Restoring Foggy Headlamps

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Danoff

Danoff

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This guy has one approach for removing that fogginess that accumulates on headlamp coverings:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1441188/diy_headlight_cleaning/

But he gets called out as a phony in the comments. They claim that this technique will destroy your headlights over time.

Is there a right way to do this and a wrong one? In addition to this guy's sandpaper I've seen toothpaste and baking soda suggested. I know some of you must be aware of the coating that gets removed when you aggressively clean headlights and what can be done to restore it. In case you hadn't surmised, my headlight covers are dingy and I want to get them transparent again.



Thanks
 
I've seen something else like this on youtube. The guy sells a two-stage kit which is pretty much the same thing... sand off the gunk and then fill in the gaps. It'll work a few times, but can you honestly not expect to have to replace the housing at some point by doing this?

Those buffing discs absolutely do not work, though. My dad bought a pack and they had an unnoticeable result on my foggy right lamp.
 
I used to have a Dodge Neon and it had the foggy headlamps. Besides replacing the the entire housing, there is something you can do. It is temporary, but does make it look noticeably better.

When you stop for gas, check your oil. You should do this anyway... but just take the oil that's on the dipstick and wipe it right into the front of the headlight. Much better, at least for a little while.
 
I was under the impression that Composites only need their outsides buffed up with Plastic Polish...that's what I'D do...
 
Perfect Balance has some good experience with this because he's done it to his own headlights with fabulous results.

Some people like to polish the plastic covers, like the guy in the video. The only problem is that the plastic quickly yellows and fades again, probably within only a couple months. You'll find yourself polishing them over and over.

What PB and a lot of other people did was to sand the the surface like you would if you were to polish it. Work your way up to 2000 grit, which seems popular, or 2500 grit, but then instead of using polish, simply clean and spray a clear coat of paint over it. Apparently it works pretty amazing. I suppose the paint lays nice and smooth and leaves an awesome gloss on the surface. It protects the plastic, and on top of that it'll accept a coat of wax, so that pretty much leaves it as durable as the paint on your car. I think PB used an automotive-grade clear by the way, with his own little twist in the mix for aesthetic purposes.
 
You can get clear spray paint at any ol' Wal-Mart or something. Duplicolor, Krylon, etc. I'm not positive that rattle-can clear works as well because I haven't read any specific stories of people using whatever brand, but I don't see why it wouldn't. Acrylic enamel is acrylic enamel as far as I know.

What PB used was the kind of stuff you have to mix up in a spray gun:

aecc2.jpg


I can't comment on the toothpaste/baking soda thing because I've never heard of it.
 
That Meguiars PlastX stuff works real good. I don't use sandpaper or anything like that, simply put some PlastX on a cloth and wipe the light till it doesn't look yellow anymore. Yeah you have to do it every couple months but it does hold up for quite a bit.
 
After doing a little more research online I've found quite a few people recommending the clear coat after the lights are clean.

There are apparently dozens of ways to get the lights clean, and I'm not sure it matters which one is used. The big important step seems to be applying the clear coat afterward. And the clear coat spray cans appear to be exactly what I need to do the job (I don't have a spray gun).

I haven't decided yet what I'm going to use to clean the lights. Possibly I'll start with PlastX or Permatex and see if those work. If they don't, I may go to sandpaper.

I'll post before/after photos here when I'm done.

Anyone else have suggestions?
 
PlastiX is more of a polish. You wouldn't use it to "clean" the headlights and then spray clearcoat over top of it. It will just peel off after a while or simply not stick at all.

I would just clean them off with glass cleaner before sanding, then start wet sanding, starting off with something near 400 grit, and moving up to around 1500-2000.

The reason I say wet sanding is because it gives you a good view of how you're doing. When you just start wet sanding you'll be getting a yellowish looking residue, and as you keep going it will turn whiter, the white being clean, non oxidized plastic underneath. I would stick with the 400 grit until you get to that point, and then start moving up in grits to get the scratches out.

After you're done sanding, just clean them off again with some kind of cleaner, even something like rubbing alcohol works great, especially for making a good surface for the clear to stick.

At that point it really depends on how well you spray.

EDIT: The objective of the sandpaper is to remove all the yellowing crap off the headlight. PlastiX will more or less just smooth out the yellowing plastic and make it more clear. Even with PlastiX (which is really just rubbing compound) to get the best result you'd still want to sand the headlight, it's just that rubbing compound won't protect the light from yellowing in the future.
 
I've been using Meguiar's #17 and #10 on various cars for about 10 years now. #17 is a non-abrasive plastic cleaner that removes embedded dirt and #10 is a polish which contains fillers that will restore most of the transparency to the lens.

I like the products and they've worked for me on OE BMW (Hella, I think) halogen units as well as Audi and Volvo units. They won't look brand new when you're done, but the effort-time-cost/benefit ratio of this stuff can't be beat.

This is a different technique from the one shown in the video. In the video, he is actually trying to REMOVE the scratches/surface impurities using a fine automotive sandpaper. The wet sanding paper he has in the video is commonly used by professionals to remove deep scratches in paint and bodywork.

With the #17 and #10, the scratches are still going to be there (since #17 is non-abrasive and shouldn't alter the surface of the plastic), but #10 does a great job filling them back up. The end result is that to the eye, the plastic looks uniform and clean.

Again, I prefer the Meguair's system, since it requires very little cost outlay. You can buy both bottles for under $25. And you don't need to run out and buy an orbital buffer. I've used it on a 3-4 year old car and didn't need to reapply it until at least 2 years later.

However, I think the DIY guy in the video has a credible technique. I happen to have a DA polisher/buffer, so I may consider his approach in the future as a possible alternative.

I think his detractors in the comment section have little to no merit to their accusations. Why would he be trying to "sell something"? It's called a "DIY" video. Automotive sandpaper, orbital polishers and glass cleaner is widely available for numerous other uses... it's not exactly snake oil he's peddling. :rolleyes: Video comment sections are so fricken useless.

I've also used PlastiX in the past and wasn't too thrilled with it, though.


M
 
///M-Spec
I've been using Meguiar's #17 and #10 on various cars for about 10 years now. #17 is a non-abrasive plastic cleaner that removes embedded dirt and #10 is a polish which contains fillers that will restore most of the transparency to the lens.

I like the products and they've worked for me on OE BMW (Hella, I think) halogen units as well as Audi and Volvo units. They won't look brand new when you're done, but the effort-time-cost/benefit ratio of this stuff can't be beat.

This is a different technique from the one shown in the video. In the video, he is actually trying to REMOVE the scratches/surface impurities using a fine automotive sandpaper. The wet sanding paper he has in the video is commonly used by professionals to remove deep scratches in paint and bodywork.

With the #17 and #10, the scratches are still going to be there (since #17 is non-abrasive and shouldn't alter the surface of the plastic), but #10 does a great job filling them back up. The end result is that to the eye, the plastic looks uniform and clean.

Again, I prefer the Meguair's system, since it requires very little cost outlay. You can buy both bottles for under $25. And you don't need to run out and buy an orbital buffer. I've used it on a 3-4 year old car and didn't need to reapply it until at least 2 years later.

However, I think the DIY guy in the video has a credible technique. I happen to have a DA polisher/buffer, so I may consider his approach in the future as a possible alternative.

I think his detractors in the comment section have little to no merit to their accusations. Why would he be trying to "sell something"? It's called a "DIY" video. Automotive sandpaper, orbital polishers and glass cleaner is widely available for numerous other uses... it's not exactly snake oil he's peddling. :rolleyes: Video comment sections are so fricken useless.

I've also used PlastiX in the past and wasn't too thrilled with it, though.


M
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response.

How do you feel about using clear coat?
 
Clear coat is a must. Just like paint on the body, the clear coat will protect the plastic from oxidation and UV damage. But you cannot polish the surface of the headlight if you're going to apply a clearcoat because the paint won't stick. There has to be a degree of surface roughness for the paint to adhere.
 
No personal experience on clear coating plastic, but Keef is right; if you sand down the top layer of plastic to expose the 'virgin' plastic underneath, it will need some protection or else it will just quickly get hazy/scratched again. The plastic leaves the factory with a layer of clear coat, but by the time your headlights start looking badly, that layer is probably compromised.

The Maguier's #10 most likely contains some form of protection in the formula, so if you go down that route, you will not need to worry about that.

I think which technique you go with really depends on how badly hazed up your headlights look. If they don't look too bad, I would try the Meguiars: you'll be done in less than 10 minutes. It 'hides' the problem, but damned if it doesn't do a good job hiding it. If your lights look as bad as the car in the video (Ford Contour?) then you might want to try the 'industrial strength' method of grinding down the plastic, which pretty much eliminates the problem.

Like I said, I treated my M3s and my wifes' cars with the stuff and the lenses stayed looking good for at least two years. When they started looking rough again, I just used the same bottles I had sitting on the shelf in the garage and they looked 85% new again.

Of course, it does depend on how much you drive and where you live. My cars were Florida cars ---intense UV exposure, high temps, plenty of road grit, pollen and bugs beyond the counting. It worked pretty well for me, that's pretty much all I can say.

Eh, I'm rambling on again. Time for another glass of wine....


M
 
img2723mod.jpg


Before is on the right, after is on the left.

This is the result of the Meguiar's 10/17 combo and it worked like a charm. I'm very happy with the results and, though it is not perfect (as Mike forewarned) it is very close.

No sanding FTW.
 
...except that it re-yellowed every couple of months.

I did the sanding and applied spray-can clear coat, which didn't work well (not the most clear finish, and now I'm seeing that people are saying it's tough to get it to adhere properly long-term). Now I'm left with trying to strip off the clear coat (more sanding) and try again with something else. This guy seems to claim he has a permanent fix.

http://www.myheadlight.com/
 
I've used that kit. From what I can tell, it uses the sand/clear method, only the clear is wiped on by hand instead of sprayed. It worked pretty well...not perfect, (partially because I'm a bit ham-handed) but I don't know how well it's going to hold up. I did it a couple weeks ago, so I'll let you know in a little while.

I picked that kit up at Advance Auto Parts, It was something like twenty bucks. If nothing else, there's readily available projector headlight kits for my car... :rolleyes:
 
Well, I was able to get the lights damned-near perfectly clear before applying the clear coat, but the spray-on clear coat reduced the clarity substantially. Maybe I suck at using the spray can.
 
Well after a year of regularly reading the autopia forums, I've gathered that you're supposed to seal and wax it like you would the paint. Wet sand it, then compound it with some polish and an DA/Orbital machine to get the best results.
 
What I've read suggests that waxing and polishing can buy you a few extra weeks, but that it doesn't really solve the problem long-term. I'm tempted to get the crystal view package and try the sealer they have given that they offer a lifetime guarantee.

Either way, I think I'll be sanding some clear paint off of my headlights this evening.
 
I used a buffer and turtle wax, Clear as a diamond. Has been for the last 5 weeks.
 

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