pimpin-tl

Well I went on a 1000 mile cruise and I had a nose mask so the rest of my car was safe. But my headlights look like they got sand blasted. What can I do to fix this? I can wet sand them, but doesn't that remove the clear coat off the lights and will cause them to turn yellow fast? Anyone that can help me in the steps on how to fix them would be great. I have access to many detailing supplies like Meguires 105, Portable cable all of Lake pads, etc.

This is on my 07 TL-S.

pimpin-tl

Bump.....

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Is the plastic actually chipped?

DetailedImage

Your best bet IMO is to polish using the PC and M105, etc. to get them looking as good as possible. If a wet sand is needed, do that as well. Your only options to repair them are to replace the lens or sand them down / polish them. If you wet sand and polish, chances are you'll remove the UV protection, but if you stay on top of it with some 303 Aerospace Protectant or something similar to add UV protection you should be fine. If you notice any discoloration afterwards, just hit it with a light polish. You're going to run into the same problem if you replace the lens and it begins to chip as well, so you might as well care for it yourself since you already have just about everything you'd need.

My $.02

pimpin-tl

Yes.

dahray02

which pad would u use for the PC & M105....and does this not remove the UV protection as well...or am i wrong? I always wondered what the best way to clean headlights was

mdkxtreme

You should invest in invisible protection for your headlights. My JDM headlights are expensive so day one I brought it in and had a guy put Ventureshield film over it. It was 50 bucks for everything.

csmeance

your best bet is to polish and wetsand and then apply some 3M 8 mill clear-bra over the headlights to protect them

PortlandRL

Could we get some pics?

pimpin-tl

Yea I will once I get the car back from the dealer.

DetailedImage

I'd start with either an orange light cutting pad or if it's not too bad you could probably get away with a white polishing pad.

Any abrasive approach is going to wear down the UV protection, so once you begin to correct your headlights, you'll want to follow up with a protectant with UV protection.

If your headlights are in good shape and don't require polishing, I like to treat them with a nice all in one product, something like Klasse AIO, for the chemical polish and layer of protection it leaves behind.

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

x2 this is the best way.

SweetJazz

Paint protection film is your friend. Worth every penny for protecting the front of my car.

pimpin-tl

^^ Not worth the money. Had 3 cars with it, and I refuse to put it on this one as it looks as bad on the front of the car after a few years and costs as much to just get the car re-sprayed on the front as having one installed.

pimpin-tl

Picture

SweetJazz

^^ This pic proves my point. I went the same rout with my Civic and regretted it until I put on another clear bra. Sandblasted headlight lenses and rock chipped paint is a no go for me. My TL-S clear bra is beat up but it still looks much better than sandblasted paint. The extremely soft paint on these new Acuras makes paint protection a must. It has been almost 3 years since I installed the clear bra which means I still have perfect paint underneath and it only cost me $16/month.

pimpin-tl

Well, my paint is fine as I install a Leather one when I take trips. The headlights took a beaten though.

SweetJazz

Yeah, I used an old school nose mask for more than 12 years on my Civic. I just could not stand the look and hassle of putting it on and taking it off anymore. Just polish out your headlight lenses and have some paint protection film installed on the lenses. Then use the nose mask to protect the rest of the front. Unfortunately, I'm one of those OCD types that wants his cars looking show car ready all the time.

pimpin-tl

Yep, so am I. But after having 3-4 cars with the Clear Bra on it, have come to a conclusion that it isn't worth it. It gets nicked up as well and will look as bad as your paint too after a while, then you can remove it, and it will cost as much as a paint job to put another one on. So in reality, not worth it.