After blacking out my headlights it became more apparent that I had a ridiculous number of scratches on my headlight from rocks. At first I thought it was dirt on the inside because cleaner and degreaser wouldn't work (thought I distinctly remember cleaning the inside of the headlight when they were apart). Dreading taking my headlights apart AGAIN, I inspected the area once more and realized they were abbrasions on the outside. Now for the part you really care about. I took 2000 grit sandpaper and wetsanded the whole headlight until it was baby smooth. Then I took 3M rubbing compound and an electric buffer and buffed them to a shine. I have to say that they look much better! If your headlights have a lot of scratches you should give it a shot.

 

im sorry to say , but...............

 

 

i think bkzjimmy needs more evidence.

 

this works quite well. for the last car i owned (1993 Taurus SHO) the same suggestion was given on the forum and it worked beautifully for everyone i know who tried it. sorry i didn't think of it sooner. thanks!

i also remember something about using even higher grit paper but i really can't remember now. there is alot of plastic polish out there you can use to make the headlight casing shiny again.

SSTS

 

this


and this work great too

 

Damn... fsttyms1, you really been around huh? Seems like you're extremely knowledgeable about everything. I'll definitely try this out.

 

I did something similar to my buddy's 95 lexus es300 headlights. They were yellow and almost opaque. I wetsanded (get a bowl with water and a little bit of dishwasing soap to soak the sand paper in) with 1000, 1500, then 2000 gritt paper. Next applied the rubbing compound, then meg. scratch X, then polish, and finished them off with a coat of meg. NXT wax. They came out looking brand new and perfectly smooth.

 

yup! this stuff works good. if you cant find it, the other method works good too

 

I should have known you guys would want to see pics. Unfortunately, I never took pictures of the headlights before, but here are some of them now:

 

Noice and shiney!

 

niiiiiiiiiiiiiice im doin mine in about an hour ......where exactly is westmont we should meet up on day get a couple of local jersey TL's and have a mini meet

 

What of the 2 do I need to clear the scratches on my instrument/gauge panel?

 

i always used both.

Clear Plastic Cleaner removes fine hairline scratches from all types of clear plastic. Unique, non-abrasive formula prepares the surface for Mirror Glaze Clear Plastic Polish. Perfect cleaner for compter screens, convertible windows, helmet visors, motorcycle windscreens, displays and instryment panels.


Clear Plastic Polish safely restores optic clarity to all clear plastics. Provides a static-free coating that repels dust. Safe and effective on both acrylic and polycarbonate surfaces. Ideal for cars, motorcycles, RV's, boats and aircraft.


then there is this


Clear Plastic Detailer is a quick spray and wipe product for all types of clear plastics from CD’s to convertible windows. Non-abrasive formula removes smudges and residue without scratching. Restores and maintains optic clarity. Anti-static/non-crazing.

 

My heads look horrible. I'm definitely gonna do this next week. Good job people.

 

I used the new Meguiars Plastx. Worked really well on my headlights. Not as good as wet sand but much more improved.

 

what type of cloth do i need to use to apply these? thanks

 

have the same problem...
i bought Plast-x and tried applying by hand with no luck...
i heard if you wet-sand, you might strip off the UV protection? is that true?
and what if i dont have any buffer... can i apply the polish by hand?

 

I'm wondering the same things... I wanna try it on my first gen TL. My headlights look terrible. I hoping this'll help.

 

I suppose you might be able to if you can move your hand really fast! haha. I don't think it will work because you won't be able to remove the haze by hand. If you don't have a multi-speed buffer, I've seen palm buffers at pep boys for 25 bucks. Probably worth giving a shot. Good luck.

 

some of the polish's out there are designed for use by hand, and some are only buffer and some are both. look for the polish thats hand or both

i use soft cotton cloths

 

I can't see your car... all I see is sky!..... dayam, that's a nice shine.... what's your polish?

 

THAT IS THE BEST LOOKING TL I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm painting mine black now!!!!!!!!

 

Ive used that stuff on my motorcycle windshield. Great stuff!!

 

Will sanding with 2000 grit get rid of haze on my headlights? I think its oxidation.
After I sand I'm gonna use meg's polish then wax.( is this ok?) or should I use their cleaner then polish then wax? So many questions

 

Looks can be decieving my man. My car is is decent shape but the hood has so many chips and scratches it's ridiculous (I do a lot of highway driving). The picture makes it look flawless but it is far from it. I just painted my bumper about a month ago so that looks a lot better, but the hood is next. As for polish, I am actually still working on getting rid of those damn swirl marks left over from buffing it, so I didn't want to put a polish/wax over top of them. I got Maguiars Swirl Remover 2.0 and am going to give that a shot this weekend.

 

Sanding with 2000 will most likely get rid of the oxidation on the outside, I thought that was what mine was, but it was just really fine scratches. Meg's Polish and wax sounds good but (someone correct me if I am wrong) you should use the rubbing compound first to remove the fine scratches left by the 2000.

 

I just spoke with a friend and he said the same, " use the rubbing compound first, dummy"

 

Okay guys, i've been trying do this and getting my headlights looking like new again, but i'm just not having much luck.

I've wetsanded the headlights till they're really smooth and hazy.

And then i tried applying the rubbing compound, but all it does is remove some of the haze, but theres still a lot of small scratches from the sanding:



I applied the rubbing compound by hand b/c thats what the package said. Should i just use an electric buffer?

 

I read that when they make headlights, they cover plastic (Lexan) with special hard coating, since plastic is tough, but relatively soft. This coating is somewhat similar to non-scratch coating for your polycarbonate glasses. By sanding the surface you remove the coating. It will look good, but the surface will deteriorate much faster (incoming air with dust and sand work just like sand blast), so you will have to polish very often.

 

Depending on how scratched/oxidated your lenses are here's my method for Crystal clear Beauties:
Supplies:
Stoner's Invisible Glass
Microfiber towel x2
Turtle Wax Polishing compound
Meguiar's Plast-x
Mothers Powerball Mini
Power Drill

First I clean off the lenses of any gunk with the invisible glass. Usually 3 coats - IE spray, wipe, spray, wipe, spray wipe, buff.

After that take a wet rag and dip it into the polish compound. Take the rag and work it into one lense at a time, overlapping as you go back and forth - be care not to let it dry all the way as its a beeyotch to get off if it does. Buff off the residue afterwards. The scratches should be gone/ very noticibly reduced.

Using my powerball mini I squirt about a quarter sized amount on the top and wiped it across the lense to keep it front spraying all over the place. Start the ball out slow and as the layer gets thinner speed up your drill and you'l notice the Plastx is just leaving a small haze behind. Repeat for the other lense and the buff to a nice gleam with a microfiber towel.

Takes all of 15-20mins

I'll post pics of mine later today after I give mine a quick one-two.

 

I've used this stuff to clean acrylic aquariums too -- different brand though. Works great...I need to do this to my lights

 

YOUR car looks hot.......

 

Who's car? My car?