This is the way I go, minus the toothpaste. To finish I use Meguiar's Plastx with buffer, topped with carnuba wax, then sealant. Whenever I detail the car I run over with polish, wax and sealant to maintain.
Restore or Clean a Dull Headlight Assembly
The headlights on my Crownvic weathered to the point that I added driving lights to increase night time visibility. I tried cleaning them a number of times with a cleaner polish but that didn't quite do the job.
Finally I tried a Plastic Cleaner Polish, and I couldn't believe the difference. There are a number of products on the market for varying prices. I can not comment on which is better, but I'll give you some ideas. I imagine that for the most part they are equally effective.
There are complete kits that include very very fine sand paper, or other abrasives, cleaning rags, and plastic polish. OR one may purchase just the plastic polish and use an abrasive you already have lying around.
The first time around, I used some turtle wax cleaning compound, followed by PlastX Each are available at Walmart for less than $5 each.
The next time around, I used some 000 grade steel wool, and Plastx. The steel wool did a little better job than the turtle wax cleaning compound. I bought the steel wool at K-mart for about $3.00 It was a pack of 6, two each of three different grades.
In either case, the headlights on all my cars are now restored to pretty near their original brilliance for less than ten dollars.
Once you have restored yours, you'll notice how many cars are on the road with dull headlights, and you'll want to stop everyone and tell them how easy it is to restore them.
Finally I tried a Plastic Cleaner Polish, and I couldn't believe the difference. There are a number of products on the market for varying prices. I can not comment on which is better, but I'll give you some ideas. I imagine that for the most part they are equally effective.
There are complete kits that include very very fine sand paper, or other abrasives, cleaning rags, and plastic polish. OR one may purchase just the plastic polish and use an abrasive you already have lying around.
The first time around, I used some turtle wax cleaning compound, followed by PlastX Each are available at Walmart for less than $5 each.
The next time around, I used some 000 grade steel wool, and Plastx. The steel wool did a little better job than the turtle wax cleaning compound. I bought the steel wool at K-mart for about $3.00 It was a pack of 6, two each of three different grades.
In either case, the headlights on all my cars are now restored to pretty near their original brilliance for less than ten dollars.
Once you have restored yours, you'll notice how many cars are on the road with dull headlights, and you'll want to stop everyone and tell them how easy it is to restore them.
Attachments
1 - 5 of 26 Posts
No problem. Keep in mind I have Plastx on hand (only have approx $1400 worth of detailing supplies and tools in my garage:eek6
I'm trying to find some pics of a set I did with this process.Here we go
Before:
After (you can see a before light above.
AutoGeek rocks!! I use both paint sealant and carnuba wax on my lights. It provides UV protection, UV is what causes the fading and hazing in many cases. I've never had any trouble using wax or sealant on my lights.To D.Acker - that was a good link thanks :thumbsup: That Autogeek is a cool site ! -Not sure if I'd be happy about putting a wax based product onto clear plastic though, so I'm going to research that a bit more. Nevertheless, Autogeek has many good products, so THANKS anyway -
1 - 5 of 26 Posts
