How to make your cloudy hazed headlights look new again

[str8venom99]

This how to is for renewing your hazed cloudy headlight to like new condition. heres a list of items youll need:

maskin tape (not needed if you remove your lights from the car)
bucket -O- water
superfine grit sandpaper packs (800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500)
spray bottle with water(i did this at my apartment) or a garden hose
some type of headlight polish (mothers, meguires, ETC)
your fav choice of car wax
your fav choice of wrags or cloths i prefer micro-fiber

heres the before pic


-first begin to tape off the area around your lights to avoid scratching your paint or remove them but i was lazy and kept them on the car
next get your bucket and fill with water cold warm hot whatever you fell comfortable with and throw in the 800 grit sandpaper let it soak for a couple minutes

-then fold the sandpaper in to thirds and get to work. spray down the headlight with water begin wetsanding lightly at an angle / completly then at the opposit angle \ .make sure to keep the surface wet while sanding. this stepp is just to remove the roughness from the hazing and oxidation. and throught the wetsanding process you will notice the chalky mess and the headlights will look the same

-now throw the 1000 grit in the bucket and let it soak for a few. then fold into thirds and wetsand in the same cross pattern and making sure the surface is wet and gets completly and envenly sanded.

-repeat this same process with the 1500, 2000, and 2500 grit sandpaper.

-after that wipe down and wash the wetsanding mess off the car and or lights

-apply your headlight polish and let it set for a minute or 2. then buff off with your wrag cloth or what every i used micro-fiber cloths cause i love them. you may need to do one or more times to get the shine you desire

-now your seen some results, apply your choice of wax to the light and let it dry to a haze the buff off and clean up any excess off the ligths and or car. step back and check em out

heres my after pic


sorry but these were the only pics i took during this process. thanks for lookin

[LowBoost]

very nice always fun to do this every spring to keep the car nice both the headlights and tail lights amazing how much differnce clean lights do for a car +rep for you.

[riva]

I need to do this soon.

[myHonda1]

Nice write-up!

[freidaddy]

very cool write up.

[oldschooljdm]

very good work, but there are easier ways to go about this lol

[Sundown]

did you use a circular motion when using the sandpaper?

[4thGEN]

shit looks decent,

[str8venom99]

thanks all,
sundown i wetsanded back and forth at an angle one way then the opposite basciaclly like this /////// across the headlight then back across \\\\\\\\\\

[Andrew]

'Mothers Aluminum & Mag Polish' works great too!
All you do is rub it on with some elbow grease, and wipe it clean. may have to do it a couple times, but no sanding, no spraying, nothing like that. Just rub on, wipe off.

[str8venom99]

^ i never thought of using a metal polish on plastic parts. id be affraid of it fuckin up

[1990reds13]

i used the meguiar's plastX on mine and they look brand new, so sanding or anything either

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by str8venom99

^ i never thought of using a metal polish on plastic parts. id be affraid of it fuckin up

No need to worry. It doesnt hurt it at all.
My headlights are crystal clear! (there glass, however)

[slowex98]

awsome going to do this myself

[teamoktane]

on glass headlights you can just use steel wool and i works just fine and its cheap.

[SOHCinWA]

That and I have used a buffing wheel also ... Works much faster. You just have to watch what you are doing so that you dont melt the plastic.....

[str8venom99]

thanks all
yea i usually use my 7" makita buffer and 3m compound but i wanted to see if the results were better this way

[burnoutboy]

When you say 3m compound are you talking a regular polish compound or the 3m Plastic cleaner and 3M plastic polish? I use the latter two with great results!

[str8venom99]

^i used the 3m perfect-it compound the same stuff that is used to buff cars

[torturedsol]

I also saw something on tv about using something at advance auto called the power ball. Goes on the electric drill and it buffs the shit off your lights