SLK R171 Headlight Restoration
03-07-2023, 11:58 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
SLK R171 Headlight Restoration
I bought my first 2006 SLK55 AMG a week ago and it is in great shape with only 30,000 miles but the headlights needed some love, so I started with them as they were badly scratched. There was no discoloration or oxidation, only bad scratches from something unknown.
After doing research on headlight restoration kits including reading reviews and watching YouTube videos I bought CERAKOTE Ceramic 3 Step Headlight Restoration Kit from Amazon I liked that it has all the components needed to start the job and comes with a limited, lifetime warranty and is designed to restore 2 headlights. It includes the following for you where all you need to provide is water for the wet sanding, microfiber clothes and some good ole fashioned elbow grease.
Here is a list of what’s in the box:
Headlight Oxidation remover pads x4 per headlight
Wet Sandpaper oval pads
2000 grit x2
3000 grit x2
Clear Ceramic headlight coating x1 per headlight
These are the CERAKOTE steps
3 EASY STEPS! - Cerakote's Headlight Restoration Kit is a simple, 30 minute process.
Step 1: You'll be mesmerized by our Oxidation Remover as you wipe away the hazy surface oxidation.
Step 2: Use our ergonomic surface prep pad to remove the deep oxidation and prep your headlight for the CERAMIC clear coating.
Step 3: Cerakote's pre-moistened Ceramic Headlight Restoration Wipes restore your headlights to a like-new condition that is backed by our limited lifetime warranty.
Knowing the scratches were deep that would require a more course wet sandpaper grit.
I started first by using green gorilla tape taping off the exterior panels to protect them during wet sanding.
I started with 800 grit wet sandpaper purchased at Home Depot. Began sanding with using my hand (decided not to use a sanding block to ensure I wouldn’t come in contact with the cars exterior panels and scratch them) going in a horizontal motion (don’t swirl). This step took about 4-5 minutes with stoppage intervals of about a minute or so to wipe off and observe the progress. NOTE: Let the sandpaper do the work and don’t press hard or you’ll have deep scratches that will be hard to remove.
I then moved up to 1500 grit wet sandpaper going in vertical motion. This step took about 3-4 minutes.
Next was 2000 grit wet sandpaper supplied in the kit. I did this for about 2 minutes or so (follow the directions on the box)
And the last wet sanding was with 3000 grit from the kit.
After the wet sanding I polished the headlights with Meguiar's Ultimate Polish Compound to remove the sanding scratches.
Lastly, the final step is to apply the CERAKOTE Cermaic Headlight coating. Use the gloves supplied in the kit and open one of the Ceramic coating packets (one per headlight) and follow the application method as stated in the directions…apply in even, horizontal strokes overlapping each coat. Do not swirl and do not touch or wipe after applying the ceramic coating! Let dry for 24 hours and keep away from water. This step is where the ceramic coating that chemically bonds to your headlights and provides UV protection.
Here are pictures of the before and after where you can see how well this process and the CERAKOTE Ceramic Headlight Restoration kit works, it’s easy and only takes about 30 mins (it took me closer to an hour including taping off and adding 2 additional wet sanding steps)
BEFORE
AFTER
GUARANTEED TO LAST AS LONG AS YOU OWN YOUR VEHICLE! - You read it right! We're so confident in our CERAMIC coating that we'll stand behind our limited lifetime warranty that it will last as long as you own your vehicle, or we'll cover the next kit for free. Our chemists developed this kit IN HOUSE at Cerakote HQ. We aren't re-bottling another company's product. This is a CERAMIC coating that chemically bonds to your headlights and provides UV protection for as long as you'll own your vehicle.
After doing research on headlight restoration kits including reading reviews and watching YouTube videos I bought CERAKOTE Ceramic 3 Step Headlight Restoration Kit from Amazon I liked that it has all the components needed to start the job and comes with a limited, lifetime warranty and is designed to restore 2 headlights. It includes the following for you where all you need to provide is water for the wet sanding, microfiber clothes and some good ole fashioned elbow grease.
Here is a list of what’s in the box:
Headlight Oxidation remover pads x4 per headlight
Wet Sandpaper oval pads
2000 grit x2
3000 grit x2
Clear Ceramic headlight coating x1 per headlight
These are the CERAKOTE steps
3 EASY STEPS! - Cerakote's Headlight Restoration Kit is a simple, 30 minute process.
Step 1: You'll be mesmerized by our Oxidation Remover as you wipe away the hazy surface oxidation.
Step 2: Use our ergonomic surface prep pad to remove the deep oxidation and prep your headlight for the CERAMIC clear coating.
Step 3: Cerakote's pre-moistened Ceramic Headlight Restoration Wipes restore your headlights to a like-new condition that is backed by our limited lifetime warranty.
Knowing the scratches were deep that would require a more course wet sandpaper grit.
I started first by using green gorilla tape taping off the exterior panels to protect them during wet sanding.
I started with 800 grit wet sandpaper purchased at Home Depot. Began sanding with using my hand (decided not to use a sanding block to ensure I wouldn’t come in contact with the cars exterior panels and scratch them) going in a horizontal motion (don’t swirl). This step took about 4-5 minutes with stoppage intervals of about a minute or so to wipe off and observe the progress. NOTE: Let the sandpaper do the work and don’t press hard or you’ll have deep scratches that will be hard to remove.
I then moved up to 1500 grit wet sandpaper going in vertical motion. This step took about 3-4 minutes.
Next was 2000 grit wet sandpaper supplied in the kit. I did this for about 2 minutes or so (follow the directions on the box)
And the last wet sanding was with 3000 grit from the kit.
After the wet sanding I polished the headlights with Meguiar's Ultimate Polish Compound to remove the sanding scratches.
Lastly, the final step is to apply the CERAKOTE Cermaic Headlight coating. Use the gloves supplied in the kit and open one of the Ceramic coating packets (one per headlight) and follow the application method as stated in the directions…apply in even, horizontal strokes overlapping each coat. Do not swirl and do not touch or wipe after applying the ceramic coating! Let dry for 24 hours and keep away from water. This step is where the ceramic coating that chemically bonds to your headlights and provides UV protection.
Here are pictures of the before and after where you can see how well this process and the CERAKOTE Ceramic Headlight Restoration kit works, it’s easy and only takes about 30 mins (it took me closer to an hour including taping off and adding 2 additional wet sanding steps)
BEFORE
AFTER
GUARANTEED TO LAST AS LONG AS YOU OWN YOUR VEHICLE! - You read it right! We're so confident in our CERAMIC coating that we'll stand behind our limited lifetime warranty that it will last as long as you own your vehicle, or we'll cover the next kit for free. Our chemists developed this kit IN HOUSE at Cerakote HQ. We aren't re-bottling another company's product. This is a CERAMIC coating that chemically bonds to your headlights and provides UV protection for as long as you'll own your vehicle.
