Headlight Haze

I have a old acura with about 250K on it that needs new headlight covers however i have heard in tha past that is is possible to just buff em' clear'er'. Is this ture and what do i need to do it. Not realy worth spending much money on this.... Solutions?

Try this.

Robert

There's solutions out there. Though some cars benefit from absurdly cheap replacement prices. For example, I just threw away the headlights on my P71 for the same problem. A brand new set off ebay was only $60 shipped. They look great, even came with bulbs.

belteshazzar wrote: There's solutions out there. Though some cars benefit from absurdly cheap replacement prices. For example, I just threw away the headlights on my P71 for the same problem. A brand new set off ebay was only $60 shipped. They look great, even came with bulbs.

Wow! Wish I could get replacements for my Civic for that price! Seems like a lot of eBay listings want that much just for shipping the headlights.

I asked this same question some time ago. Most people seemed to indicate that polishing the lens was a short term fix and that I'd be better off just replacing the headlights. Its not a major concern for me, so I've yet to polish or replace mine.

Toothpaste. Srsly. Worth a shot, anyway.

There is a product specifically for this problem. There are demo videos on youtube for it. I just don't know the name. Figure about $18 and an hour a side from what I've read. I didn't check the link above because my connection is so damn slow right now.

Had the same hazing problem with my civic. A friend said let me try something...It turned out Mother's mag wheel cleaner and a soft rag, about 10 minutes, would get it clean. But I noticed after 6-8 months I had to do it again. cheap but it works.

crxrx7 wrote: Had the same hazing problem with my civic. A friend said let me try something...It turned out Mother's mag wheel cleaner and a soft rag, about 10 minutes, would get it clean. But I noticed after 6-8 months I had to do it again. cheap but it works.

Thanks for the advice guys, this is what i am probably going to try as i have some mag polish sitting around. This is my dads company car and i really didn't want to spend anything on this.

I got a kit at pep boys for about 6 bucks, its from the same lovely people who make Permatex RTV.

All of the kits I tried did nothing but waste money. The only thing that worked on the Intrepid was using very fine grit sandpapers to remove the heavy yellowing, then using Mother's Wheel Polish, then buffing it out with a buffing wheel. The Mother's was the money baby.

ACarlson wrote: Toothpaste. Srsly. Worth a shot, anyway.

this is have heard, but how do I go about this...and I was just about to start this thread on my own

Years ago, I had nearly finished spending an obsessive / compulsive amount of time building a model car (67 Plymouth GTX). In one of the final steps, I ruined the plastic windshield with glue.

I wrote to some model building expert. He told me to start by wet sanding with 600 grit sandpaper. Then use 0000 fine steel wool, then polishing compound with a wet cloth and finish with toothPASTE on a wet cloth (not gel, not tartar control, just old fashioned tooth paste).

Crystal clear and quicker than it sounds.

neon4891 wrote:

ACarlson wrote: Toothpaste. Srsly. Worth a shot, anyway.

this is have heard, but how do I go about this...and I was just about to start this thread on my own

I just did a quick job on my daughter's Mustang with toothpaste. Took them from being yellow and nearly useless to clear but hazy and very usable. All I did was used a cloth with toothpaste applied and rubbed in very small circles, rinse and repeat 3 times. I think if I used a dremel and took my time a pretty good job could be done with just an $0.89 tube of toothpaste.

Plastic headlights have a UV coating on them that is supposed to protect the lens from sun and weather damage. As this breaks down, the headlight becomes yellow and/or cloudy.

When you sand the lens, you remove this coating. For the repair to be long-lasting, some sort of UV-resistant coating needs to be reapplied after polishing or they'll just turn yellow and hazy again.

I've heard of some stuff called Bright Solutions that is supposed to work well but I've never tried it personally.

katonk wrote: Wow! Wish I could get replacements for my Civic for that price! Seems like a lot of eBay listings want that much just for shipping the headlights.

I purchased my black headlights for my 93 Civic Si off a seller on Ebay that came with GLASS lenses. Real nice and hopefully will never fog/haze.

Even has an option for a driving light (like Japanese Civics have).

Check at the local dealer in the paint department , look for the scruffyest covered with dust mongrel /painter . They usually will do them for 30 bux a piece . Sand then clear coat , Check local detailer or free flier ads .

I've used plastic polish or something similar, even just standard auto paint polish works well to remove the haze, scratches and yellowing. I imagine applying something like Lamin-X to a frshly-prepped light would help 'seal-in' the freshness.

So, has anyone tried any of the ideas laid out here? Im going to try and clean up the Escorts lights soon.

Joey

I used Novus plastic polish (#3 then #2) on the headlights of my Tundra. Worked beautifully, took about 3 minutes. Seriously, it takes longer to put RainX on the windshield. If I have to do it again in a few months, I can live with that. Around here, it's sandblasting you need to watch for.

The stuff works well on Miata rear windows, guess why I had it around :) It probably cost five bucks to buy both bottles. I picked mine up from a local plastic supply store, but it's not that hard to find.

http://www.novuspolish.com/

Flitz polish and a buffing ball gave great results that lasted over a year.

White polishing compound and a microfiber applicator worked wonders on my wife's Focus.

Keith wrote: I used Novus plastic polish (#3 then #2) on the headlights of my Tundra. Worked beautifully, took about 3 minutes. Seriously, it takes longer to put RainX on the windshield. If I have to do it again in a few months, I can live with that. Around here, it's sandblasting you need to watch for. The stuff works well on Miata rear windows, guess why I had it around :) It probably cost five bucks to buy both bottles. I picked mine up from a local plastic supply store, but it's not that hard to find. http://www.novuspolish.com/

I tried to call the office to find a local distributor, but I just got the machine...Maybe monday I can get ahold of someone, I would like to give that a shot.

Geowit, I think I will give your idea a try in the midterm!

Joey

I did my 450K mi. Protege a few years ago. Began with wet 600 grit hand sanding and finishing with 3000. Then buffed by hand with rubbing compound. Finally used Mothers' for protection. Had about 3 hours work in them and they looked new. Sold the car a few months later.

I ended up using some mag polish that i had and it did a serviceable job in a reasonable amount of time. But thanks for all your suggestions.

Joey, Try your local hobby shop. If not try www.micromark.com/cleaning-and-polishing.html Beware of the tools section.