Frustrated By Heavily Oxidized Headlights? Here's What Worked

Spoiler alert. Once you sand those headlights nothing will make them last like new including spraying them with clear coat which buys some time but DOES NOT LAST. Keep in mind that when you sand you have compromised the surface forever. That is why all the places that advertised refinishing headlights in the past stopped doing it or if they still do they offer no real warranty for a good period of time. Returns were crazy! Nothing last as long as the factory finish. Its just best to constantly polish the plastic headlamps and then coat them with a good UV wax or sealant on a regular basis.
 
Originally Posted by 007
Spoiler alert. Once you sand those headlights nothing will make them last like new including spraying them with clear coat which buys some time but DOES NOT LAST. Keep in mind that when you sand you have compromised the surface forever. That is why all the places that advertised refinishing headlights in the past stopped doing it or if they still do they offer no real warranty for a good period of time. Returns were crazy! Nothing last as long as the factory finish. Its just best to constantly polish the plastic headlamps and then coat them with a good UV wax or sealant on a regular basis.

Indeed.
 
Originally Posted by 007
Spoiler alert. Once you sand those headlights nothing will make them last like new including spraying them with clear coat which buys some time but DOES NOT LAST. Keep in mind that when you sand you have compromised the surface forever. That is why all the places that advertised refinishing headlights in the past stopped doing it or if they still do they offer no real warranty for a good period of time. Returns were crazy! Nothing last as long as the factory finish. Its just best to constantly polish the plastic headlamps and then coat them with a good UV wax or sealant on a regular basis.

How did my sand and reclear last for so long? Car has never been kept in a garage. Spoiler alert, the factory clear they use on the lenses obviously doesn't last either...or this wouldn't even be a discussion. As a matter of fact, these first started getting dull when the car was right at 5 years old. Looks like my preferred method lasts just as long as the factory coating. I'll sand and reclear every 5 to 6 years before I have to polish, wax or seal every few months.
 
I don't worry about keeping them nice after restoring them. I go over them by hand every couple of months with Turtle Wax rubbing compound. No taping required, and it only takes about 10 minutes to do both, and they look great again...
 
Originally Posted by 28oz
Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by c502cid
Originally Posted by 28oz
Lots of things will polish them well. How long they stay clear is what counts!

^^^this!^^^

+100......... And it won't be for long if you park outside, in an area of the country with a high UV light index. It becomes a losing, never ending battle to say the least. Unless you change how your car is stored, they'll just oxidize again in almost no time. Because nothing has changed. My 1991 truck was always garage kept, and my plastic lenses remained clear and bright. Through most of this time I worked nights, which really helped in keeping them from oxidizing.

For the last year it was parked outside, and the lenses oxidized in a matter of just a few months. I polished them, and within 3 months they were deteriorated. Now that we have moved into a home with a 3 car garage, I took the time to completely polish and detail them to all but new condition. Now they'll stay that way because the vehicle is out of the weather.

Point being, plastic will begin the deterioration process as soon as it's exposed to ANY UV light. And nothing can be done about it. With all of the "engineering" that has gone into making modern vehicles more maintenance free, plastic headlight lenses sure weren't one of them. Now we can add, "Headlight Lens Maintenance" to our list.




Absolutely. This is one thing I like about my 300ZX. Actual glass headlights, lol. 30 years old and they still look new. On my Quest, I sanded them and sprayed them with clear coat. Looked great and lasted 1.5 to 2 years before the clear coat started flaking off. Now they're as ugly as ever again.
grin.gif



Amen to the Z's glass headlights!!
 
Originally Posted by GoldDot40
Originally Posted by 007
Spoiler alert. Once you sand those headlights nothing will make them last like new including spraying them with clear coat which buys some time but DOES NOT LAST. Keep in mind that when you sand you have compromised the surface forever. That is why all the places that advertised refinishing headlights in the past stopped doing it or if they still do they offer no real warranty for a good period of time. Returns were crazy! Nothing last as long as the factory finish. Its just best to constantly polish the plastic headlamps and then coat them with a good UV wax or sealant on a regular basis.

How did my sand and reclear last for so long? Car has never been kept in a garage. Spoiler alert, the factory clear they use on the lenses obviously doesn't last either...or this wouldn't even be a discussion. As a matter of fact, these first started getting dull when the car was right at 5 years old. Looks like my preferred method lasts just as long as the factory coating. I'll sand and reclear every 5 to 6 years before I have to polish, wax or seal every few months.


I am happy your finish has lasted so long. You are the exception to dealer and aftermarket applications.
 
does not seem to be a premium plastic when you see the same issue on a Corolla, Mercedes, or C6 vette
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
does not seem to be a premium plastic when you see the same issue on a Corolla, Mercedes, or C6 vette


Yep,exactly! The same cheap plastic that's used on the cheapest Kia is used on the most expensive Aston Martin. I REALLY wish all car companies would use glass only.
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Originally Posted by 4WD
does not seem to be a premium plastic when you see the same issue on a Corolla, Mercedes, or C6 vette


Yep,exactly! The same cheap plastic that's used on the cheapest Kia is used on the most expensive Aston Martin. I REALLY wish all car companies would use glass only.

Between the lust for weight reduction and lower manufacturing costs on vehicles...it's not gonna happen.
 
I have sanded and buffed to look like new after each car was I put a dab of Aerospace 303
on soft cloth and go over the headlights first and than the rear lights. They all look almost new.
 
Should be against the law to make plastic headlight lenses. Just look around and you can see plenty that are so hazed up that there is no way they work as designed. The people at DOT should be fired.
 
Originally Posted by tonytiger
Should be against the law to make plastic headlight lenses. Just look around and you can see plenty that are so hazed up that there is no way they work as designed. The people at DOT should be fired.

Hazed headlight plastic covers stems from poor maintenance by owners to prevent UV damage.

Like many other products...if people don't maintain things properly...they don't survive well. Simple UV protection with inexpensive care avoids this problem.

Blaming the manufacture/design is nothing more than an excuse for poor vehicle care by owners. We have a 7 year old Honda with plastic headlight lamp covers that look like band new. All it has taken is some simple preventative UV protection car care. Easy peasy.

2013 HONDA ACCORD 1.jpg
 
Originally Posted by tonytiger
Should be against the law to make plastic headlight lenses. Just look around and you can see plenty that are so hazed up that there is no way they work as designed. The people at DOT should be fired.


I agree. Headlights are something that should be glass only.
 
Originally Posted by HYUNDAIFAN0001
Originally Posted by tonytiger
Should be against the law to make plastic headlight lenses. Just look around and you can see plenty that are so hazed up that there is no way they work as designed. The people at DOT should be fired.

Hazed headlight plastic covers stems from poor maintenance by owners to prevent UV damage.

Like many other products...if people don't maintain things properly...they don't survive well. Simple UV protection with inexpensive care avoids this problem.

Blaming the manufacture/design is nothing more than an excuse for poor vehicle care by owners. We have a 7 year old Honda with plastic headlight lamp covers that look like band new. All it has taken is some simple preventative UV protection car care. Easy peasy.


Nice lights. What simple UV protection did you use?
 
I don't understand why anybody would waste their time polishing headlights. Sand them and shoot them with clearcoat. It's the longest lasting and least expensive (in the long run) there is.

[Linked Image from i35.photobucket.com]

In the above, the driver side had just been sprayed with UV clear. The passenger side was sanded using 800, 1000, 1500. No polishing or waxing whatsoever. Sand, wipe clean, then spray. Below is 5 years later...
[Linked Image]
Is the bottom image supposed to look good? They look pretty cloudy to me. I need to sand and respray the ones on my Accord. The horizontal surfaces have lost the factory clear and have to be touched up regularly.
 
Is the bottom image supposed to look good? They look pretty cloudy to me. I need to sand and respray the ones on my Accord. The horizontal surfaces have lost the factory clear and have to be touched up regularly.
That's how they look after 5 years of me sanding and reclearing them. Of course they aren't perfect, but they still look better than OE lenses when the car was 5 years old. And no...they're not as "cloudy" as they appeared in that picture...you're seeing the reflection of an overcast sky above.
 
That's how they look after 5 years of me sanding and reclearing them. Of course they aren't perfect, but they still look better than OE lenses when the car was 5 years old. And no...they're not as "cloudy" as they appeared in that picture...you're seeing the reflection of an overcast sky above.

Oh, I see. Well done then!
 
Originally Posted by tonytiger
Should be against the law to make plastic headlight lenses. Just look around and you can see plenty that are so hazed up that there is no way they work as designed. The people at DOT should be fired.

Hazed headlight plastic covers stems from poor maintenance by owners to prevent UV damage.

Like many other products...if people don't maintain things properly...they don't survive well. Simple UV protection with inexpensive care avoids this problem.

Blaming the manufacture/design is nothing more than an excuse for poor vehicle care by owners. We have a 7 year old Honda with plastic headlight lamp covers that look like band new. All it has taken is some simple preventative UV protection car care. Easy peasy.
Irrelevant when there are 1000 tiny stone pockmarks in each headlight.
 
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