I bought a kit for restoration, and tried going based off of steps I remember from a previous attempt (this was an Amazon kit, no instructions). I started with P60, went up to 100, 180, 240, 400, 800, 1200, 2000, 3000. End result was hazier, but not yellow. Came back to it another day, found some videos online, tried following them to exact instructions. 600, 1500, 3000, but still super foggy. Compound doesn't do anything at all. What can I do? I've spent probably about 4 hours trying everything on this

The better headlight

The one I can't fix

 

^
Do what this guy does and you will not have to do it again.

 

The key is to be patient and take your time at each step, both sanding and polishing. Use water to lubricate the paper. It took me several hours to get mine to this point.

 

You didn't mention anything in your post about the clearcoat - that's what ties all this work together at the end. Without it you've just got a very uniformly hazy headlight.

Try to use a kit that comes with the clearcoat (I've had great success with the wipe-on clearcoat that 3M includes in their kits) or find a 2k sprayable UV-resistant one. If you haven't worked with spraying paint or specifically spraying clearcoat before, I'd suggest sticking with the wipe-on stuff.

 

Btw, I used the 3M kit in addition to using my own sandpaper. The 3M kit has the clear coat.

 

I just use arm and hammer baking soda and peroxide toothpaste and a dish sponge with the scrubbing side for mine. Old school, but when the toothpaste turns yellow, you know its working.