Headlight Restore

[khryslerkid]

I was tired of looking at those dull, faded, plastic headlights on my car and truck. I've seen the commercials on the product that's out there, "just wipe it on!". Well I'm always a little sceptical about those things. If anyone has tried one, let me know your experience. Anyway I thought I would try what I had on hand.

First thing I did was to use a buffing wheel on a drill, used the white compound first. Lower speed, damp buffing pad, don't let it dry out. If it gets hot under your pad you're going to burn the plastic. After you get the desired finish, follow up with a good swirl remover. Don't buff it dry, leave a haze and remove by hand with a cloth. Turned out pretty good!

 

[A383Wing]

they will turn dull again pretty soon...you gotta keep doing this over & over to keep them as clear as possible

 

[khryslerkid]

they will turn dull again pretty soon...you gotta keep doing this over & over to keep them as clear as possible

:eusa_think: So what's your point?

 

[64BEL]

I wet sand them with 1000 grit, then 2000 grit. Then I use toothpaste as a polish. They turn out pretty well, but it does need to be repeated from time to time. They do smell minty fresh afterward, though.:happy7:

 

[khryslerkid]

I wet sand them with 1000 grit, then 2000 grit. Then I use toothpaste as a polish. They turn out pretty well, but it does need to be repeated from time to time. They do smell minty fresh afterward, though.:happy7:

LOL
You never know if you let them get too bad, they might get cavities!

 

[CudaChick1968]

It looks good! But for buffing plastics, you should use the baby blue compound instead of the white rouge. The white should be used on nickel, chrome plate, copper, brass, aluminum and other soft metals.

 

[Dennis H]

I used the Sylvania restoration kit. $22 on the web. Worked good, has a clear final coat that is supposed to be like a sunblock to resist fading again so soon.

 

[khryslerkid]

It looks good! But for buffing plastics, you should use the baby blue compound instead of the white rouge. The white should be used on nickel, chrome plate, copper, brass, aluminum and other soft metals.

Yes, there use to be a product called Blue Magic. I used it on crome and aluminum on my motorcycle. It worked great in plexiglass windshields!

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[mrsnicks]

Any kit, or efforts to clean need to have a sealer/sealant applied afterwards or it's just a viscious cycle, they will fade and haze again.

 

[khryslerkid]

Any kit, or efforts to clean need to have a sealer/sealant applied afterwards or it's just a viscious cycle, they will fade and haze again.

Any sealers that you know of that works?

 

[440+6]

Someone on here did that to their instrument cluster and it looked pretty good in the pics, can't remember who it was.

 

[scotts74birds]

I went on Amazon, and found new ones for my 10 year old Stratus for $35 each, and included bulbs. I figured my time is worth more than that. 1 year later, they are still clear. I think they were TYC brand, or something like that. So now I have clear lights, an extra set of bulbs, and I didn't shoot a day to ****. Or grind into my paint with a polisher on my drill. Just my $.02

 

[A383Wing]

I went on Amazon, and found new ones for my 10 year old Stratus for $35 each, and included bulbs. I figured my time is worth more than that. 1 year later, they are still clear. I think they were TYC brand, or something like that. So now I have clear lights, an extra set of bulbs, and I didn't shoot a day to ****. Or grind into my paint with a polisher on my drill. Just my $.02