Great Video. I did mine with 400 grit paper at first and what a mistake. I wish I saw your video first. It took me some time but I did get it back to normal. Also, I think that the buffer you used makes a big difference because I have a cheap Craftsman and it takes a lot longer because it doesn't have the rpm the Makita or Dewalt have. Good video with clear instructions. I only wished I saw yours first.
Nice demo! For those not lucky enough to have a DA or Rotary, you can get the same results with a mini hook&loop backing plate with a drill adapter and then use a 4" hook&loop DA or Rotary foam pad(s) . I prefer diminishing formulas first a heavier Spider formula w/orange pad then refine with white pad with a refining polish then finish with either a premium sealant or hand applied clear acrylic polymer. Lots of mobile guys do it this way.
Nice video. I use the same Unigrit paper for my jobs, but I find Meguiar's M86 Solo Cut and Cream polish followed by Meguiar's PlastX to work fantastically well. PlastX also leaves plastic specific protection film.
i used the 3m restoration kit on my 2005 mercedes clk and it was incredible,it looks just like it did when i bought it 6 years ago and it took me about an hour with a 1600 watt drill.
Great video man, I crushed the front right side of my car and it demolished the headlight so the body shop put a brand new one in, now i have a dirty old one and a brand new clear headlight lol. Its unacceptable and now i know how to restore it, thanks man :)
Thx for the lessons....i just wanna add a trick for best result "turn on ur headlights while polishing, u'll see better all scratches guys", thx for the video again & good luck
Great Video! Do you know if this works for Oxidised Taillights too? Got a VW with very Oxied, plast taillights that could used this kind of treatment. Thanks
If the cracks are not just on the surface but go through the whole thickness of the lens you probably should replace the whole lens. A product that would penetrate the cracks could be out there. Before replacing the lens look around, try a store that specializes in automobile parts/autobody.
This is great. Was told 90.00 to clean my lens. I told them no. I have a drill and a brain...and thanks to you...I have the 'know-how'. Great vid. Great tip on the use of protective tape, too.
@HighPerformance7uner You may have a point that sure it may only last for a couple months but what would you rather have on a nice car? A shitty, hazzy, yellowed out head light or a nice clear one that may take some upkeep... welcome to taking care of a nice car. It only takes maybe an hour at best to do the initial buffing and polishing after that upkeep is maybe 15 minutes aside and reapply a sealant such as Presta for longer life then 2 months between upkeep.
hi dude i kind of messed up by using like a 80 sang paper to start off with. any ideas on how to fix this ? did use the lower guages afterwards but still quite misty. thanks.
@jkmusik yes, use a higher grade (number) grit wet and dry paper, and keep going up the ladder until about 2500 or 3000 grit and buff it out with a machine polisher :)
CAn someone help me please, I just bought a 5'' random orbit sander BUT i ended up getting the wrong size paper they are 6'' instead of 5'' sanding disk and dont want to return and wait for shipping times ( im in canada), so i was wondering if i can cut them into 5'' disks would this be a problem?? 2nd question is that these sanding disks have no holes in them while my sander has 8 for dust collection can i still use them since i will be wet sanding and there will be no dust ?? PLEASE HELP
Very nice,but normally there is a transparent UV protecting varnish on those headlights so when you polish them it is gone so after the polish put on a new layer of paint.
Question I have is the original headlight coating had a UV inhibitor on it. Why not use Rustolium clear coat with uv protectant after sanding polishing?
Yes! That's exactly what is needed. A cheap clear lacker/spray paint with UV-filter. Otherwise the plastic will turn brown again very soon. Of couse leave out all polish or other fatty stuff. Just sand with wet sandpaper, clean, dry, paint, Ready. A 2 euro job, with 6 euro paint left for your friends.
I recently vinyl tinted my headlights on my 350z. I didn't like how it looked so I took it off. It left a sticky mess after trying to take it off. I spent hours tryiing to get it off with plastx, and soap and water. My uncle thought it would be a good idea to clean them with gas. He took some gas from his gas car which I found out later it had 2 cycle in it. He put it on one of my lens and straight f'd it up. It looks even worst, and it's very cloudy. Would this fix it. Need help fast?
I wetsanded mine all the way to 2.5k grit. I clearcoated it and now it looks like absolute shit. Looks worse than before. Should I just wetsand the new clearcoat or should I try and powersand off the new coat down to the old coat?
Excelent but there is one final step to make the headlights gleam like new. Finish by polishing and buffing with pure baby oil. You will not believe how fantastic this looks. Baby oil is also the best polish for stainless steel.
This was a great job of doing it, but what i ended up using today was just a small turtle wax headlight restoration kit you can buy at autozone for $9.74 including tax, 40 min and get the same results. and this kit comes with the sealant as well.
Yes you can. Make sure you don't move it around on the headlamp assembly however. Just keep the power sander in one spot to let the heat build up and let her buck.
Nicely done. Step by step process shown and if you can't do what this vid shows then pay someone to do it because you either have no arms or no brain. Thanks again, I'll check out your other vids.
I've worked in detailing and body shops for almost 30 years....this is the professional way to do it. Never use clear coat! Instead wax your headlights, when you do the rest of your car 1-4 times a year.
The Menzerna polishes are almost $75 alone. I found a brand new pair of my "04 Grand Cherokee headlight assemblies for $84 shipped. This doesn't seem worth the time, effort, expense, or labor. Probably worth it on newer cars, where the HL assemblies are still $200+ each.
+sooperknob I agree. There is no need to spend that kind of money on polishes. That stuff is WAY over priced. You can buy cutting compound and polishes for a few bucks at an Auto trade shop. Also, you can polish these lenses by hand with a damp cloth and some toothpaste. No cost and easy as...
I think i ruined one of my headlights. I used 1000, 1500, 2000 sandgrit with a mixture of water and (non car soap) then polished and use sealant but when i finished sanding they were very blurry and i tried to polish with mequire lense restorer but still blurry. When i used the sealant they became cristal clear but then blurried out again when they dried. Anyone have any advice? (no smartasses please)
for all that work and buying pads and compound and nor to mention looking for a buffer with optional rpms.and the chance of making it worse, wouldn't it be cheaper and safer to just replace the lens ? ...
Question is, is this UV safe? Will it turn em "yellow for good" after a month or so? Most restorers I've talked to recently speak against this method and promote "deoxidizers" instead.
+janna graham While I agree with this video (40 yrs in the Auto repair trade) I'd just like to add, that you can achieve very good results yourself using toothpaste and a damp cloth. You may need to go over it twice, using a good amount of pressure on the wet cloth. But, it will polish up surprisingly well. After you're done, clean and dry the lens and apply a polish. Any household polish should do, even Mr Sheen. I only suggest this because it's easy to do yourself at home and will cost you nothing. A repair shop will charge you like a wounded bull. Have a spectacular day.
all the headlights ive cleaned up , the lights seem to have some sort of film on them , and thats what seems to break down , and the film must be removed completly , otherwise when you go to polish it , it ends up patchy. sanding it with 1000 grit doesnt even do anything. use 240 w&d , then 400 , then 800 then give em a polish with two pak cutters . the film is pretty hard to sand off , and rubbing it with 1000 does nothing , unless thyre not really that bad at all
For a excellent kit that works get the all in one 3M 39008 Headlight Lens Restoration System and use a regular corded or cordless drill that can be set at around 1200RPM...BAM, DONE! only $20 and it works!
Att. Rotor 13. An hour or so for polishing a headlight. I can do it in 5 minutes with g3 farecla compound using a makita buffer. We do it as a complimentary service at the dealership. You see the haze always returns. People that charge 50 to 80 will have those customers return after a couple of months with a rehazed headlight. Seen it happen with my own car.
Great Video. I did mine with 400 grit paper at first and what a mistake. I wish I saw your video first. It took me some time but I did get it back to normal. Also, I think that the buffer you used makes a big difference because I have a cheap Craftsman and it takes a lot longer because it doesn't have the rpm the Makita or Dewalt have. Good video with clear instructions. I only wished I saw yours first.
Nice demo! For those not lucky enough to have a DA or Rotary, you can get the same results with a mini hook&loop backing plate with a drill adapter and then use a 4" hook&loop DA or Rotary foam pad(s) . I prefer diminishing formulas first a heavier Spider formula w/orange pad then refine with white pad with a refining polish then finish with either a premium sealant or hand applied clear acrylic polymer. Lots of mobile guys do it this way.
Nice video. I use the same Unigrit paper for my jobs, but I find Meguiar's M86 Solo Cut and Cream polish followed by Meguiar's PlastX to work fantastically well. PlastX also leaves plastic specific protection film.
i used the 3m restoration kit on my 2005 mercedes clk and it was incredible,it looks just like it did when i bought it 6 years ago and it took me about an hour with a 1600 watt drill.
Great video man, I crushed the front right side of my car and it demolished the headlight so the body shop put a brand new one in, now i have a dirty old one and a brand new clear headlight lol. Its unacceptable and now i know how to restore it, thanks man :)
what is a good sealant to use after restoration ?
Thx for the lessons....i just wanna add a trick for best result "turn on ur headlights while polishing, u'll see better all scratches guys", thx for the video again & good luck
Hey I think I used the wrong grit and scratched my headlight. can this be fixed?
Great Video!
Do you know if this works for Oxidised Taillights too? Got a VW with very Oxied, plast taillights that could used this kind of treatment.
Thanks
About time some one does it the right way thank u for showing this
Question...is it possible to do the polishing steps by hand?
If the cracks are not just on the surface but go through the whole thickness of the lens you probably should replace the whole lens. A product that would penetrate the cracks could be out there. Before replacing the lens look around, try a store that specializes in automobile parts/autobody.
do we need to use carso? what happens if wejust use straight water?
Fantastic job 👍👍👍👍👍
I have a 92 camaro with acrylic t-tops will this work for them as well?
My headlights aren't dirty or yellowed, they appear to have many tiny cracks in them.. would this work for tiny cracks too?
Is there a similar technique that can be used for soft vinyl windows for a convertable top? Great video. :-)
This is great. Was told 90.00 to clean my lens. I told them no. I have a drill and a brain...and thanks to you...I have the 'know-how'. Great vid. Great tip on the use of protective tape, too.
@HighPerformance7uner You may have a point that sure it may only last for a couple months but what would you rather have on a nice car? A shitty, hazzy, yellowed out head light or a nice clear one that may take some upkeep... welcome to taking care of a nice car. It only takes maybe an hour at best to do the initial buffing and polishing after that upkeep is maybe 15 minutes aside and reapply a sealant such as Presta for longer life then 2 months between upkeep.
Can I use another wax for polishing, like 3M for paint ??? My headlights are made of glass.
hi dude i kind of messed up by using like a 80 sang paper to start off with. any ideas on how to fix this ? did use the lower guages afterwards but still quite misty. thanks.
what would be a good quality sealant in your opinion ?
What if your car doesn't have any headlights?
Exoskeleton Bug Millennium stfu
Use 2 flashlights.
Yeah you can gorilla glue and glue 2 flashlights on the front side.
sealant is applied same way polish is.....?
Nice. It looks brand new
@jkmusik yes, use a higher grade (number) grit wet and dry paper, and keep going up the ladder until about 2500 or 3000 grit and buff it out with a machine polisher :)
CAn someone help me please, I just bought a 5'' random orbit sander BUT i ended up getting the wrong size paper they are 6'' instead of 5'' sanding disk and dont want to return and wait for shipping times ( im in canada), so i was wondering if i can cut them into 5'' disks would this be a problem?? 2nd question is that these sanding disks have no holes in them while my sander has 8 for dust collection can i still use them since i will be wet sanding and there will be no dust ?? PLEASE HELP
Very nice,but normally there is a transparent UV protecting varnish on those headlights so when you polish them it is gone so after the polish put on a new layer of paint.
Question I have is the original headlight coating had a UV inhibitor on it. Why not use Rustolium clear coat with uv protectant after sanding polishing?
Yes! That's exactly what is needed. A cheap clear lacker/spray paint with UV-filter. Otherwise the plastic will turn brown again very soon. Of couse leave out all polish or other fatty stuff. Just sand with wet sandpaper, clean, dry, paint, Ready. A 2 euro job, with 6 euro paint left for your friends.
What's the difference between the two polishes?
@sinusgolf in most cases when do this the uv protection is gone already.
what exactly do you mean by sealant? is that just wax or a special product for plastic? and thanks for the video
can i use a light polish chemical for paint to polish the headlight?
Any tips on how to use headlight fluid?
Is this method can be apply to headlamp which has been damaged by heat of fibreglass or only applicable to oxides headlamp only...?
I,
I recently vinyl tinted my headlights on my 350z. I didn't like how it looked so I took it off. It left a sticky mess after trying to take it off. I spent hours tryiing to get it off with plastx, and soap and water. My uncle thought it would be a good idea to clean them with gas. He took some gas from his gas car which I found out later it had 2 cycle in it. He put it on one of my lens and straight f'd it up. It looks even worst, and it's very cloudy. Would this fix it. Need help fast?
We simply use the DA to sand off all the old clear and debris. Then shoot it with a couple coats of clear. Perfect every time!
Imagine you removed the lens from the vehicle?? But your method seems quick otherwise.
Wow, great teaching video. I learned a lot.
What kind of polish to use plz.
Great video, really clear on the steps.
I wetsanded mine all the way to 2.5k grit. I clearcoated it and now it looks like absolute shit. Looks worse than before. Should I just wetsand the new clearcoat or should I try and powersand off the new coat down to the old coat?
Is that regular sponge that's on the polishing disc pad?? I need an alternative pad since oem padq are hard to find where i am...any ideas??
the middle lamp on this vehicle is known as a projector lamp and the lens is clear. its dark appearance is from the rear of the projector.
I do these all the time at my shop I just clear coat them well im painting the car it always turns out good and lasts aslong as the paint on the car.
what sealant do you recomend after polishing???
Could you have wet sanded using the mopper?
whats a good sealant u recommend? tnx
cesar martinez I would also like to know
nano coating (search nano coating for headlights)
I got this problem,my car headlight are tinted n after awhile it became yellowish...any idea of getting rid of the tint?(hard to removed)
Ok, Mr. Expert, how do you do it then?
Excelent but there is one final step to make the headlights gleam like new. Finish by polishing and buffing with pure baby oil. You will not believe how fantastic this looks. Baby oil is also the best polish for stainless steel.
that is plastic or glass?
Nice job! It only need the factory uv coat to make it last..
can I use this also for a backlights ?
This was a great job of doing it, but what i ended up using today was just a small turtle wax headlight restoration kit you can buy at autozone for $9.74 including tax, 40 min and get the same results. and this kit comes with the sealant as well.
Can this be done for human skin?
Can you use a power sander? I have a power sander.
Yes you can. Make sure you don't move it around on the headlamp assembly however. Just keep the power sander in one spot to let the heat build up and let her buck.
i guess thats why at the end he says to finish up with a good sealant, because polishing alone will not eliminate the problem
can you use the same way to remove stone chip
where did you get the 4 inch makita foam pads? i cant find them anywhere
you can protect the lens with any UV rated protectant.
Nicely done. Step by step process shown and if you can't do what this vid shows then pay someone to do it because you either have no arms or no brain. Thanks again, I'll check out your other vids.
how long will this last compared to just clear coating it?
Befo4eGaming clear coating the paint fills the holes in almost permanently while you'll have to polish the headlights more offten
I've worked in detailing and body shops for almost 30 years....this is the professional way to do it. Never use clear coat! Instead wax your headlights, when you do the rest of your car 1-4 times a year.
It's better to clear coat
How to clean headlights inside?
but do they scratch your headlights in anyway ? wire wool sounds dangerous
Lateral led?
Do you use the same Polish and compound as u do for clear coat? Or is it specifically for plastic? Nice video...
might not be the first to ask but .. would it not be better to remove the headlight before sanding ? .. more controll i recon
What would be a good sealant to use
The Menzerna polishes are almost $75 alone. I found a brand new pair of my "04 Grand Cherokee headlight assemblies for $84 shipped. This doesn't seem worth the time, effort, expense, or labor.
Probably worth it on newer cars, where the HL assemblies are still $200+ each.
+sooperknob I agree. There is no need to spend that kind of money on polishes. That stuff is WAY over priced. You can buy cutting compound and polishes for a few bucks at an Auto trade shop. Also, you can polish these lenses by hand with a damp cloth and some toothpaste. No cost and easy as...
Do everything like he says ..but...
use toothpaste ;-) instead of that expensive polish
Yeah lmao, even my BMW just uses lens that you can replace for $20-30 instead of having to replace the entire headlight set
Yea because putting new headlights isnt a waste of time ? Hit up your local detailer to do it right not with toothpaste smh
Cheap kits on amazon have everything you need
Good work, Thanks for this, it worked great for me.
What's a good sealant wax to use on headlights?
michael aceves
Jetseal
I think i ruined one of my headlights. I used 1000, 1500, 2000 sandgrit with a mixture of water and (non car soap) then polished and use sealant but when i finished sanding they were very blurry and i tried to polish with mequire lense restorer but still blurry. When i used the sealant they became cristal clear but then blurried out again when they dried. Anyone have any advice? (no smartasses please)
you can hand cut it instead of buying a buff . it will take a while but it works.
@HighPerformance7uner
How exactly would you do it?
Use Presta headlight sealant to keep them from going back to the way they were
for all that work and buying pads and compound and nor to mention looking for a buffer with optional rpms.and the chance of making it worse, wouldn't it be cheaper and safer to just replace the lens ? ...
Question is, is this UV safe? Will it turn em "yellow for good" after a month or so?
Most restorers I've talked to recently speak against this method and promote "deoxidizers" instead.
Thanks a lot, I just did to my car and worked well.
Should have read the end... Where it said to make sure you use a good quality sealant to protect them....
Nicely explaind and excellent results. I must try that :D
Cool technique!
Great job but the uv hard is needed to make them last for years.
Good ol EU. we have glass lens...:) But why does USA have plastic?
Nice Passat man :)
Tu peux trouver des kits de restauration optiques dans les magasins spécialisés genre norauto pour une trentaine d'euros
you know you can save a lot of work and fuss if you have a mitt full of snow. Just rub the lens with the snow and it will gleam in a few seconds.
will need to find someone in uk chesterfield to do my audi headlights they need doing x
if you find someone, pass their details to me - need someone in Derby
+janna graham While I agree with this video (40 yrs in the Auto repair trade) I'd just like to add, that you can achieve very good results yourself using toothpaste and a damp cloth. You may need to go over it twice, using a good amount of pressure on the wet cloth. But, it will polish up surprisingly well. After you're done, clean and dry the lens and apply a polish. Any household polish should do, even Mr Sheen. I only suggest this because it's easy to do yourself at home and will cost you nothing. A repair shop will charge you like a wounded bull.
Have a spectacular day.
I seen this method a while ago and after polishing it's still hazey. I got worried but I think I used to much polish.
Go for a finer grit polish and you should be ok.
all the headlights ive cleaned up , the lights seem to have some sort of film on them , and thats what seems to break down , and the film must be removed completly , otherwise when you go to polish it , it ends up patchy. sanding it with 1000 grit doesnt even do anything. use 240 w&d , then 400 , then 800 then give em a polish with two pak cutters . the film is pretty hard to sand off , and rubbing it with 1000 does nothing , unless thyre not really that bad at all
For a excellent kit that works get the all in one 3M 39008 Headlight Lens Restoration System and use a regular corded or cordless drill that can be set at around 1200RPM...BAM, DONE! only $20 and it works!
Real nice, sir!
@themadmallard I personally use Chemical Guys' Jet Seal 109
it's a good idea to repolish them once ever 3 to 6 months with this method or else they will start turing yellow again.
Att. Rotor 13. An hour or so for polishing a headlight. I can do it in 5 minutes with g3 farecla compound using a makita buffer. We do it as a complimentary service at the dealership. You see the haze always returns. People that charge 50 to 80 will have those customers return after a couple of months with a rehazed headlight. Seen it happen with my own car.
no it doesnt scratch the lenses as youd be using fine wire wool
wow nice job.
The sealant is WAX :)
@whyeff21
i too have used this method on my e39 and couldnt get them perfect as above, it must be the plastic ;)
I'd clear coat the headlight to seal it. Heard it works well.
+fufuflavor so would you sand, clear coat then polish to prevent peel?
Best bet ,go on amazon and find a pair of lens that'll last a couple years,over time these lenses will be worn out.