DIY: Headlight Restoration

MetzgerMeister

Hi all,

Since I bought my car, I've had "foggy" headlights due to tiny scratches and a cloud appearing on them. Most RX-8 owners will know of/suffer from this. I got sick of it and went at them today with excellent results.

I'll edit this post with pictures this evening when I get on my own computer.

What I used:

> Warm water/wash-up liquid & rag

> Masking tape

> "Challenge" buffing machine from Argos (bought in 2006!)

> Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish

> Meguiar's Gold Class Wax

> Meguiar's applicator pad

> Microfibre cloth


Method:

It's very important to do this in the shade where there's no sun directly hitting the surface.


1. Clean both headlights with warm water and wash-up liquid. Dry by hand.

2. Mask off the surrounding paintwork around the headlight. This is a very good idea unless you want that area to be shinier than the rest of the car.

3. Get your buffer and apply the polish sparingly.

4. Press the buffer against the headlight, then turn it on. This prevents the polish splashing everywhere.

5. While applying light pressure (let the buffer do the work) move the buffer left to right and up and down. Make sure not to spend too long on any one area. This may give the polish time to dry out in other areas. Keep it moving. While you're doing this, you'll start to notice tiny bits of plastic (looks like fluff) appearing on the headlight. This means it's working.

6. Do this for 5 minutes, moving up and down and left and right. Then wipe the headlight clean of polish. At this point, you'll notice a huge difference.

7. Move to the other headlight and repeat steps 1 - 6 again.

8. Give both headlights a good buff and then apply a coat of wax. Let each coat dry enough so that when you rub your finger on it, it removes the wax. If it streaks, it's not time to buff

9. Admire your "new" headlights


I polished both headlights 4 times each just to get the best results. I then applied 3 coats of wax to each. You can do it whatever number of times you like but don't do it too much as you might cut off too much. Examine each headlight to see your progress and stop when you're happy with it.

I have Meguiar's PlastX which is meant for this kind of thing but I couldn't find it so I went with the polish instead which also has light cutting/abrasive properties.

There's still a bit of oxidation on the inside of the lenses but in order to get at that, you'd have to "bake" them open. Not something I'd advise anyone to do!!!

NOTE: My headlight casings are made of a strong plastic. This method may not work on all headlights.

voxpop

Did this myself with a DA and standard(Menzerna) polish - made a big difference.

Just one thing - I thought it was a bad idea to put wax on headlights - something about the heat making the wax go yellow ??

MetzgerMeister

voxpop wrote: »

Did this myself with a DA and standard(Menzerna) polish - made a big difference.

Just one thing - I thought it was a bad idea to put wax on headlights - something about the heat making the wax go yellow ??

Yup, any polish will do! I just used what I had. My buffer is a DA too. I wouldn't recommend using an orbital one for this.

I've never heard about wax going yellow. The reason I did it is because when you cut away a thin layer of plastic, it may reduce the UV protectant. Meguiar's do a dedicated UV headlight protectant cream but I didn't have it today

Owen

Brilliant how-to, well done!! The only thing I'd echo is that it's really really important to mask off around the headlights with several layers of tape. The polisher can burn through quickly, and eat through the paint (Especially the side of the buffing mop hitting the horizontal part of the bumper). Great to hear you got good results too. Yay for more DIY How-tos!

Seperate

It's also worth noting that alot of modern cars will have a protective plastic film on the headlight face, which if subjected to heat, will melt fairly rapidly. Should be fine if you keep the buffer moving.

Also, if the headlights are bad or pitted from stones, some 2000grit followed by 4000grit wet and dry before polishing will bring them up that little bit more.

MetzgerMeister

Thanks for the input guys. I hope more people have ideas!

@PD - if I'm honest, I only used 2 layers of tape but I didn't have the buffer in any 1 position too long for the polish to absorb into the tape if you get me.

@Seperate - Good point. I was aware of this which is why I kept the buffer moving. I have the stone chips but I don't think I'll bother with the sandpaper. They're not that bad

MetzgerMeister

As promised, although a little late, here's the pics:

1. Mask the surrounding area with 3 layers of tape:






2. Get a buffer and polish. Any polish or headlight restoration polish will do, I just had Meg's at the time.






3. Apply the polish to the buffing pad like so. Do NOT cover it with polish, only a small bit like this will do.




4. Get your wax and applicator pad and give the headlights a few coats.


DONE!

NOTE: The photos of the headlights were taken after I polished them. I didn't take any when they were cloudy for some reason.