Do you have foggy yellow headlights?

[Rodville]

First of all this fix is intended for a daily driver or "beater" if you will. If you have a show car then just pony up the dough for new headlights.

Now we all know that most of the headlights on our cars are made from hi-impact plastic. It makes them more durable and can be molded into many more shapes then their glass counterparts. But they tend to get foggy and yellow after just a few short years.

There are several products on the market to help clear them up. But most of them don't fix the problem just hide it (and not too well either). The one that seems to be the most popular is just a varnish that makes the headlights look wet.

I personally didn't like that option. I want more of a permanent solution. So here is what I did. I got some sand paper in 400, 600, 800, and 1000 grits. and some Mothers plastic polish.

First a shot of what I started with.


After the 400.


After the 600.


The 800.


And the last of the sand paper the 1000


And last but not least the Mothers plastic polish.


Of course they are not like "brand new" but for under $10 total cost it's a lot better then the varnish that most of the tire stores and oil change shops want to charge $40 for. And it beats shelling out over $400 for a new set of headlights.

[bmac94]

Looks good, bet you can see more at night

How long do you scrub the light for each grit of paper

[Rodville]

I did the first one till all the yellow was gone then each finer grit until the scratches from the previous grit were gone.

[sp33d1nc0rs1ca]

thats what i like to do as well. except insead of polish ill use 3 coats of high velocity clear coat last almosts forever.

[scd88ga]

I've done TONS of plastic lens polishing and I use a similar process! I use wet/dry sand paper and hand sand starting with:

600
800
100
1500
2000
Then I do a hand polish with a cotton cloth and Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish.
I then buff the lens with a buffing wheel and two grades of buffing compound.
Final step is a coat of way and a hand polish with a microfiber cloth.

MUCH trial and error went in to coming to this process, and it works GREAT! I usually end of doing up to 10 sets of lights a month for people!

Here's a few before and after pics of my Brothers 2004 Toyota Turdra headlights I did during Christmas!!!




I've done a few sets of Beretta lights as well, including my own car...

[sp33d1nc0rs1ca]

very nice i would use polish as well if i didnt have the perk of working at a body shop. lol i love mothers and maguiers wax's and polish's. i've done a couple sets for people on the side at my house for a couple extra bucks. makes every car look 100% better.

[Slinky]

Looks good i used
320
500
800
1000
2000
Scratch and swirl Remove