DIY Headlight Restoration on My 2007 Avalanche — 400 to 3000 Grit + Coating

FSCAdmin · August 30, 2026, 11:46pm

The OEM lenses on my 2007 Chevy Avalanche were heavily oxidized, so I restored them for cheap with separate sheets of wet/dry paper instead of treating a boxed headlight restoration kit as the only option. This is the actual job I filmed, and here is the build thread on how I did it.

It is an Avalanche, but nothing here is Avalanche-specific — the same method applies across the GMT900 generation and really, any vehicle for that matter.

Left: the lens before any work, masked off, with the oxidation still on it. Right: the same lens after the full sequence and two coats of coating.

Video

You do not need to watch it to use this thread. The full sequence and the coating instructions are laid out below.

Correction first: it was 1000 grit, not 800

I say “800” twice in the video before I catch it at 2:44. The paper actually used for the second stage was 1000 grit.

The sequence I actually ran was:

400 → 1000 → 2000 → 2500 → 3000

I started at 400 because these lenses had heavy oxidation. That is not a recommendation that every hazy lens should start at 400. A lighter defect wants a finer starting point, and 400 pulls material off fast.

The actual paper off the shoot. The second stage was 1000 grit, not 800.

What I used

400-grit wet/dry paper
1000-grit wet/dry paper
2000-grit wet/dry paper
2500-grit wet/dry paper
3000-grit handheld abrasive pad, left over from a Cerakote kit
Spray bottle
Masking tape
Rags to protect the bumper where wet tape would not hold
Glass cleaner
Meguiar’s Keep Clear Headlight Coating G17804
Protective gloves and eye protection for the coating stage
Outdoor or properly ventilated spray area; suitable respiratory protection when ventilation is inadequate

Disclosure: Some product links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, FullSizeChevy earns from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to the reader.

For sanding lubricant I had Pine-Sol and water in the spray bottle. Plain water works too — the job of the liquid is to float the debris off the paper and keep the lens cool.

How the job went

1. Mask well past the lens

I masked a couple of inches past the work area. Sanding slurry goes everywhere and the aerosol coating goes further than you think.

The useful lesson here is not to trust wet masking tape. Water kills the adhesion, and once the tape lifts, the paint is sitting there exposed to 400-grit paper. Stop, dry the edge, re-mask. I ended up using rags along the lower edge where the wet tape would not stay put.

Stop sanding the moment the masking lifts near paint.

2. Work the sequence

I folded the paper into quarters and used the flat of my palm across the broad areas. Corners needed more controlled finger pressure — that is the instruction I repeat most in the video, and it is the spot where people roll an abrasive edge into the paint.

Keep the lens and the paper wet, use straight strokes, and check the paper for trapped debris between passes. One piece of grit stuck in the paper will cut scratches deeper than the grit you are supposedly using.

400 grit — minimum three passes. This did the heavy correction on this lens. If your lens is very bad, you may need more than three.
1000 grit — the corrected second stage. Same wet process, concentrating on even coverage.
2000 grit — the filmed job uses this stage. I mention on camera that you might skip it. I did not test that, so I am not presenting it as verified.
2500 grit — refined the previous marks. Masking needed constant watching by this point.
3000 grit — three passes with a small handheld pad.

3. Do not panic when it looks dull

After 3000 the lens can look uniformly frosted. That is the stage that makes people think they have wrecked it. They have not — that dull, even surface is what the coating goes onto, and the coating is what brings the gloss back!

Two things to be careful about when you judge this stage: a wet lens always looks better than it is, and a graded photo always looks better than the lens. Judge it dry and in daylight.

4. Clean, dry and re-mask

I pulled the sanding tape, washed the lens, and cleaned the headlights and housings three times with glass cleaner before coating.

Meguiar’s technical bulletin controls the prep: apply to a clean, cool, dry headlight in the shade, mask around the lens, avoid breezy conditions, and remove overspray immediately.

5. Coat it using the manufacturer’s timing

In the video I used two passes and a medium coat with 50% overlap. The instructions state a 3–5 minute dry time, with an overall cure time of 24 hours.

Meguiar’s technical bulletin specifies:

Shake the product well.
Apply one medium wet coat with 50% overlap.
Wait 3–5 minutes.
Apply the second coat.
Allow 3–5 minutes to dry to the touch.
Allow 24 hours for full cure.

Masked and ready for coating. This is the stage where the safety guidance below applies.

Coating safety — the part I did not cover on camera

This comes from the current Meguiar’s/3M G17804 SDS. None of it is in the video, and that is a fair criticism of it.

Signal word: Danger. Extremely flammable aerosol.
Keep away from heat, hot surfaces, sparks, open flames, smoking and all other ignition sources. Do not spray on an open flame.
The pressurized container may burst if heated. Keep it out of sunlight and away from excessive heat.
Do not breathe the vapor or spray.
Use only outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.
Wear protective gloves and eye protection.
Use suitable respiratory protection when ventilation is inadequate.
Read the current label and SDS before use.

I pulled the truck partly under cover to get out of the wind. If you do that, understand you are also reducing your ventilation — that is a trade-off, and the SDS is clear about which way it should go.

Sources:

Result and limitations

Back together and coated. Same truck, same day.

My conclusion is modest and I am keeping it that way: it is “definitely better than what it was”, and I was happy with it. It is a beater truck and this was a cheap fix, not a restoration to as-new condition.

I did notice better light output once the lenses cleaned up. I want to be straight about what that is worth: that is my eyes, not a meter. I did not run a before-and-after light test or check the beam pattern, so take it as an owner’s impression rather than a number.

How long the coating holds up, I do not know yet. I am hoping for two to three years. I will post a dated update in this thread once there is real exposure history behind it — Alberta winters will sort that out one way or the other.

What exterior sanding cannot fix, no matter how good the finish looks:

cracks in the lens
broken mounting tabs
failed housing seals
condensation or haze inside the assembly
a burned or damaged reflector
electrical, bulb or aiming faults

If the haze is on the inside, sanding the outside is wasted effort. Check which side the defect is on before you start.