joesturbo
12-18-2005, 01:39 PM
Just thought I would post this up - as it has worked great on my GTI and my wife's Protégé and my brother’s beater an 88 Ford.
Things to get:
1. 900 - 1200 grit wet sanding paper.
2. Mothers Aluminum polish
3. Rags
4. Spray wax
5. Elbow grease
The plastic headlights after years of sun, environment (rocks etc.) will pit and yellow the plastic on the headlights.
My wife's protégé had this yellowing effect + it was not projecting much light to the road. I started thinking on how to "fix" this problem. I tried some of the chemicals sold on eBay and they worked but were short term at best.
When thinking about what the damage is, it is important to understand what is happening. The outside surface is essentially oxidizing; the only way to fix the headlight is to remove this surface. I went out and bought a package of 900 wet sand papers (you may use a higher grade but 900 seems to work fine).
Then I had sitting around a couple of other items I used. I sprayed down the headlight with Mothers spray wax I got with a clay bar kit. Then sanded down the headlight from left to right (re-lube using the wax as necessary keeping the surface wet), cleaned the lens then top to bottom and wiped away the excess wax. When doing this you will actually see the wax turn yellow - I believe this is actually the oxidation being removed.
Once done and dry, I used Mother's Aluminum polish (I tried other wax products but this seemed to work best). Rubbing from left to right, I polished out the headlight. This will take a little time but I kept on rubbing using the same section of cloth until it literally got hot. At this stage you will see the headlight start to clear up and be clear once again.
The results are next to amazing - rock chips, bug stains and the yellow appearance were all gone. Also the light pattern at night returned next to stock. I spent about 15 minutes on each light because I am anal, but I imagine you could do this in about 10 minutes each light...
Joe
Things to get:
1. 900 - 1200 grit wet sanding paper.
2. Mothers Aluminum polish
3. Rags
4. Spray wax
5. Elbow grease
The plastic headlights after years of sun, environment (rocks etc.) will pit and yellow the plastic on the headlights.
My wife's protégé had this yellowing effect + it was not projecting much light to the road. I started thinking on how to "fix" this problem. I tried some of the chemicals sold on eBay and they worked but were short term at best.
When thinking about what the damage is, it is important to understand what is happening. The outside surface is essentially oxidizing; the only way to fix the headlight is to remove this surface. I went out and bought a package of 900 wet sand papers (you may use a higher grade but 900 seems to work fine).
Then I had sitting around a couple of other items I used. I sprayed down the headlight with Mothers spray wax I got with a clay bar kit. Then sanded down the headlight from left to right (re-lube using the wax as necessary keeping the surface wet), cleaned the lens then top to bottom and wiped away the excess wax. When doing this you will actually see the wax turn yellow - I believe this is actually the oxidation being removed.
Once done and dry, I used Mother's Aluminum polish (I tried other wax products but this seemed to work best). Rubbing from left to right, I polished out the headlight. This will take a little time but I kept on rubbing using the same section of cloth until it literally got hot. At this stage you will see the headlight start to clear up and be clear once again.
The results are next to amazing - rock chips, bug stains and the yellow appearance were all gone. Also the light pattern at night returned next to stock. I spent about 15 minutes on each light because I am anal, but I imagine you could do this in about 10 minutes each light...
Joe