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Posted: 7/18/2014 9:55:04 AM EDT
[#1]
McGuire's Plast-X is what I've been using. Can use a buffing wheel to speed the process, too.
My WJ's aftermarket headlights are pretty well toast. I've even wet sanded them with 2000 grit to get the deep gouges out, well, most of them, at least. Salt in the winter just fucks everything up.  I may try that method, I've only used WD40 to remove rust off of paint in the past. |
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Posted: 7/18/2014 10:04:10 AM EDT
[#2]
On plastic headlights that are very yellowed or cloudy, the only thing I've found that works, is to completely sand them and use progressively finer grit. Then use the headlight sealant. It takes hours and a lot of patience, but none of those kits did squat for how far oxidized the plastic was on mine.
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Posted: 7/18/2014 10:11:22 AM EDT
[#3]
Oh, and be careful with that Westley's stuff. It will eat almost any paint or finish it touches
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Posted: 7/18/2014 10:46:04 AM EDT
[#4]
There are literally hundreds of headlight yellowing how tos with different methods and formulas. At the end of the day its just removing a small layer of plastic to reveal new plastic. Whatever method gets you there go for it.
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Posted: 7/18/2014 11:23:13 AM EDT
[#5]
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Posted: 7/18/2014 1:00:15 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Oh, and be careful with that Westley's stuff. It will eat almost any paint or finish it touches bullshit. do you even know how they paint vehicles? its called clear coat and bleach does nothing. i have used this method for YEARS on multiple cars with no "paint or finish" problems. |
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Posted: 7/18/2014 1:02:31 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote Historynot saying any other sanding options don't work, its just my method takes about 10 mins total and no labor really at all. and it only costs about 12 bucks total as well. just thought i would help us poor people that don't have 100 sq feet of tools to utilize. |
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Posted: 7/18/2014 4:59:00 PM EDT
[#8]
I use 600, 1200, 2k grit wet/dry, followed by a buff w/ tripoli on a cordless drill. About 5-8min per side uses about $.50 worth if material each time. Only lasts a few months or so.
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Posted: 7/18/2014 7:32:45 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
bullshit. do you even know how they paint vehicles? its called clear coat and bleach does nothing. i have used this method for YEARS on multiple cars with no "paint or finish" problems. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Oh, and be careful with that Westley's stuff. It will eat almost any paint or finish it touches bullshit. do you even know how they paint vehicles? its called clear coat and bleach does nothing. i have used this method for YEARS on multiple cars with no "paint or finish" problems. wow. ok, good luck with that it absolutely can and will destroy paint and other finishes. it contains NO bleach, by the way, and I wouldn't use that stuff on or around my car. I like to keep my car nice, you can do whatever you want to yours. |
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Posted: 7/19/2014 8:07:24 AM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
wow. ok, good luck with that it absolutely can and will destroy paint and other finishes. it contains NO bleach, by the way, and I wouldn't use that stuff on or around my car. I like to keep my car nice, you can do whatever you want to yours. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Oh, and be careful with that Westley's stuff. It will eat almost any paint or finish it touches bullshit. do you even know how they paint vehicles? its called clear coat and bleach does nothing. i have used this method for YEARS on multiple cars with no "paint or finish" problems. wow. ok, good luck with that it absolutely can and will destroy paint and other finishes. it contains NO bleach, by the way, and I wouldn't use that stuff on or around my car. I like to keep my car nice, you can do whatever you want to yours. Anything that can dissolve the yellowed surface of plastics used for lights has potent enough solvent to go after paint. |
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Posted: 7/29/2014 11:44:13 AM EDT
[#11]
I used the Mecguires headlight lens repair kit on my wifes Lexus and it cleared up for about a year and then needed it again.
Didn't last long but sure looked good for about 9 months. |
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Posted: 7/29/2014 12:32:54 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Anything that can dissolve the yellowed surface of plastics used for lights has potent enough solvent to go after paint. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Oh, and be careful with that Westley's stuff. It will eat almost any paint or finish it touches bullshit. do you even know how they paint vehicles? its called clear coat and bleach does nothing. i have used this method for YEARS on multiple cars with no "paint or finish" problems. wow. ok, good luck with that it absolutely can and will destroy paint and other finishes. it contains NO bleach, by the way, and I wouldn't use that stuff on or around my car. I like to keep my car nice, you can do whatever you want to yours. Anything that can dissolve the yellowed surface of plastics used for lights has potent enough solvent to go after paint. what so funny is you guys are using unsubstantiated claims. i have used this method on multiple cars for multiple years and sold a few of those cars to dealerships who inspected the paint and said it looked mint. but you are never wrong i guess. alot of people do not realize lab results do not always translate to real world experience. |
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Posted: 7/29/2014 1:07:29 PM EDT
[#13]
7. NOTE: Do not allow product to contact magnesium or aluminum wheels, painted or glass surfaces, eyewear, fabric and non-rubber items. Permanent damage can occur. USE ONLY AS PER LABEL DIRECTIONS.
it also damages concrete 
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Posted: 7/29/2014 6:54:18 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I used the Mecguires headlight lens repair kit on my wifes Lexus and it cleared up for about a year and then needed it again. Didn't last long but sure looked good for about 9 months. Did it come with the PlastX? The Meguires Plastx is the longest lasting that I have found. |
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Posted: 7/31/2014 12:20:27 AM EDT
[#15]
My mechanic does a 2k and 3k wet sand and then clears them in the paint booth.
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Posted: 7/31/2014 12:24:31 AM EDT
[#16]
Ive had good luck with the 3M kit. About $15 I think.
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Posted: 7/31/2014 1:21:17 AM EDT
[#17]
The biggest thing people forget is they don't get a sealer for the headlights. If you don't get the sealer, they will go back to looking Iike shit in a few months.
As far as how to do it, best way I found was 800 wet, 1500 wet, 2000 wet, quality polish (and a buffer on a slow speed) then wipe on sealer. |
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Posted: 8/1/2014 8:49:33 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
On plastic headlights that are very yellowed or cloudy, the only thing I've found that works, is to completely sand them and use progressively finer grit. Then use the headlight sealant. It takes hours and a lot of patience, but none of those kits did squat for how far oxidized the plastic was on mine. This is the only proper way to do it. I've also had good luck with nice wax as a finish. All those "headlight restoration kits" are garbage cover-ups that'll last you a short period. I start at 600 grit and progress up to 2000 grit. Then use a buffer with polishing compound until they look brand new. Then wax them real good. Comes out looking like a brand new pair of lights. |
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Posted: 8/1/2014 3:07:32 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Did it come with the PlastX? The Meguires Plastx is the longest lasting that I have found. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I used the Mecguires headlight lens repair kit on my wifes Lexus and it cleared up for about a year and then needed it again. Didn't last long but sure looked good for about 9 months. Did it come with the PlastX? The Meguires Plastx is the longest lasting that I have found. I don't recall. It was about 3 years ago. |
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Posted: 8/4/2014 12:04:20 PM EDT
[#20]
I've had good luck with the 3M kit.
Before: 
After: 
I noticed that Dupli-Color has a kit on the market. It includes a UV Protectant clear coat spray. Seems like a good idea: http://www.duplicolor.com/products/headlightRestoration/ |
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Posted: 8/4/2014 7:45:10 PM EDT
[#21]
In case anyone is interested......
I tried the OP's method. It does work....but not great. I did get a lot of yellowing off and onto my towel. I think it might have worked better if I had used some sort of scrub pad. The lights are still a bit dingy....but they do look better. I was careful not to get much on the paint...but some still did. It didn't damage the paint at all. But, I did clean it off quickly. I would say that his method would be a great method to restore headlights before a car sale but if you want a more permanent solution, I'd go with the sanding and clear coating. |
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Posted: 8/5/2014 11:54:50 AM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The biggest thing people forget is they don't get a sealer for the headlights. If you don't get the sealer, they will go back to looking Iike shit in a few months. QFT / There are a million ways to clean them up. Some work better then others, some are easier then others but they all basically do the same thing, remove the oxidized layer to fresh plastic but as azmp5 points out, unless you seal them afterwords, they will look like shit again within 6-12 months. The key is the sealer must have a UV inhibitor. Without that the sealer is not very effective either. |
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Posted: 8/5/2014 7:12:09 PM EDT
[#23]
+1 on the 3M Headlight restoration kit for headlights that look like soap scummed bathroom glass. I use Meguiars Clear Plastic Polish, afterwards to bring out the clarity, use as a semi sealant and stay ahead of the game to maintain them. Another thing, if you have any Flitz laying around, this works really well and quickly for getting out the "early to mild stages" of headlight cataracts.
I have done 4 sets of headlights with the 3M / Meguiars combo and have been very pleased. The only thing, as previous posters have stated, if you do not keep up the maintenance they will turn cloudy again in a few months. Or, if the wife decides to go through your cabinet and use carb cleaner to remove the tar off the vehicle and then washes it onto the headlights, the 3M kit will only do the job. |
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Posted: 8/5/2014 7:30:30 PM EDT
[#24]
"alot of people do not realize lab results do not always translate to real world experience. "
And some people thin k following instructions is for nitwits. Brake fluid is hell on car paint also. Some of us test things on an inconspicuous painted car surface before using them. Inside the hood is a common place that is easily checked. Just use a q-tip and rub gently. The number of things that can damage paint films is large. |
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Posted: 8/6/2014 6:38:54 AM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
In case anyone is interested...... I tried the OP's method. It does work....but not great. I did get a lot of yellowing off and onto my towel. I think it might have worked better if I had used some sort of scrub pad. The lights are still a bit dingy....but they do look better. I was careful not to get much on the paint...but some still did. It didn't damage the paint at all. But, I did clean it off quickly. I would say that his method would be a great method to restore headlights before a car sale but if you want a more permanent solution, I'd go with the sanding and clear coating. that is all i was saying. thanks for being the only real man in here to try and report with no bias or just believing what ever you read on a bottle. |
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Posted: 8/6/2014 4:02:22 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
that is all i was saying. thanks for being the only real man in here to try and report with no bias or just believing what ever you read on a bottle. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
In case anyone is interested...... I tried the OP's method. It does work....but not great. I did get a lot of yellowing off and onto my towel. I think it might have worked better if I had used some sort of scrub pad. The lights are still a bit dingy....but they do look better. I was careful not to get much on the paint...but some still did. It didn't damage the paint at all. But, I did clean it off quickly. I would say that his method would be a great method to restore headlights before a car sale but if you want a more permanent solution, I'd go with the sanding and clear coating. that is all i was saying. thanks for being the only real man in here to try and report with no bias or just believing what ever you read on a bottle. WTF? |
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