..

For really cruddy plastic like any surface that needs abrasion to bring it back to good working order, I would suggest the standard compounds available at most auto supply stores.