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Headlight restore kits

V

Vdubchaos

Lifer
So last year I went ahead and got the 3m kit and restored the headlights (they looked like complete shit).

Followed all the procedures and even took extra time to get everything done proper.

I also went ahead and got a headlight sealer and applied it once I was done.

Year goes by and they look horrible.....

What do I do next? I do NOT want to do this every year.....at this point I'm about to just leave it as is/fuck it.

Any help/ideas?
 
i have to do mine every 6 months... it fucking sucks and other than spending 300 bucks on new lexan headlights there is not much you can do. i do miss the days of glass headlights.
 
I kind of figured it was temporary......sounds like a perfect business case for 3M

Funny cause new headlight took YEARS to get to this point.

When I redid mine it was like new, but only took few months to look like shit again.
 
I think at 10 years I'm going to source new headlights for the WRX. It being parked outside all day definitely doesn't help at all. I'm lucky that I have covered parking at work and at home.
 
At some point you have to kick them to the curb and buy new ones. That's what I do. I'm on my third pair. Cannot live with opaque lights.

Currently I'm applying Plexus every so often and making an effort to the headlamps mostly out of the sun when I park for extended periods of time (e.g. home, work). Working so far ... still clear after 3 years. Aftermarket DEPO brand lights.
 
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OutHouse said:
its plastic, it will oxidize over time it does not matter how much you "polish" it. please know a little about the subject before you post stupid things.
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my bad. i was referring to vdub never getting a good result. Your result is what's expected. I guess you can try sealing. I've never bothered. I just do mine once every 5 years or so. I don't do them often because once I start, I do them for all of the cars in my extended family. Then I get thoroughly sick of it.
 
Another thing I noticed is that the headlight corner blinkers is perfect, never faded etc.......just the headlight. So it looks weird.

I guess they use different plastics?

jaedaliu said:
my bad. i was referring to vdub never getting a good result. Your result is what's expected. I guess you can try sealing. I've never bothered. I just do mine once every 5 years or so. I don't do them often because once I start, I do them for all of the cars in my extended family. Then I get thoroughly sick of it.
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I never said that. Initial results were "like new"

After few months they look like crap.
 
Vdubchaos said:
I never said that. Initial results were "like new"

After few months they look like crap.
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My bad. I inferred that they looked like crap after you restored the headlights.

If you don't care that much about the look, there's nothing really wrong with hazy headlights.
 
The 3M kit worked great on my Dakota's headlights. Lenses were thick and pretty much looked new when I was done and stayed that way until I sold it almost two years later.

The think acrylic lenses on the malibu however were much different. They were crazed all the way through. The 3M kit helped a bit, but the lens remained cloudy. I finally gave in and bought new replacements which totally made the car look better as well improved light at night.

Sometimes it is better just to replace the dam lens then to polish it.
 
What it sounds like you did was you took the oxidized layer off with your kit and buffed the plastic that remained. What it sounds like you didn't do, however, is reapply the UV/fade-resistant layer clear coat. This is basically what oxidized along with the top-most layer of plastic in the headlight assembly. You can buy this stuff in rolls that you cut and apply to the headlight surface after you've thoroughly cleaned and polished it. This clear layer is then sealed. Badda bing, badda boom...years of crystal clear headlights once again. It isn't cheap though...about $60 - $80 per headlight though...

Oh, I theorize the reason the blinkers and side indicators don't fade is that wind plays a good role in the whole process as well...but I am probably wrong in that.
 
Sand them smooth with 400-600 grit or so and clear-coat them with something UV-protective. Worked like a charm on my Miata's tail lights.
 
JCH13 said:
Sand them smooth with 400-600 grit or so and clear-coat them with something UV-protective. Worked like a charm on my Miata's tail lights.
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Smooth, ? new guys please don't think you can Just " smooth plastic, 400-600, ,

Clear coat them with, " something " .:whiste: something, UV protective, 🙄.

 
Please note these headlights are hiding something pretty important, what is it you can not see, ???, well I did not see it at all at the time,
 
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