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Headlight Restoration

Carson Dyle

Carson Dyle

Diamond Member
I have an eleven year old Forester with badly clouded headlights. As soon as the weather breaks this spring I plan on restoring them.

Any recommendations on kits or techniques on how best to do this?

Was thinking that I'd just wet sand them with three or four grades of paper, then hit them with a plastic polish on a drill buffer pad, then finish with a UV protector.
 
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There was a thread about this sometime back:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=37904409&highlight=sylvania#post37904409

My contribution was:

You want the "Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit". It's a $20 part & is available from Autozone. Consumer Reports performed an evaluation on like six different restoration kits and Sylvania's kit rated #1 out front in terms of longevity. It is because of the lastability of the final coating that is supplied with the kit. I did my headlights nine months ago & they still look real good.


CR's take

All the headlight restoration kits worked to some degree on at least some headlights, but only the Sylvania could be used with all tested lenses. Further, the Sylvania product also provided the best and longest-lasting results.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/headlight-restoration-kits/buying-guide.htm
 
That was a good article on CR. I ended up going with 3M kit and it worked well. Did an Accord and a Elantra at the same time, could have probably done 3 cars easily. The 3M kit says to apply the UV protector every 3 months or so if I remember correctly. The clarity I got was probably ~90% for a first timer.

I think buying the separate parts may end up being more than what a kit costs, although you'll probably have enough to do 15 cars.
 
Carson Dyle said:
What about maintenance afterward? Can the hazing actually be prevented with a little know-how and some work?
Click to expand...

Hazing is caused by oxidation and/or sun damage, and will happen rapidly (within a few weeks or months) with your freshly cleaned plastic, because you've removed the factory protective coating. So, you have to put a new coating on. I used opti-lens and it worked extremely well, and more importantly, has lasted. Some people get good mileage out of the much cheaper non-yellowing clearcoat or thinned spar urethane, but those didn't stand up to the Florida sun when I tried them.
 
In my case, new OEM headlights were $255 each, with no aftermarket solution, and the $6 spraypaint and $18 urethane didn't last, so I was halfway to $55 already, and didn't make much sense to keep buying the wrong product for my needs.

I've since done 4 more sets of headlights with the single syringe I got, with maybe half left over.
 
Hey cool, one of my posts was referenced.

Since I did the resto, I've been putting Plexus on the lenses every few weeks to keep UV protection on them. So far so good. I've used Plexus on my motorcycles/helmets for years... I'm glad I found another use for the stuff, it's awesome!
 
The kits do a good job, but I just use a few dabs of Novus #2 Fine Plastic Polish on nice smooth rag. Rub it in a little, then wipe it back off. Lens is now free of all the haze.
 
Looking into it more, seems like the basic steps are all pretty much agreed upon, although the starting sanding grit recommendation varies widely, from starting with as low as 400 grit and working up to 2000, to starting with 1200 or higher. I suppose it just depends on how bad the surface is, but only experience could tell more.

Polishes all seem to do about the same thing and it looks like you might get away with just polishing and no sanding if the haze is very light and you're not also trying to remove any surface chips. Novus, Mequiar's PlastX, even toothpaste.

Seems the UV and surface protectant step is the most controversial. In this video, the guy go so far as to spray clearcoat over the lenses when finished, but maybe that really makes the most sense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEJbKLZ7RmM
 
I could be wrong, but doesn't automatic trans fluid clear up the hazing. I have used this in the past but I can't recall if it was hazing, or some other issue that it cleared up.

Just rub it on with a rag and scrub it in...then wipe off excess.
 
Carson Dyle said:
In this video, the guy go so far as to spray clearcoat over the lenses when finished, but maybe that really makes the most sense.
Click to expand...
That is the only solution that wont require continuous effort to maintain. When I had my lenses professionally done, they looked just as bad within 9 months because there was no protective coating applied.
 
The big downside is that if the hazing/discoloration is on the inside of the lens as well, all that work was for nothing.

IMO just buy a new headlight if it's so bad you can't get it out with some elbow grease.
 
mizzou said:
IMO just buy a new headlight if it's so bad you can't get it out with some elbow grease.
Click to expand...
Very vehicle dependent. New headlight assemblies for my 05 TL are $250+ each. I'm not going to to spend $500 on headlights for a $8k car
 
On my Dodge Dakota, the 3M kit made them look like new. I didn't do a damn thing to them after that... No coating, etc... and they stayed looking like new for another two years until I sold it.

On my Wife's Malibu the 3M kit made them better but they were "crazed" all the way through the lens, so they remained a tinge yellow and cloudy.

I think it really depends on the car/lens as to the results. In my case, with the Malibu it was worth the try with the kit, but I ultimately bought brand new headlight lenses from the GM dealer. I did look at OEM design aftermarket on Amazon and eBay, but the GM price wasn't much more in my case. The lenses came with bulbs and everything. Additionally, the old lenses had integrated turn signals that melted (shitty gm design) and the new GM part incorporated a design change so the new ones don't melt.

Sometimes I think it is worth more just to replace the fucking things than to buy all sorts of bullshit snake oil to make them clear again. If the 3M or other kits don't get them clear again, just fucking buy new ones. The kits are worth trying, but don't expect miracles.
 
DaTT said:
I could be wrong, but doesn't automatic trans fluid clear up the hazing. I have used this in the past but I can't recall if it was hazing, or some other issue that it cleared up.

Just rub it on with a rag and scrub it in...then wipe off excess.
Click to expand...

That would likely only last as long as the oil remained on the lens. Eventually it would wash off and you'd be where you started.
 
I bought some of the 3M cleaner years back. It works ok for a while....but so does toothpaste and/or baking soda. You can clean a lot of the oxidation off with a light abrasive like toothpaste/baking soda and water on a paper towel.

You wouldn't believe the difference you can make with just those.
 
The other thread in this forum about bright headlights reminded me of this one.

I picked up a bottle of Meguiar's PlastX just before it got cold out. Figured I'd try that before getting too crazy with sandpaper or buffing with drills and whatnot.

It did a helluva good job, with not a lot of work. I masked off the headlights, put maybe 10 minutes max into polishing each lens by hand, and the difference is huge. They look new again. I'll have to see how long it lasts, but even if I had to do it twice a year, no big deal. I'll hit them again in the spring when it's warmer out and see if I can find an easily applied UV coating.
 
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