How to Make Your Headlights Shine Like New

popularmechanics ^ | March 31, 2014 1:30 PM | By Michael Austin

[virgil283]

"Most headlights are made of polycarbonate plastic, which is durable and scratch-resistant. But over time polycarbonate clouds over, mostly due to UV rays that degrade the outer layer of plastic. .....

.....Good do it yourself project;

[mabarker1]

LOL!

[virgil283]

"All of these products use an abrasive such as sandpaper".... The kit comes with the abrasive sandcloth...

[Mears]

bfl

[theneanderthal]

"Check out the car care products by Meguiar’s. They make one specifically for polishing out plastic. Any of their products which I’ve tried have been excellent."

I agree the Meguires kit worked well for me. I've done two sets of headlights with a single kit and I have enough left for two or three more.

[maine-iac7]

good golly, folks - no longer need the buffer/sander/sand paper, the 3- piece kit - etc - just go to your auto supply and buy a small bottle of polishing cream made for it! - Takes about 5 minutes - to do both headlights!

[Moonman62]

Check out the car care products by Meguiar’s. They make one specifically for polishing out plastic.

I've used PlastX for a few years. It has to be reapplied every 3 months or so, but one bottle lasts a long time.

[theneanderthal]

Do you have a specific recommendation for a brand?

[zeugma]

BFL

[zerosix]

Nothing will remove the “nasty” from her (lawyer, that is.)

[onyx]

B T T T ! ! ! ©

[RightGeek]

Saw a display of these on my last trip to the auto parts store and wondered if they actually work. Something tells me it isn’t really that easy.

[scott7278]

I used the Turtle Wax kit on my old car, and it worked.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

One day I had my car parked in the driveway. My wife pulled out of the garage, didn’t see me and sideswiped my car. No real damage but she had black paint marks on her silver car. A friend told me to use headlight cleaner that I had instead of compound to take the paint off. Worked like a charm, much better than it did on my headlights.

[Jet Jaguar]

Did you add a coat of UV protectant afterwards? How long did/does it last?

[Smokin' Joe]

I have done this with a couple of vehicles. Whatever kit you get, review the instructions first, don’t rush, and follow the instructions precisely for best results. It made a huge difference in both of the vehicles.

[Smokin' Joe]

I think you had it right the first time (8^D).

[Little Pig]

It’s the same car. Slightly different angle and lighting is all. The headlight lens is exactly the same; note the arrangement and number of the different refraction elements in each.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Getting ready to try the Wipe New as I also needed it for some sun faded plastic.

I found something that works for a few months. Used Mothers Brazilian Carnauba Cleaner Wax for a while on a car as normal. Somebody told me to try it on the headlights. Didn’t look as good as a kit but still was a great improvement. Tried it on other cars and it looked great also. Had better results than I did with Plastic X.

[Daffynition]

If I do the headlights....the rest of the car won't *match*.

[right way right]

That one has glass headlights, but the ugly is not going to buff out.
Sorry.