Cleaning clear plastic headlights

[paranoid123]

I have a car that's 2 years old, and over time, the clear plastic headlights have acumulated a kind of residue, presumably from driving through bug storms. It's not really washing off with the regular wash - you can feel that it's not very smooth. I tried claying it this weekend, but I didn't put too much effort into it, I was afraid of scratching it, but it didn't really remove the residue like it does on the paint surface. The clarity seems fine, I'd just like to restore it by removing all the bug junk on it.

Should I use: Mirror Glaze Clear Plastic Cleaner (#17), Mirror Glaze Clear Plastic Polish (#10), Mirror Glaze Clear Plastic Detailer (#18), PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish, or try claying it?

[gb387]

I prefer PlastX cheaper than the pro line and I have gotten better results with it. I have not used all 3 pro line products together so that may have been the problem, I am not all sure.

[SiriusRIMZ]

I used #17 on mine to clean them, but I'd reccomend Plastix. If theres deep pitting, you might need to Wet-sand to obtain that smoothness. Plastix should work fine though.

[Murr1525]

I assume you are using a mild clay like QuickClay.

You can clay with a bit more passion first, just to get a bit more residue off. Then go after it with PlastX.

[Bwiser]

Headlight(s) restoration kit

Hello,

You may want to check out the headlight(s) restoration kits (light duty and heavy duty) at ADS.com

They run about...
Kit #1 (Light duty) - $18.49
Kit #2 (Heavy duty) - $37.95

I hope this helps!

Good luck

[Pete-FWA]

On the safe side, remember that many plastic headlight covers have an UV film on top of them. Usually, this is what you see breaking down and or discoloring.

With any aggressive cleaning and certainly with sanding, you will remove some or all of this coating.

[paranoid123]

Is PlasticX mild enough to NOT remove the UV coating on the headlights?

[Murr1525]

I am sure PlastX, if worked in well, would remove some of the coating.

However, if your lenses are already in bad shape, and you cant get good light out of them, I dont think removing the UV coating is your biggest concern.

Besides, PlastX leaves a protective coat on the plastic, so it isnt totaly exposed. And you can always wax over them as well.

[Paulvr4]

Funny how this topic comes up often.

My suggestion is as follows. Starting from the least abrasive first and working the way up.

Attempt to use Plastx first for newer cars with less cloudiness.

If that doesn't work step up to Meguiars 2 step plastic cleaner/polish.

If that doesn't work move up to a polish M-80 or something

If that doesn't work move up to a compound...

If that doesn't work go with a little bit of wet sanding and some compound. This should be good enough.


Some companies sell the headlight restoration kit that comes with a little fine sandpaper pad/drill bit combo.

All in all everyone who sells those $200 kits all have UV coating that is the bulk of the expense. Keep that in mind when taking off the layer.

Note: UV Protectant is the reason the headlights turn color - with that said even if you polish it - in the long run it'll turn color again. fun.


If that doesn't work kick in the headlight and swear a little and buy a new one (Just Kidding)

On an optional note - I have the XPEL/3M style headlight protector film. I highly recommend these (not for foglamps though, it's too hot).

good luck.

[Accident]

I used Plastx on my car and my girlfriends cars and it worked great. Here are two pictures of one of her headlights finished and one not done.

Before:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/AccidentProned/IM000246.jpg

After:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/AccidentProned/IM000245.jpg

I did it by hand and used a foam applicator pad.

[Hitman]

Originally posted by Paulvr4
Funny how this topic comes up often.

My suggestion is as follows. Starting from the least abrasive first and working the way up.

Attempt to use Plastx first for newer cars with less cloudiness.

If that doesn't work step up to Meguiars 2 step plastic cleaner/polish.

Interesting that you consider 2 step Plastic Cleaner and Polish more aggressive than Plastx. I found Plastx to be much more aggressive than the 2 step. In fact I find the 2 step (actually it's a 3 step in the pro line) to be very mild and not very effective.

[Paulvr4]

It definately comes down to the condition of the headlights.

My friends celica worked fine w/ plastx. But a ford headlight from the late 80s didn't do so well with it.

...

[paranoid123]

I made another effort to clean the plastic headlights again. This time I used the clay (Quik Clay) with a bit more elbow grease. Most of the crusty stuff, and the smoothness returned. It took a lot more effort to clay the headlights than it did the body of the car. I used a generous amount of Quik Detailer in the process. I wasn't able to get everything off, because my headlight assembly has angles and corners to it, so some spots weren't as clean.

After the second wash of the car with Gold Class Wash, I was able to get a better look at it. Most of the rough crust was off; there was some pitting in the plastic, presumably from road debris (which I wasn't so concerned about); and there was still a film over part of the headlight. I didn't have any PlastiX on me, so I used the only cleaner I had, an old bottle of Body Scrub. I had to apply and wipe it off twice to get this film off.

My headlights weren't yellowed, or clouded over to begin with, it just had a really stubborn crusty stain over it. It's still not perfect, but a couple more efforts and I think I'll be okay. I'm not so worried about the pitting - I really don't want to sand down my headlights.

Sorry I don't have any before and after pictures. I didn't have a digital camera handy.

To the mods, when I started this thread, I didn't realize there was a clear plastic detailing forum. Feel free to move this if necessary.