Polished headlights.

[spiderrey]

Looking for a good polishing kit to polish up the head lights on my 2006 tundra and my girls 2000 mercedes. Anyone have good experience with any of the kits out there.

[AriK]

Plastic headlight lenses right?
Wet sand with 1000 grit if really yellow and pitted. Follow with 1500 then 2000 then 3000. Finish with any of those polishes that come with a drill bit applicator. dry to h haze and wipe with clean cloth. Skip the 1000 grit if condition is not severe.

[vandor]

If you are satisfied with a 90% result simply use toothpaste on a rag. Might try that to see what results you get.
I've done it on several cars and while the headlights did not come out like-new, they were leaps better that before at no cost and 5 minutes of polishing.

[spiderrey]

I'll give it a shot tommrow after my ride

[toplessexpat]

... and on the subject of toothpaste polishing....

Rings left by mugs/cups/glassware on polished wood furniture. Polish and buff using toothpaste, a brand with baking soda if really bad (eg Arm and Hammer). Substantially cheaper than a French Polisher!

[spidernut]

I've used various levels of progressively fine sandpaper, followed by a good buffing with a foam buffing wheel designed for buffing out paint. It has been four years and the headlights are still crystal clear.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... ishing+pad

[AriK]

If you are satisfied with a 90% result simply use toothpaste on a rag. Might try that to see what results you get.
I've done it on several cars and while the headlights did not come out like-new, they were leaps better that before at no cost and 5 minutes of polishing.

I've been there done that with the toothpaste on a rag and it was a waste of elbow grease and time. That said, however, i did not perform the wet sanding steps prior to that, so i cannot say if the toothpaste can be a substitute for the final polish.

[spiderrey]

OK, bought the Mothers kit and some sand paper. lets do this.

[spiderrey]

Not done, but driver side so far. NICE.

[AriK]

Very nice! I believe the instructions may say that the polish is also good for ragtop windows but i never saw any improvement in that aspect.

[spiderrey]

Yes it works on plastic windows too. My spider hasnt had a top on it in 15 years though.

[JerryAebi]

I saw on youtube a guy that used mosquito repellent and a sock. Looked liked it worked easy, BUT! I've never tried it personally.

[AriK]

I saw on youtube a guy that used mosquito repellent and a sock. Looked liked it worked easy, BUT! I've never tried it personally.

When a plastic headlight lens is all clouded over it's caused by microscopic pitting created when the the car is being pelted by road debris such as dust, bugs, dirty water and salt-laden slush. On top of all that, UV rays from the sun causes the porous surface to become yellow. The objective here is to smoothen out the surface so that it becomes as glossy as a mirror. If regular toothpate or bug repellent contribute to the procedure, logically they would need to be the final polish. Step 1 still requires a rub with something abrasive such as wet sandpaper.
Sand,
Refine,
Polish.
Such as what you do to paint.
My 2003 has headlights that look the way they did when they came out of the showroom.
Luckily our Spiders have old fashioned glass lenses that always look showroom. One less thing to worry about.

[DanD]

Will have to do the Subaru in the spring. Someone put some kind of ''restorer'' on them a few years back, and it is peeling off.

Spending most of my time keeping the handle on the wood stove shiny this winter. Heat for the garage is in the works for next year...

[124JOE]

I have done around 20 cars in the three yrs ive been a detailer
be sure to tape off around the light first
American plastic is softer than English
and goes to crap quicker there Is a point where they are just junk
like uv degradation inside the lenz. the reson for wet sand is plastic melts
and that's a real job then,as for euro plastic ive wet sanded with 400.yes 400
then 800,1500 and 3000. feeling how smooth at each stage then a brown coarse
liquid polish then a pink medium to fine then a blue ultra fine all with a 8 inch buffer
NOT on a high speed. belive it or not then a clear coat spray,that ruins my perfect polish job
but gives the bugs something to eat into

and as for bugs, I use a good wash to remove them, but if they are stuck I use a fine steel wool
with a soft touch

hope this helps