Headlight restoration problem

[Loco_Nomad]

Hey guys,
So I drove over 12000 miles in last 4 months and wanted to give headlight a bit refresh, PPF them with polish and sealing but obviously something didn't work out.
Headlight weren't in bad shape, just highway chips, scratches etc
I started with 800 (dry) (I bought 3m restoration kit), skipped 180 and 500 included sand papers, then I switched to 3000 (wet) and polished with orange pad, I tried included 3M paste, then tried my own (3d 1 stage polish and meguiars paint restorer) but as you can see I end up with even more scratches and haze in some spots. Can you please give an advice how to get it perfect? Get rid of scratches and make it look like new again? Obviously my mistake, hopefully can be fixed for PPF

This is pretty much the result

 

[Mike Hawk]

Headlights are a massive PITA to get perfect if you're OCD. I spent way to many hours refinishing my '05 STi and '11 WRX lights. I had to resort to copious amounts of rubbing compound and countless passes to get them just right. Plastic is very very finicky. Also since you've gotten rid of their factory top coat you gotta now go down to the bare plastic and they'll probably oxidizer quicker now, dunno how PPF will help in that regard.

Probably best to break out the sandpaper again and start over at Step 1. Looks like you've got some smearing going on is some of those pics.

There's an art to it. Stay with it or might be best to ask your PPF installer if they can tackle it.

 

[ngng]

The delta between the grits is too large. Gotta move progressively, otherwise you end up with gouges that haven't been sanded out.