How to clean your foggy/hazy/discolored headlights
Well, a little bit of history here. I've done this on a lot of cars, but I've only recently gotten it down to a science where it seems to work perfectly every time, and looks FANTASTIC. As opposed to marginal results.
Here's a shot of all the products/tools you'll need:
From left to right:
- Cotton wax applicators (Two, one for rubbing compound, the other for the Headlight Restorer)
- Foam wax applicator
- A good liquid wax. I like Meguiars NXT Tech Wax, because it seems to fill the tiny lines a lot better.
- 3M rubbing compound
- Spray bottle with water and a little, tiny bit of soap or Simple Green.
- Blue Magic Headlight Restorer
- 1000 grit sandpaper
- Microfiber towel
- Clean cotton towel
Step One:
Soak down the headlight and clean off any large debris. Once this is done, you take 1000 grit sandpaper, and spray down the sandpaper and headlight both with water, and start sanding smoothly and firmly from front to back. This is called 'wet sanding', for those of you who don't know. You can see that slurry on the lens; That's gross, discolored plastic being sluffed off by the wet sanding.
Step Two:
Spray off the lens, then wipe it down with the cotton towel, making sure to remove everything, as those little plastic beads that you sanded off can be abbrasive. More than you want, at least. This is how hazy it will look after the wet sanding.
Step Three:
Apply 3M Rubbing Compound to one of the cotton applicators, and rub the hell out of the lens, along an opposed direction to that which you went with the sandpaper. Once this is all rubbed away, this is what you get. Don't wipe it off, just keep rubbing until it all goes away, making sure to switch sides of the applicator once or twice, lest you just saturate the poor thing with compound.
Step Four:
Use the Blue Magic Headlight Restorer. Apply it to a different cotton applicator, and apply in small, tight circles. This is a finer polish than the rubbing compound, and leaves you with a nice, smooth lens. Same basic process as the last step, but this time, you'll have to use much, much more force to rub out the residual compound. Switch sides with the applicator repeatedly.
Finishing Touches:
Wash, and wipe down the lens. Apply some wax with the foam applicator, let it haze up, then polish it off with the microfiber towel, and you're done. There's a huge difference in the color and quality of the plastic afterward. Here's a good illustration of the difference:
The lens on the left has been treated to this process, whereas the right has not. It's a pretty badly taken picture, but it's fairly obvious, the difference.
Enjoy! I hope someone out there finds this useful. =)
- Eddie
Here's a shot of all the products/tools you'll need:
From left to right:
- Cotton wax applicators (Two, one for rubbing compound, the other for the Headlight Restorer)
- Foam wax applicator
- A good liquid wax. I like Meguiars NXT Tech Wax, because it seems to fill the tiny lines a lot better.
- 3M rubbing compound
- Spray bottle with water and a little, tiny bit of soap or Simple Green.
- Blue Magic Headlight Restorer
- 1000 grit sandpaper
- Microfiber towel
- Clean cotton towel
Step One:
Soak down the headlight and clean off any large debris. Once this is done, you take 1000 grit sandpaper, and spray down the sandpaper and headlight both with water, and start sanding smoothly and firmly from front to back. This is called 'wet sanding', for those of you who don't know. You can see that slurry on the lens; That's gross, discolored plastic being sluffed off by the wet sanding.
Step Two:
Spray off the lens, then wipe it down with the cotton towel, making sure to remove everything, as those little plastic beads that you sanded off can be abbrasive. More than you want, at least. This is how hazy it will look after the wet sanding.
Step Three:
Apply 3M Rubbing Compound to one of the cotton applicators, and rub the hell out of the lens, along an opposed direction to that which you went with the sandpaper. Once this is all rubbed away, this is what you get. Don't wipe it off, just keep rubbing until it all goes away, making sure to switch sides of the applicator once or twice, lest you just saturate the poor thing with compound.
Step Four:
Use the Blue Magic Headlight Restorer. Apply it to a different cotton applicator, and apply in small, tight circles. This is a finer polish than the rubbing compound, and leaves you with a nice, smooth lens. Same basic process as the last step, but this time, you'll have to use much, much more force to rub out the residual compound. Switch sides with the applicator repeatedly.
Finishing Touches:
Wash, and wipe down the lens. Apply some wax with the foam applicator, let it haze up, then polish it off with the microfiber towel, and you're done. There's a huge difference in the color and quality of the plastic afterward. Here's a good illustration of the difference:
The lens on the left has been treated to this process, whereas the right has not. It's a pretty badly taken picture, but it's fairly obvious, the difference.
Enjoy! I hope someone out there finds this useful. =)
- Eddie