Atlas_Gen

When I bought my TL a few months ago, the headlights were nasty! They had a really bad haze over them so I bought some Meguiar's PlastX Headlights Cleaner and worked it's magic. The driver's side headlights weren't as bad as the passenger. Here are before and after pictures.

Tools Needed:
Meguiar's PlastX Cleaner and Polish, Terry Cloth and a Microfiber Cloth.


BEFORE:
Prepping up with some painters tape.








Real Nasty Haze:
It sort of looks like the previous owners may have tried to use sanding paper or something to clean the haze because of the harsh abrasive scratch marks.





AFTER Polishing:




















There seems to be some kind of residue that stained the headlights, possibly from the previous owners trying to clean the headlights too but none the less, it's amazing how good Meguiar's PlastX cleaned up and polished the headlights real nicely. They look brand spanking new!

The headlights at night are 10x more brighter than what they used to be before cleaning and polishing them too.

DarkTower19

Looks a hell of a lot better!

I just did mine not long ago using Mother's NuLens Headlight Renewal Kit with the powerball. Works wonders. Now I can't help but notice other cars with severely yellowed headlights and it annoys me to no end.

Redsand353

Im tempted to do this on my car but doesn't this process remove the UV coating on the headlights, which in turn will only make them haze/yellow again faster?

DarkTower19

Yes it does remove it - but if it already looked like shit beforehand, does it matter?

But the kit I have - the polish does leave a protective oxidation-inhibiting polymer layer to guard against future degradation from the elements. You can also buy other products to apply as well.

Sure you may have to hit them from time to time - but it beats having yellow lenses.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Nicely done! I love having fresh, super clear headlights

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Wow, very nice!

Atlas_Gen

It's definitely worth it! I couldn't stand the yellow haze on it and my headlights were dim because of the haze. The Meguiar's PlastX actually has a special water-resistant polymers in the liquid so it put's a protectant over the headlights.

MaxMike93

I usually use some Meguiars Headlight Protectant every two weeks (if I remember) to keep my headlights looking good. I used the PlastX two weeks ago but some of the oxidation of my headlights was being stubborn so I'll have to hit it with the Mothers kit that Tyler made a thread about a while ago to try to polish it off with more than a microfiber cloth.

Atlas_Gen

I'll have to check out that protectant if I start I start to see some haze or discoloration appear.

EE4Life

That stuff works great, but unfortunately it will not last. You'll need to repeat the process whenever they haze up again.

The only way to make a lasting repair is to replace the headlights, but they are expensive.

Keep us posted on how long they stay haze free.

Atlas_Gen

Yeah I just wanted to get rid of the bad haze that was on them but I will definitely let you guys know how long they stay like this.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

I'm gonna go ahead and let you know that your headlights are only going to haze up and go back to the original state or look even worse after 1 month of being in the sun.

I detail and do PROPER headlight restoration and there is no such thing as a product that you can simply pour onto a microfiber towel and rub into the headlights to clean up oxidation for good.

The reason why headlights turn hazy and yellow is because the factory UV coating on the lens is failing. I have some of this Meguiars PlastX so don't think I'm making statements without ever using this product.

Taking Meguiars PlastX and rubbing it on yellow/hazy headlights is only a BANDAID fix. You are not removing the failed UV coating. It does remove "LIGHT" oxidation but it provides absolutely no UV protection which means the lens will only haze up again after just a few weeks of being exposed to the UV rays of the sun.

The proper way to restore headlights takes time. You are supposed to use various grits of sand paper to sand away the failed UV coating. Finish up wet sanding with a fine grit sand paper so you can pull out a buffer with the appropriate colored pad and use the proper compound or polish to get the job done.

Once you finish polishing with your buffer the very last step is to apply a sealant that has UV protection properties.

You removed the failing UV layer of protection (Hazy/yellow/cloudy) via wet sanding and it's your job to re-apply a new layer of UV protection after you finish polishing the headlights.

Now if you keep your car garaged most of the time than you may be able to get away without doing a proper headlight restoration and using this PlastX stuff instead. Just wanted to let everyone know.

Atlas_Gen

Good info, thanks for the heads up.

06_TL

great job. just apply a sealant or better yet a coating to those lights and you won't have to worry about them hazing up again.

Andrew71066

Nice job!

Atlas_Gen

Thanks! I just got some Meguiar's Headlight Protectant so I'll apply some of that to my headlights tomorrow after I wash my car, put some PlastX on and then a final protectant.

Jottle

Can someone recommend a good uv sealant I can buy. How long will the sealant last if I park outside in SoCal? Does it need to be re-applied like protectant?

Atlas_Gen

I bought Meguiar's Headlight Protectant:

dcmodels

Cover the headlights with CLEAR-BRA or headlight specific film, which provides UV protection - or else use one of the various brands of headlight sealant, or a good paint sealant or wax - I prefer Meguiars M21 sealant or M26 wax.

Some suggestions for maintenance & UV sealants here:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14061875#post14061875

Jottle

Thanks!

Bruce Banner

iTrader: (2)

Did you only use microfiber towels to rub?

Atlas_Gen

Yeah, I used the terry cloth to rub the headlights with the Meguiar's PlastX and wiped it down with the microfiber towel to polish it then I repeated it one more time just to get anything else that I might have missed the first run through.