I was looking at the pictures of everybody's car and you all have super clear headlights.

I'm talking about the clear plastic cover of the headlights. Mine's getting nasty with some white marks on it. It's getting less transparent and makes the rest of the car look kinda ugly.

I hope there's a produce to clean that out, I'm not really in the mood for new headlight buying fun.

If this isn't very clear, I can take pictures and post them.
Thanks,
-Phil

 

Howdy neighbor!

What year is your CL??? Don't see that many around here.

 

Are they getting cloudy or are they getting tiny scratches? How long has it sat in the sun? Do you get wax or solvents on them? Do you use Armor All on them?
They are made from acrylic, so they need help, but they are eventually going to cloud over, so it's just a matter of time. Look on Maguire's website for a clear plastic conditioner:
www.meguiars.com
But in the long run you will have to buy new ones. Question is, will it be 5 years or 15 years?

 

Hey, there You are right, not many CLs in the areal, Bunch of new TLs driven by people that wouldn't know the difference between it and an old camry (provided it had climate control and leather seats).

I have a 2001 CL-S, auto, no NAV (which i wish I did, because I get lost all the time).

I really couldn't tell you much about the car, I bought it 4 weeks ago (at Crown Acura Certified pre-owned).

What do you suggest I do for the maintenance of the headlights?
My other car has glass headlights, they never needed anything other than soap

Is it possible to buy just the cover for the headlights? Or you must buy the entire assembly?

Thanks!

 

used a rubbing compound by 3M.

it says rubbing compound on the bottle and i think you can get it a home depot.

clouds went away with a rag and some elbow grease.

if you have a buffer you could use that too with the stuff.

 

It really depends if it is on the inside or the outside of the plastic. The post above works good for the outside of the assembly, but if the inside is fogged you will need to separate the housing.

Where in Clearwater do you live?

 

It really seems like it's only the exterior of the headlight that is fogged. Mosly the top area.

I'll take a picture later this afternoon and post it.

I live in northern Clearwater, near the intersection of Sunset Point rd and Keene.
Any good car washes in the area??

I'll go out and buy the 3m and the Mcguire stuff probably next weekend.

Thanks a bunch!
-Phil

 

search for "headlight restore" on ebay and a few auctions with 3 bottles of liquid should come up. its like $15. my brother used it on my cousins 94 altima (they were fogged BAD). the headlights turned out like new.

 

My headlights look superclean in my pics, but such is not the case. I've been meaning to get something to clear them up for a while now. Just a bunch wear and tear on them look kinda dull right now, at least in person.

 

Congrats oin your new ride.
There are plastic polishes made for this application. I got a new headlight cause it was leaking in water and decided to buy some Xpel headlight protection fiilm. It's like Clearbra for paint but much thicker film, works great. Mine were getting pitted from rocks and dirt. You can also wax the plastic with a silicone car wax for some protection.

 

No, waxing them is bad and so are certain rubbing compounds because of the solvents that are usually in them. Plastics of all kinds need to have their plasticizers replaced, as they outgas over time, becoming crystalized and brittle. UV accelerates this process. And the reason I mentioned Armor All is that it has silicone in (which is also bad somehow). So treat them like plastic, not like glass or paint. If you need to get scratches out, then use a rubbing compound intended for plastic.

 

I wonder why the Clearbra and others say ot is fine to wax them just like the paint, it is also plastic but a different kind than the lenses. I thought clear coat has plastics in it too, not just paint, and the modern silicon polymer 'waxes' work fine over plastics. I'll have to do some reading on it. I do have 303 protectant but I thought it worked best inside the car and not in the weather.

 

Just went to Autopia to see what the detailers there are using on taillights. Very common use is polymer silcone waxes (not wax/cleaners). They even mention carnaubas too. I'm gonna keep using it, it really protects the tails, keeps water spots and debris off.

 

its called New Lite headlight cleaner/restorer. who's tried it and how good does it work?

 

and where can you buy it?

 

like i said in my post... my borther used it on my cousins 94 altima... cleaned them right up.

 

read my post... ebay. search for "headlight restore"

 

I wet sanded mine when I cleared them. Look new.