Headlights faded.... what to do

[gazmanvrs]

Hi all,

Calling all OCD clean freaks like me !!!!

My plastic lenses on my 53 plate vrs headlights are faded like mad. Any of you guys had this same problem?

Or any ideas what to? Shall I mop them with G3?

Gaz

[Goblin]

You could mop them, problem with that is that you'd need to reseal them otherwise in a couple of months you'd be back to square one. Mine have done it so I've just upgraded to new ones with the black inserts. Bought one that needs a slight repair (still new) for a tenner and another will cost me around £40. £50 for a pair, sell the others on for like £20, can't complain too much. You could perhaps try the same?

The black inserts makes for a nice upgrade too

[PastyBoy]

yep i just bought new ones too (see here)

i have seen some people use a polish of some description to "de-yellow" headlights....

[vRSAnt]

Just a micron abrasive rated polish I'm sure, just nothing too abrasive (i.e. **** old T cut and toothpaste are right out :p )

If you want the best, its 3M Finesse-It. Factory approved micro polish. Expensive though. That G3 stuff you have, not heard of it but sounds alright on face value, better than T cut anyway.

[ollymonkeynuts]

My mate at work is doing this as a side line, from what he says he uses a series of buffers/polishes to get it 'as new'. He told me something like £40 for both and showed me before and after shots.

Where abouts are you Gaz? No where down the south west??

[vRSAnt]

I'm pretty sure with just the G3 and the mop if it puts in some elbow grease he could get exactly the same result and save £40

[devonutopia]

polishing alone can work, but I much prefer wet sanding as it achieves the level of cut required in a shorter timeframe. I can usually do a pair of headlights in half an hour

1) Wash

2) Clay

3) WET 1500 grit

4) WET 2000 grit

5) Dry thoroughly

6) Cutting compound on tough pad, rotary

7) milder polish, rotary

8) mild polish like Autoglym SRP on dual action polisher

As plastic anyway, should not need to seal. You are basically restoring the plastic back to a new layer like they would have come with originally.

For real bad headlights I may even use 1200 grit, possibly even 800 grit paper. it won't matter as the 1500 and 2000 smooths it off for polishing anyway.

I wet sanded a pair of Leon headlights over Xmas which had gone real bad. Light output after was vastly improved.

[Holmesie]

i used a very fine detailing compound .... so fine it says on the bottle its non abrasive... a good bit of elbow grease and a wax afterwards and they were like new ...

[gazmanvrs]

I might have to get the G220 out this weekend. I've tried a bit of wet and dry and polish a while back. But they still looked poo.

I might take the whole thing out and stick it on the bench.

If not i will buy new ones. Seems a bit extreme buying new but kind of makes sense.

Thanks for the input.

Gaz

[devonutopia]

If you wet & dried, and polished and they still looked bad, either the polishing stage after the wet & dry was not effective (they do look real bad initially after wet & dry) or your marks/damage for some reason is on the insides of the lens'

[mannyo]

One of the A8 forum members in South Africa has just done their headlights, really good results.

Link below to thread, with instructions. The A8 headlights and fogs are made from the same plastic as the Fabia.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5817

[tricey777]

I got some stuff called micromesh from work its basically 2000 grit cloth that I used wet, it took a little while but it worked. But devonutopia sounds like he knows what he's on about, I'd follow what he said if i were going to do it again..

[del-gti]

As said, wet sand them. If you do it right they will look like new and it won't come back in a few months as you are down to a nice new layer of plastic.

I did my mate's Impreza a few months back and the headlights were like new after it. Used Menzerna on them after the wet sanding then a nice coat of Rain-X over the top.

[Mk1pete]

Turtlewax do a product for this exact issue. Iv watched a youtube vid of it that showed all products from toothpaste through to the above and the turtlewax was by far the best.

[Tinaphps]

polishing alone can work, but I much prefer wet sanding as it achieves the level of cut required in a shorter timeframe.

[Titanium_Man]

Another +1 for wet sand and polish, although I would be tempted to take it to 3000 grit paper before machine polish just to help

[tricey777]

I got some stuff called micromesh from work its basically 2000 grit cloth that I used wet, it took a little while but it worked. But devonutopia sounds like he knows what he's on about, I'd follow what he said if i were going to do it again..

I was wrong I was getting the (push) bike out of the shed and its 12000 grit... and it did take forever... but I've found some 4000 for next time.

[devonutopia]

12000 grit? Is that even slightly rough? I have some 2500 and 3000 at home, and that barely touches the surface.

The challenge is the ability to use REALLY rough paper. I have some 240 grit at home for special occasions

[tricey777]

12000 it's like a waxed cloth, I used it originally to buff out a scratch on my phone screen.

[Sirbendy]

I just did the missus Mpi, along with my Astra MK4..mine were slightly clouded, hers were opaque, you couldn't see the bulbs!

Polishing mop, drill on low speed, spray bottle of water, T-Cut. Keep it wet, keep it moving, check often for clarity.

40 minutes or so, both cars have nice sparkly lenses. I will wax them when the baby wakes up, but I'm quite happy with the result. Lets see them quibble on the MOT now, shall we...it had been flagged on the "check up" I had done a month or 2 back.

[poiuytre111]

Just done my 3rd set of Fabia lights.

I use 2000 wet/dry with soapy water, then T cut.

I am sure the result is not "as new" but it meets mot needs and looks a whole lot better while only taking about 15 mins all-in.

I did a search on here and elsewhere to see if I needed any surface coating to act as an UV barrier but the consensus seems to be - not reqd.

[TMB]

I did a search on here and elsewhere to see if I needed any surface coating to act as an UV barrier but the consensus seems to be - not reqd.

 

If you don't put something on them they will go cloudy again.

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/328980-yellowcloudy-headlights/

[seaweasel]

I've used that 3M headlight polishing kit on a couple of cars and it worked well.

[SkUG]

anyone used uv wood primer to stop them yellowing? i've bought some but never seem to get round to spraying the headlights!