Cloudy headlights

[Magandroid]

Hi all
Does anyone have any experience with polishing dull and cloudy looking headlights. The car is a 2003 Astra and apparently the lenses are plastic and not glass. This seem to be a problem with lenses made of plastic though. We've tried car polish and waxes and even toothpaste as someone suggested but it's still dull. Any ideas would really be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[bin3]

Vinegar works fairly well ...

http://www.ehow.com/list_6068876_home-remedies-cleaning-cloudy-headlights.html

 

[bwana]

Hi all
Does anyone have any experience with polishing dull and cloudy looking headlights. The car is a 2003 Astra and apparently the lenses are plastic and not glass. This seem to be a problem with lenses made of plastic though. We've tried car polish and waxes and even toothpaste as someone suggested but it's still dull. Any ideas would really be appreciated.
Thanks

If you're looking for a short term fix spray a little spray and cook onto them and gently wipe off the excess.

 

[Sinbad]

Meguiar's plast-x.
A bit expensive but works a charm.

 

[Rouxenator]

I kinda like the way my 2001 Astra has the "all misty" look in the headlights

 

[ponder]

3M makes some good products, I would surf their web site as they WILL have something suitable. http://www.autogeek.net/3m-lens-kit-39045.html
http://solutions.3m.co.za/wps/portal/3M/en_ZA/EU-Transportation/Home/ProdInfo/AutomotiveRefinishing/
Meguiars also has a Clear Plastic Polish, product code M1008
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/4252611

I would try and find the 3M stuff if you can, call them and ask where to buy. That all in one kit they have looks great.

 

[Sinbad]

FYI - post I did on the VW club a while back:


I had a go at getting rid of the horrible pitting on my headlights:

I wet-sanded them down with 600 grit, and then wet-sanded with 1200 over it.

Most of the pitting is gone, but the plastic wasn't nice and clear - it seemed to be foggy or milky:

So I gave in and got a Meguiars headlight restoration kit.
10 minutes with the buffing pad and PlastX compound on the drill and this was the result:

 

[Rouxenator]

This could also be a good time to pimp it up a little : http://www.autostyle.co.za/vehicle-categories-2/opel-vauxhall/opel-astra-g-99-to-04.html

Standard headlights start at R500 and for R2000 you get something really funky like this :

 

[HapticSimian]

Meh. I'm not convinced that I'd give up my car's rather painstakingly designed primary after-dark safety equipment for some look-at-me-I-R-cool-bling-bling no-name headlights.

 

[asshat99]

I used the 3M kit. Went really well, got a bit nervous when sanding to completely opaque with the coarser grade sanding stage. Came out well.

 

[VG008]

Does anyone have any experience with polishing dull and cloudy looking headlights.

Headlight Renewal

The headlight renewal repairs system is fast and easy and guarantees no more dullness or foggy appearances. This service will enhance the look of a vehicle, in less than 30 minutes.

The Link

Not sure what their cost is.

Edit: I only saw now, that you live in CT. These guys are in Jhb.

 

[Magandroid]

FYI - post I did on the VW club a while back:


I had a go at getting rid of the horrible pitting on my headlights:

I wet-sanded them down with 600 grit, and then wet-sanded with 1200 over it.

Most of the pitting is gone, but the plastic wasn't nice and clear - it seemed to be foggy or milky:

So I gave in and got a Meguiars headlight restoration kit.
10 minutes with the buffing pad and PlastX compound on the drill and this was the result:

I heard about the wet sanding but didn't know how to go about it hoping someone would explain the process. Do you recommend I skip that process and rather just go with the meguiars solution. Does it come with easy instructions and how often do you apply it afterwards.

 

[naeem]

this should do the trick

http://www.autostyle.co.za/car-acce...ite-headlight-restoration-protection-kit.html

youtube Glassylite, quite a few video tutorials

 

[d0b33]

There is the toothpaste trick, but you can pickup a headlight restoration kit for around R100, worked well for me.

 

[Magandroid]

The Link

Not sure what their cost is.

Edit: I only saw now, that you live in CT. These guys are in Jhb.

Thanks anyway. I see that they will be opening a franchise in the future though.

 

[Lupus]

Firstly it depends on if the misting is on the outside or on the inside, if it's on the inside sorry, you'd have to replace the entire unit, if it's on the outside then the above will work.

 

[Magandroid]

this should do the trick

http://www.autostyle.co.za/car-acce...ite-headlight-restoration-protection-kit.html

youtube Glassylite, quite a few video tutorials

Will look into it. There are so many products on the market making all sorts of promises, you don't know what to believe and these products are costly. Meguiars seem to be the most popular but I haven't seen the restoration kits anywhere, only the car polishes and waxes.

 

[Magandroid]

Firstly it depends on if the misting is on the outside or on the inside, if it's on the inside sorry, you'd have to replace the entire unit, if it's on the outside then the above will work.

It does not look like it's on the inside, only on the outside and from what I understand the cause is weather related.

 

[Happy Camper]

Funnily enough, toothpaste works well!!!

 

[Sinbad]

I did the sanding to get rid of pitting - previous owner of the car liked following too close to the car in front and there were lots of stone pits in the plastic. If your plastic is still smooth you don't need to do it.

Process is go buy water paper, wash the surface thoroughly, keep it wet, keep the water paper wet and sand away, dipping the paper in water often. Work from coarser grain to finer.