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Be sure to get enough of the damaged plastic off. You don't need to settle for mere improvement. I've started with as rough as 360. My most recent effort, on a pair as bad as I've ever seen, once I applied the Maguire's headlight coating, was crystal-clear, barely distinguishable from a brand-new headlight.
Last edited by PulpFriction; Aug 29, 2023 at 05:14 PM.
If you don't put clearcoat or UV protectant of some sort on it, it will fog again.
The Maguire's lasts better than a year. They claim it contain UV protection but at 2 years non-garaged, it becomes noticeably yellowed.
I'd like to try a 2-part clearcoat but it would need to compatible with polycarbonate. I did try single part clearcoat like Duplicolor, but as expected, it attacked the plastic and it crazed instantly.
Did a simple teat, 3M rubbing compound medium cut and Norton No.2 micro-abrasive on small pieces of natural sponge just worked in with fingers. Just a central spot area on the main beam. 'Cleared' a lot faster and easier than Camaro and Cobalt lights I've worked on.
Mequair’s also makes so headlight lens polish.
I have done a few of these but recently tried the their stuff after my son used it on ‘98 LeSabre we gave them….I was amazed how clear he got those lights….I had officially declared them beyond polishing. So I went to walmart (bad as hate to…) and bought me some an tried it myself. Definitely works best I have tried so far
I was planning on picking up some of that stuff. The 3M medium cut proved the best. I have Meguiars Ultimate Polish which I'm gonna try next on the pic of what I have so far.
I don't think there's such a thing as an intact headlight beyond restoring. Mine had suffered 10 years of Arizona sun. Absolutely zero clarity, yellow and translucent, with no visibility inside. But you need to be aggressive and make sure you take off ALL the damaged plastic. I started with 360 or 400 wet. Probably. I don't remember for sure. This was done on the car, BTW. Masked off the paint. cut ovals of wet-or-dry 3-4" long. All the way to 3000, (prolly coulda stopped at 1500) Then Maguire's PlastX, then their headlight coating (which is when the magic happens.)
The light pictured came out crystal clear and looked terrific... until the light comes on. At certain angles, crazing shows. Because I didn't take quite enough off.
(The pics were taken yesterday. They were refinisher last Summer.)
Looks pretty good, right?
Same one with lights on, still looks like new.
...but from a higher angle (glaringly obvious in person, not so obvious in the pic,) the crazing still shows (only with the lights on.) Will get it right next time. The R side didn't suffer from this mistake.
I don't think there's such a thing as an intact headlight beyond restoring. Mine had suffered 10 years of Arizona sun. Absolutely zero clarity, yellow and translucent, with no visibility inside. But you need to be aggressive and make sure you take off ALL the damaged plastic. I started with 360 or 400 wet. Probably. I don't remember for sure. This was done on the car, BTW. Masked off the paint. cut ovals of wet-or-dry 3-4" long. All the way to 3000, (prolly coulda stopped at 1500) Then Maguire's PlastX, then their headlight coating (which is when the magic happens.)
The light pictured came out crystal clear and looked terrific... until the light comes on. At certain angles, crazing shows. Because I didn't take quite enough off.
(The pics were taken yesterday. They were refinisher last Summer.)
Looks pretty good, right?
Same one with lights on, still looks like new.
...but from a higher angle (glaringly obvious in person, not so obvious in the pic,) the crazing still shows (only with the lights on.) Will get it right next time. The R side didn't suffer from this mistake.
The right side was the better effort.
looks good! I think the Mequairs Plastic polish actually takes some of the yellowing out…dont know how it does it
