Foggy headlights solution

[benni8]

At 100k the headlights had a touch of the foggy/oxidation that plagues most similar aged cars.

I purchased that 3M restoration kit from Amazon for £19.

I'm garbage with DIY but thought I'd give it a bash.

Very very impressed with results.

Definitely worth a go if yours are showing some wear.

Edited 10 November, 2014 by benni8

[DGW]

Could you post a link to the product you used, please?

[benni8]

Yes of course...

 

There you go

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Headlight-Restoration-Discoloured-Headlights/dp/B0078IHJ1K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415624659&sr=8-1&keywords=3m+headlight

[SkUG]

I used t-cut - cleaned em up a treat!

[OllieH]

Autoglym super resin also works great and toothpaste apparently. Good job!

[devonutopia]

I use wet sanding and polishing to achieve this. Tends to be a little faster too.

[TMB]

Did mine with the 3M kit as well.

 

Before

 

After

 

Makes a big difference to the light output. I'd previously tried all sorts of stuff including toothpaste, Brasso, T-cut etc. Nothing would touch them.

 

I got some Meguiars headlamp protectant and keep applying it every month or so to try and prevent them going cloudy again.

[SkUG]

looks great!

i recognise the waterproof blue tape, but what is the green?

Edited 10 November, 2014 by SkUG

[devonutopia]

I've never used the green tape.  The 3M blue stuff is great all round, unlike the yellow masking tape which just falls apart when wet ( not ideal when wet sanding....)

 

The last one I did was my mate's CLK.  Was in a bad way

 

 

 

Sanded.

 

then polished.

[sepulchrave]

I just took both headlights out, got all the cloudy stuff off with 1200 W&D and soapy water, then used coarse compound followed by T-cut and, hey presto, like new, cost me 99p for the 1200 W&D, had the other stuff in the shed. No pictures I'm afraid, because it didn't seem to be a very interesting subject matter at the time.

[TMB]

looks great!

i recognise the waterproof blue tape, but what is the green?

 

The green tape is the masking tape you get in the 3M kit. The blue is just extra stuff I had lying around

[LeezoG]

Banging! Just what I was looking for. Thanks for this.

[ChrisRs]

I use wet sanding and polishing to achieve this. Tends to be a little faster too.

Me too

They look new again

[Skoda_Saint]

Even cheaper on Amazon at present £16.53. I'm going to try it on my one that's faded slightly.

[furbyPD100]

Cheap to wet sand em and polish em yourself those kits are a bit of a rip

Did mine yesterday

But only to get rid of a few marks

Started with 1200 then 1500

Then a quick polish with mer with a buffer then some super resin then a little wax and it come up spanking!!! lol and cost me the bargain price of £1.50 lol

[stann01]

hi, did mine last week, bought some 1500 and 2000, was a bit scared to use the 1500 so persivered with the 2000.

came up a treat, well worth the £1.50!

[ChrisRs]

Just a warning

Perpex lights are quite thick..They have to be....BUT

A couple of points:

1. Start with a 2500 and work up to 3000 grade W&D paper with plenty of water...IME 1500 Grade is too harsh ..2000 upwards is easily good enough

But if youre happy with that...Fine

2. Be careful if polishing that they dont get too hot..Keep checking the temperature

3. If youre in any doubt, get a Detailer to do it for you 

[furbyPD100]

Only did mine with 1200 to start as 2000 would wouldnt take anything off mine well it would of but I would of been there for a while time

+1 on polishing tho watch for heat build up

[rhauri]

Awesome. I use Meguires Scratch X 2.0, great results too.

 

Must polish them after with a UV protecting polish though, as they'll cloud up much quicker than the first time round.

[devonutopia]

On a really rough set i did, I started with 240 grit.  That's essentially pure sandpaper.   There is no harm if you are building up through the grades properly.

 

I admit I didn't push hard with the 240, but I needed serious cut in a short time frame, so it did the job it needed to.  I think I went 800, 1200, 2000 from there.

[ChrisRs]

Strewth.....Brave that Jason :S