Headlight Restoration

[davidlapos]

I recently read one of the threads on Headlight restoration but have some more questions----Is Scratch X effective on oxidized headlights? Also, can Meg's cleaner/polish be used? I am going to try several products in addition to PlastX--
thanks
David Lapos

[BlueZero]

I've never tried ScratchX but have had great results with M105. I would think most of the other polishes would work too. You might have to follow up with PlastX to get them perfect.

[Mike Phillips]

Most plastics are fairly easy to abrade with the intended purpose of restoring clarity, it's just some products are more specific in their formulation including type of abrasive, polish and chemical cleaners for the plastic material as compared to a product more specifically formulated for a different material.

So "yes" you can apply a paint cleaner or a compound or a cleaner/polish and even a cleaner/wax to a dull hazy plastic headlight and in most cases restore clarity and shine.

Most production detailers will run their polisher with whatever paint cleaning product they're buffing the paint out with over the headlights as they move around the car to clear up and make the headlights shine as a normal part of their buff out versus do a dedicated plastic polishing process and in the big picture the all the car comes out shiny.

Could dull headlights be made to look better doing a dedicated cleaning and polishing process using a dedicated product for the job? "Yes".

Will the average paying customer of a daily driver notice the difference? Probably not.

The most important thing to do is after restoring the clarity to a plastic headlight lens that's been neglected and deteriorated is after restoring clarity put into place a regular maintenance program where you find a product you like and use it often to maintain the plastic instead of letting it degrade again just to repeat the correction process again.

After cleaning, apply a coating of your favorite wax to help seal the surface and help slow down the deterioration process.

PM = Preventative Maintenance

Just like we change our oil before the engine fails, we need to maintain the exterior and even interior surfaces and components before they degrade past the point of no return.

[Megafast13]

Other stuff would probably work but PlastX is specifically designed for your problem. I have used on all of my headlights. Sometimes you need to use the sand paper or the drill attachment to get the best results.

I just did a 94' Crown Victoria's headlights that were completely yellow, now almost like new.