'defogging' plastic headlights

Just thought I'd write a little blurb. The wifes car has those plastic headlights and they had gotten pretty 'foggy' over the years from abrasion. We saw a product in Wal-Mart that said something like 'easy fix' whatever.. it was $20, figured it was worth a shot. I won't name the product, but it really did work.

Took about 10 minutes or so for each one, basically it's just a package with 2 grits of sandpaper, polishing compound and sometime of 'sealer', but the lenses look almost new again.

So, no need to spend a fortune on new lenses.

 

Good find..and good info.
A common problem with todays lenses/lights.
I just used polishing compound to clean up my lenses.. A lotta Elbow grease but it worked out fine.

 

Another way is to hit them with a high speed buffer, some rubbing compound, and wax. But you gotta be careful. You can also install some of those thick stick-on plastic shields. They prevent damage from winter road sanding and other flying debris.

 

So, it is true that you can actually fix weather/sun beaten plastic headlights to work well again? I have a 12" random orbital buffer, what else do I need? I would rather not spend $90 a piece+ for new plastic headlights on a 15 year old car.

 

Check this out....
Headlight cleaning: Sanding vs. Polishing - MX6.com

 

Just get some rubbing compound from an auto body paint shop. It comes in different grits. Depending on how bad your lenses are you may need several different grits from rough to very fine. Ask at the counter what they recommend.

 

I got a kit similar to this at Autozone:
AutoZone.com | Shopping | Accessories | Product Detail - Permatex Headlight Lens Restoration Kit

Worked great on my daughters 8-year old mopar.
It has a series of progressively finer sanding discs you use chucked into a drill.

 

I went to Jatco's suggested link and used option #2. I used strait acetone instead of nail polish remover. The acetone does well at taking off the outer layer of plastic. I did however follow up with 1000 grit wet sanding paper. This left a 'haze' that requires a polishing coumpound to get off. I went cheap and am using a small tub of it that came with my dremmel accessory kit. It seems to be cutting right through the 'haze'. I am sure that a good compound from an auto parts store combined with an orbital polisher would most likely work better, but my lights are way better/clearer than before so I am satisfied.

Thanx for the advice--shoulda' done something like this years ago!Beer 4U2