# Sticky  How to polish your headlights



## Nismo1997 (Dec 26, 2003)

Have you taken a close look at your headlights lately? They are probably faded and hazy like mine unless you have been lucky enough to keep your car in the garage. The sun really takes a toll on the plastic of the headlights and driving lights. Fortunately, you can fix the problem for about $30 and a few hours of wet sanding. The alternative is spend $100 per light for new ones. You can do this one of two ways: Either on the car or off.

*Supplies Needed*:600, 800, 1500, 2000 grit sand paper, 3M rubbing compound (fine cut), 3M finish restorer 
- you can also use Meguire's clear plastic cleaner and clear plastic polish

If you are doing this on the car, get a water hose. You will be wet sanding the lenses. Also, BE CAREFUL not to scratch your paint - you will be using sandpaper here! 

Start with the 800 or 600 grit (I used 600 because after starting with the 800 and finishing, it still needed help on some of the haze) 
Keep water flowing on it and use small circular motions. Cover the entire area paying special attention to areas that are really ugly looking. 
Be sure to cover the whole area. 

Go up in grit using the 1500 and the 2000. You should have a very smooth, very hazy lens. 

Don't worry about the haze, it comes off in just a second. 
Take out your 3M rubbing compound (or the plastic cleaner). Apply some to a cotton rag and buff it into the lens. You should see an immediate improvement. I repeated this twice just to be sure. If you still notice some hazing you can start the process over with 600 grit, hammering on those badly scorched spots. I actually did one light twice. 
Now apply the 3M finish restorer (or the plastic polish) Apply it in the same way, buff and remove. 

You now, hopefully, have clean and renewed lights and driving lights


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## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

nice thanks for the advice, i've been thinking bout polishing my aux. driving lights. now i know how thanks alot man! :thumbup: and since i alrady have everything except for the compund and polish..and i can't wait to see mine after my 4000 grit paper


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## PacificBlue_200sx (Sep 15, 2003)

Cool thanks,
I'm gonna give that a try on my GF's car. Her's are almost yellow looking, and provide nill light.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

SanMarcosZfreak said:


> nice thanks for the advice, i've been thinking bout polishing my aux. driving lights. now i know how thanks alot man! :thumbup: and since i alrady have everything except for the compund and polish..and i can't wait to see mine after my 4000 grit paper


wait, they make 4k grit!? 

i did this, used 600 then 2000 and 3M plastic polish and my lights are still hazy, did it awile ago so im not blaiming this on nismo97.


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Yeah 4K grit is like smooth as marble...


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## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

its not even paper its plastic, and its 2$ a foot, i got like a 6 foot roll


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

SanMarcosZfreak said:


> its not even paper its plastic, and its 2$ a foot, i got like a 6 foot roll



Yeah you'd have to do a crap load of sanding to make that worth while.



I want to learn how to sand glass clear. Since no one makes any crystal clears for mine


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## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

nah it wears down pretty fast


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## BII (May 13, 2004)

Doesn't a lot of hazing happen on the inside?


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## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

Nope... At least on all my headlights... Anyways you need to use the rubbing compound to restore the clearness.


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## reeg420 (May 8, 2005)

never even thought about wet sanding headlights i usually use compound and blast them things at like 1600 on a buffer. like butta.....


but before i worked at a detailing shop i used crest toothpaste the regular paste kind. yup. and some elbow grease.


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## Sentra SER (Jan 11, 2005)

noob noob noob...I know but question, inside, outside or both?


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## Nismo1997 (Dec 26, 2003)

Sentra SER said:


> noob noob noob...I know but question, inside, outside or both?


All up to you.


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## Sparky828 (May 30, 2005)

I know im a noob and u dont have to listen to me if u dont want but ive always rubbed USED oil on the headlights of my neon...worked everytime and lasts for a while...


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

Something like motor oil ... or a dressing product like armor all which give a 'wet'' look to the plastic will _temporarily_ make it look clear.

Best to buff out the scratches and clean off the oxidized polymers with very fine abrasive produvts. I use primarily rubbing compounds and waxes with cleaners. This way, the lenses never get too far gone.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

used motor oil is an abbrasive because of the fine particles it has in it. that dosent sound like a bad idea.

tooth paste also works. (the kind with baking soda)


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## Sparky828 (May 30, 2005)

yea i guess i was taken wrong... lol i didnt mean LEAVE the oil on it as in the reason i said USED lol its all good tho...


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

If you rub oil onto a surface and then rub it off, you'll still leave a thin layer in place until you scrub the area with a degreaser.

As an abrasive, I'd say it is pretty poor. Particles in the oil are not uniform and will probably do more damage than good.


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## Targatheory (May 18, 2005)

Would using toothpaste and adding baking soda to it and just scrub with a cloth do anygood to remove that yellowish, shitlooking stuff off the headlights? Or do you HAVE to wetsand for a brandnew look finish.


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## [High-Octane] (Jun 2, 2005)

so ur saying for 30 bucks i dont need 2 buy new headlights for my birdshit yellow ones on my 240?!?!??!?!
omg!!! lol this is awsome!!!


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

[High-Octane] said:


> so ur saying for 30 bucks i dont need 2 buy new headlights for my birdshit yellow ones on my 240?!?!??!?!
> omg!!! lol this is awsome!!!


its pooooooooosible you may need to buy new. depending on how bad it is and on if you mess them up :thumbup: 

go and buy wet/dry paper with a 600/800/2000 grit aray of paper (or just buy those differant grits) and start with the 800, if it dosent help try the 600 untill you see it working, get the yellow off, then use 800 to smooth it out, now finish it with the 2000 and use some polishing compound on it then some plastic polish.


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## Sentra SER (Jan 11, 2005)

anybody else experience this?


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## I'm tired of my usernamee (Feb 16, 2004)

hmmmm. Are your lenses plastic or glass. It could be an anomoly or maybe could do with weather, temp, etc etc. and its not as if your car is old at all.


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

Yikes!

Are those scratches ... or is it something actually _in_ the plastic ... like it's beginning to wrinkle or crack apart?

Looks like UV light is taking its toll on the plastic ... depolymerization. The only cure for this is to keep the headlights out of the sun as much as possible. That means using something to cover them while the car is parked ... especially for extended periods ... or park in the shade or a garage.

It sucks that it has to come to that but the sun is NOT your friend ... except for the minor fact that it allows life to exist at all on this planet. 

Looks like replacement lenses/covers are in your near future.


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## maroonse_r (Aug 9, 2004)

i just cleaned my light and it worked pretty well although my light was so bad that i had to use 200 grit to get the goo that was caked on it. must have been plastic that had just broke down in the sun for soooo long but it came out pretty nice


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## ICP Sux0rZ! (Jan 10, 2005)

ok would this work for tailights to?

couold i jsut use some rubbing compound or do i NEED to sand it? its not that bad since its the back mainly some fading and surface scratches


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## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

People if it is just haze, use some Meguires something or rather... I got it in a little packet at autozone for a dollar. The end results are similar to if you took a hose and sprayed water on your headlights, they look super clear, but last alot longer than the hose thing .


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2003)

thats actually what i did not too long ago, wasnt on my car though, a friend had an old tercel with YELLOW lights, i mean yellow, and i just took some sand paper to it, and they looked like new. also, blue magic works good on getting any light haze build up, and VERY light scratches.


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## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

Settling this once and for all:

First I started off with some 400 grit sandpaper, then went up to 600grit, then 1500grit, and finally 2000grit. This is what it looked like afterwards (sanded on the right, before on the left):










Next I took some of this:










And this is the same light after first application of Plastx:










After second application:










And after doing same sanding procedure on other and 4 applications of Plastx on both total:










As you can see, it looks much better than it did. I don't think just sanding alone is what makes it clear. Plastx made it 100% clearer after sanding. Sanding is still essential in removing the yellow haze. The lights look much better in person btw.


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## [High-Octane] (Jun 2, 2005)

pimpride said:


> Settling this once and for all:
> 
> First I started off with some 400 grit sandpaper, then went up to 600grit, then 1500grit, and finally 2000grit. This is what it looked like afterwards (sanded on the right, before on the left):
> 
> ...


another great example of how effective this is!!!
so were can u get plastix at???
plus wasnt there 2 polishing/buffing materials involved ??? i dont know if it wuz nessicary but one they showed made the headlights PERFECT
i REALLY need 2 do this.. itl make my car look 5 years younger and its so bad now it affects my light outpu by at least 30%


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## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

[High-Octane] said:


> another great example of how effective this is!!!
> so were can u get plastix at???
> plus wasnt there 2 polishing/buffing materials involved ??? i dont know if it wuz nessicary but one they showed made the headlights PERFECT
> i REALLY need 2 do this.. itl make my car look 5 years younger and its so bad now it affects my light outpu by at least 30%



You can get it at autozone... Probably any autoparts store for that matter. What do you mean by polishing or buffing materials? All you need is a 100% cotton terry cloth to apply it (work smal areas at a time, rubbing it in really well), then use the same one to wipe the excess of.


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

about a year ago, blank told me about the Novus 3 step polish and i am yet to see anything that it cannot tackle. oxidation and deep scratches do not stand a chance.


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

is good stuff!!!!


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## Radioaktiv (Feb 12, 2004)

they sell pads you can buy (AutoZone, PepBoys, etc.) to attach to a rotary tool or power drill that will do it for you

id think this would do the job

gonna try it soon


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## [High-Octane] (Jun 2, 2005)

Radioaktiv said:


> they sell pads you can buy (AutoZone, PepBoys, etc.) to attach to a rotary tool or power drill that will do it for you
> 
> id think this would do the job
> 
> gonna try it soon


u can FLITZ it!!!
lol


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## silpena (Dec 7, 2005)

hmmm one way i learned is just wet sand with 2000 grit and then srpay some clear on it and it looks brand new and shiny as hell. works for me.


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## sire_of_black_eyess (Jan 20, 2006)

Hmm, I should seriously look into cleaning my headlights! If it wasn't 40°C outside, I'd do it now!


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## Spelchy (Jun 24, 1987)

Might have to give this a whirl on my car, the lights are pretty bad on it.


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## P057080N (May 14, 2005)

just tried this out, did a half assed job and got most of the yellow off, but some haze still remains.

it looks THREE TIMES better than before, distance wise, i can see now from before which was like 40 ft. to now which is like 120. And hibeamers look like im driving in daytime.

Who knows how good it will be once i really get it going.


:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: 

awesome thread


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## sybergato (Aug 23, 2005)

Love the write up! I just printed it out and will have my way lit up once it gets warmer out! Thanks!


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## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

No problem, although I can't take alot of the credit, I just provided pics and the idea to use the PlastX stuff. Don't forget to tape a hose to your hood and let water poor over the headlight that you are sanding, it makes sanding much easier and cleaner!


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## 19maxima98 (Sep 25, 2006)

do u use a belt sander or just your hands


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## hung8582 (Nov 25, 2006)

thanks for the tips !!!! my headlights look soooo new now!!!


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## golferadam (Dec 6, 2006)

Where can I get the 800, 1000, and 2000 grit sand paper? I tried Home Depot but the highest I found there was 600.


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## eyesack (Feb 22, 2006)

you can actually find it at pep boys now; i've been somewhat impressed with their detailing line recently (although i barely use any over the counter products anymore...)


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## vuiskool (May 27, 2007)

Sanding with these low grits wont scratch and leave all those nasty sanding marks on your headlights?!


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## mandy82 (Jun 8, 2007)

i could thank *nismo1997* enough for bringing this topic up. i recently purchased nissan tail lights and nissan turn signals which crashed when i got into a driving accident. thanks again and to everyone who gave their ideas too.


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## TylerM (May 2, 2007)

*very informative...*

wow! thanks for this. It really help...


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## reeg420 (May 8, 2005)

Yeah it dont harm the headlights at all. At first your gonna say what the $&% I messed my shit up but after you used the compound and glaze it up it brings the shine right back like glass. 
Ive done this many time in my shop. You can also use just the compound on a rag to remove minor glaze. 

Or what I used first on my sister's eclipse headlights like 8 years ago was crest toothpaste.. Yup I read it in a newspaper and it worked. But for severly hazed or brown lights your gonna have to wet sand.


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## Christian_C (Mar 19, 2007)

*The restoration kit from autozone rocks!!*

I got a restoration kit from autozone for 20 bucks.

It includes sand papers of two different grains, a polisher, a sealer, and a latex glove. It came in a shiny bag.

The results are guaranteed and so far I'm very pleased!


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## christofer (Aug 30, 2011)

Fortunately, there's a simple and inexpensive solution. Unlike glass, the polycarbonate plastic can be polished back to a surface as smooth as new, in a procedure that won't take more than a half-hour.


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## stealthy (Mar 22, 2012)

Fun fact: I read toothpaste works to polish your headlights. How "factual" this is, I wouldn't bet money on it, but I read something about it the other day. 

I didn't know Autozone had restoration kits; $20 is a nice price!


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## StateNissan (Apr 5, 2012)

Never heard of the toothpaste cleaning method before. Interesting. I typically use NuFinish or Armor-All cleansers. There's that "As Seen on TV" product specifically for cleaning headlights but I forget what it's called.


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## GeorgeS (Nov 22, 2012)

Going to try it soon!


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## Lavernesmith (Jun 12, 2013)

Toothpastes are really quite helpful in cleaning up the headlamps..they have some kind of component i am forgetting the name of which is quite useful in cleaning the dirt of the headlamps..all you have to do is to rub that paste and than clean it with a newspaper or clean cloth.


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## GeorgeS (Nov 22, 2012)

Lavernesmith said:


> Toothpastes are really quite helpful in cleaning up the headlamps..they have some kind of component i am forgetting the name of which is quite useful in cleaning the dirt of the headlamps..all you have to do is to rub that paste and than clean it with a newspaper or clean cloth.


did it a while ago... worked great!


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