Foggy auto headlights

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
What's the best way to restore them back to new? Any DIY remedies that work? Maybe a commercial product that works as advertised.
 

MADPEBS1

Man, I'm still here !!!
they have some headlight restorers at wally world, used the 3M produce i think on one car and cleaned them up nice, You have to then use UV protectant even more so....
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
What's the best way to restore them back to new? Any DIY remedies that work? Maybe a commercial product that works as advertised.

I swear by the 3M lens restoration kit....I get them at NAPA. Little more expensive than some other options and requires a hand drill, but the results are very good.
 

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
Be sure to tape off the lights so you don't buff the paint with an abrasive.
Get a clay bar and remove road crime that has caked on (like you would before waxing).
Soak some fine sandpaper (1500 - 2500 grit) in soapy water then lightly sand the headlights to remove oxidation. Start with the 1500.
Remove all the oxidation (take your time and sand in opposite directions). You'll see the water that runs off the headlight no longer be yellow.
Get a 3" buffing pad (I use a 3M pad) and a drill, the hand scrubbing pads suck.
Get a fast cutting polish/compound and buff in sections of the headlight. (Personally, I use 3M Perfect-It products)

For most people, once you do this polish, it's 100 times better and considered "done". There's still a bit of a haze on the light though, so you could get a finer cutting compound and go across the light again to remove the haze and it'll look brand new.

When done, put a good coat of sealer on it. They make specific headlight lens sealers (like Opti-Lens). If you don't want to buy that, a good coat of wax works too.


Detail Depot in Owings sells this stuff, as well as does detailing.
 

rack'm

Jaded
I used Maguire's headlight restorer.......it worked ok for a month or so before I needed to do it again........I ended up just replacing the headlight modules all together
 

glhs837

Power with Control
I used Maguire's headlight restorer.......it worked ok for a month or so before I needed to do it again........I ended up just replacing the headlight modules all together

The wipe on ones dont last, it has to be a mechanical polishing
 

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
I used Maguire's headlight restorer.......it worked ok for a month or so before I needed to do it again........I ended up just replacing the headlight modules all together

The Meguires works excellent for Toyota headlights, a bottle will last a very long time.

I also read that the white pasty toothpaste will work good too.

Since I traded my Toyota for a Ford I have never had to do the headlights, guess it all depends on the type of plastic they are made of.
 

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
The wipe on ones dont last, it has to be a mechanical polishing

The Meguires is a mechanical polisher, it is gritty and takes the rough surface down. It would help if you did buff the plastic though with something like an air grinder with a polishing bit though.

Even rubbing by hand, the more the better.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Yep, by mechanical I mean the rubbing action with a sandpaper followed by a plastic polishing compound, as opposed to a wipe down. In my case, it was the boy using three different grits of sandpaper with a lubricating fluid that comes with the Turtle Wax kit, followed by a buffing with a polishing compound.
 

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
of ya, why'd ya wait till you are on the ROAD ;-)))))))))))))))))))))

We left with crystal clear headlights. Toyota did them before we headed out.

In conversation I was wondering what product they used. Since Vrai didn't know, she told me to ask on the forums since those people are a fountain of information and would know how to do it and what product to use. And the forumites didn't disappoint.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
I would suspect what Toyota did was a quick chemical wipe, and as you can see those dont last long. 15 minutes with a good kit that actually has abrasives will get you a much longer lasting result.
 

itsbob

I bowl overhand
What's the best way to restore them back to new? Any DIY remedies that work? Maybe a commercial product that works as advertised.

I found it to be cheap enough to replace the assembly (depending on the car) than to fuss with restoring them
 
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