Headlight Restoration Question

[zbestwun2001]

Slowly but surely this project is coming together. The '93 Camry only has 110K mi. on it, the headlights are not bad, but they could use a little attention.
A while ago I tried the toothpaste fix and believe it or not it did help.
You can see the reflectors looking straight on, the covers are not yellow or hazed badly.
My question is what should I use, (I have no power drill) to get them just a little bit better.

I just found this picture... as you can see the sidelights look like new..and the headlights are not bad... sorry about the pic quality.. would you believe they put a .3 megapixel camera w/out auto focus in a phone... I mean, why bother... it's junk.

[Joe Dragon]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

Here's what I did to our DD Sienna van the last few days, almost the same condition as your lights from what I can see. I cleaned all the lights with APC & warm water including the third light above the rear window which was in the worst condition of all of them. Then used clay which took some of the grit off the lenses but not that much. Then I rubbed in PlastX with a cotton rag until the lenses squeaked; finished each of them & did the same PlastX routine the next day & again today. Each time the lenses got a bit cleaner/brighter. Finally today after the third application the lenses were smooth to the touch & sparkling clean. For good measure I then applied a coat of WG plastic sealant to everything, again with a cotton cloth, let it haze then wiped off. Headlights, brake lights, third light all look new. I know Walmart sells the restoration kit for $25 including sanding disks for a drill, but I didn't go that route because I was afraid the Sienna's lenses might get scratched & create a worse problem than the original. Let us know how your Camry turns out, however you proceed.

[Garage Troll]

I have used PlastX and got very good results. It takes some effort for neglected plastic by hand but you can do it. Today, I actually used 3000 grit sand paper followed by UC on my mother's Subaru and it worked wonderfully. I would highly suggest sealing/waxing them after you're done.

[zbestwun2001]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

Thank you both for your input... I really do appreciate it.

[Murr1525]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

I'd buy the head light kit and borrow a drill....

But working in some UC or other paint cleaner you have wont hurt. Just wont be as aggressive, if the headlights need more aggressive.

[zbestwun2001]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

I'd buy the head light kit and borrow a drill....

But working in some UC or other paint cleaner you have wont hurt. Just wont be as aggressive, if the headlights need more aggressive.

Being new to the Maguiar's line of products I tend to get lost when reading posts that refer to products by initials and or numbers.
I'm getting it but I don't have nearly all the line down pat.

UC=Ultimate Cleaner I'm assuming ... do you have a link by chance?

...bear with me, I'll get it memorized soon....

I could borrow a drill from a guy that lives here. Just don't want to scratch them.

[Murr1525]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

Nothing wrong with starting off simple and working in a paint cleaner by hand. Stronger than toothpaste, and gentler than a drill.

UC would be Ultimate Compound.

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G17216

[overedline]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

My accord had very cloudy headlights after 130,000+ miles of driving and I got great results by wet sanding with 1,000 grit sandpaper, then using some cheap rubbing compound, then polishing compound and finishing it up with a coat of NXT.
NOTE: If I could do it over I would use 2000 grit instead because it took a lot of rubbing compound to get the roughness out.

[zbestwun2001]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

Those really game out looking brand new.
I thought, the finer the grit the higher the number?
...but, I'm impressed!

[Murr1525]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

Yes, the lower grit paper will leave more sanding marks to remove.

[mis3]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

I read somewhere, probably in this forum, that headlights come with UV protection coatings. PlastX or some other rubbing compounds will remove these coatings. Therefore, it is very important to apply wax regularly after the treatment.

[Murr1525]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

Yup.

The headlight kit has a special coating in it as well, but still needs re-applied like wax every few months.

[zbestwun2001]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

My accord had very cloudy headlights after 130,000+ miles of driving and I got great results by wet sanding with 1,000 grit sandpaper, If I could do it over I would use 2000 grit instead because it took a lot of rubbing compound to get the roughness out.

Isn't that backwards? 2000 would be finer and you would be working your a$$ off more, correct?

[Murr1525]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

The higher grit is finer, so would be harder to remove things. But would leave behind finer sanding marks that are easier to remove.

Sandpaper alone wont leave a good surface.

[overedline]

Re: Headlight Restoration Question

Yes, 1,000 grit cut a little too deep. The sanding part only took a few minutes. It was really quick. The hard part was smoothing out all the fine scratches from the sandpaper with rubbing compound. It seemed like I had to go over it about 5 times while using a good bit of muscle.