Anyone use something to protect their clear plastic on the headlights?

My 16 year old Ford has plastic headlights that are yellowed and dull. I used some WD 40 on them, after reading about it on a forum and it does make them look better for a short time, till it rains, I guess.

So I have seen some products like meguiar's PlastX:

http://www.meguiars.com/?clear-plastic-care/PlastX-Clear-Plastic-Cleaner-Polish

I guess my worry about that product is the abrasive in it. Maybe something without the abrasive for new headlights?

And something with it for the older ones, already needing a sprucing up.

Thanks in advance.

Tree

I wet sand with 2000 grit and buff with scratchX.

I have used Plastic-x on older headlights that were already showing signs of oxidation. It worked well. For protecting them when new Ive heard conflicting opinions on waxing versus not waxing them. Some say that the wax builds up and can burn from the heat of the headlight. Other say it protects them from UV . I hit mine with Turtle wax ICE while I am doing the panels. No problems so far.

I hit mine with Turtle wax ICE while I am doing the panels. No problems so far.

Yup, I do that one too. Works for me.:smile:

You guys use ICE on the panels as well?!! I just used it on the paint, and sprayed some Meguires protectant spray on the panels, but that would be sweet if I could use it on the panels. Do the panels get darker?

I use the ICE only on my panels as I prefer Meguiar's Gold Class on the painted parts. Works great.

I think I am going to hit mine with the 303 protectant. I looked on their website and they recommend it for -Plastics, acrylics, polycarbonates: LexanŽ and acrylic panels, windows, , windshields, covers.-

I think the headlights are likely polycarbonate, or some acrylic.

http://www.303products.com/tech/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=428&CFID=13446695&CFTOKEN=19695740

They also suggest using it on hoses and CV boots, my exwife's Accord went through a lot of CV boots in the last 16 years and they weren't cheap. I think I might crawl under and do that too.

Some folks put flexible, clear adhesive plastic on their fog lights to protect the lenses from small impacts. Search for fog lights threads ... I think 3M makes such a product.

Anyone use something to protect their clear plastic on the headlights?

My 16 year old Ford has plastic headlights that are yellowed and dull. I used some WD 40 on them, after reading about it on a forum and it does make them look better for a short time, till it rains, I guess.

So I have seen some products like meguiar's PlastX:

http://www.meguiars.com/?clear-plastic-care/PlastX-Clear-Plastic-Cleaner-Polish

I guess my worry about that product is the abrasive in it. Maybe something without the abrasive for new headlights?

And something with it for the older ones, already needing a sprucing up.

Thanks in advance.

Tree



Meguiars Plastic-X is really good for cleaning old clear plastic that has yellowed, but for protecting I would think that the 3M plastic would be best.

I wet sand with 2000 grit and buff with scratchX.

I did the same but I just buffed the headlight with some polishing compound and a high speed buffer then applied a couple of coats of clear coat.... It still looks good.... :D

With about 113k on the ol' E, the front end was starting to show signs of wear and tear - especially the headlights. After this past winter, it became obvious to me that the 'twinkle' was gone from the headlamps. Thinking the only solution was going the wet sanding route, I was surprised when I stumbled across the Meguiar's Headlight Restoration Kit.

It comes with a bottle of PlastX, a buff pad for a drill, and a microfiber towel for cleanup and shining. The instructions are simple to understand and the application process is even more so. Even though it didn't clean up all the small dings, it did a pretty good job in clearing things up. Heck, from a distance the darn things look new again!

Feeling so good about the results, I applied the stuff on the bug deflector, too. Same deal - took out all the haze and made it just like when it was new!

So.. for $20, this product did a great job in putting the sparkle back into my E.

Cheers!

-D

With about 113k on the ol' E, the front end was starting to show signs of wear and tear - especially the headlights. After this past winter, it became obvious to me that the 'twinkle' was gone from the headlamps. Thinking the only solution was going the wet sanding route, I was surprised when I stumbled across the Meguiar's Headlight Restoration Kit.

It comes with a bottle of PlastX, a buff pad for a drill, and a microfiber towel for cleanup and shining. The instructions are simple to understand and the application process is even more so. Even though it didn't clean up all the small dings, it did a pretty good job in clearing things up. Heck, from a distance the darn things look new again!

Feeling so good about the results, I applied the stuff on the bug deflector, too. Same deal - took out all the haze and made it just like when it was new!

So.. for $20, this product did a great job in putting the sparkle back into my E.

Cheers!

-DThanks for the revue. I have an old Ford that has the headlight issue. Also some other black plastic on it that would be a good experiment to see if it works on that. I used WD-40 on them once, and it helped for a little while, I guess until the WD washes off. Not perfect, but looked better than without it.

I wet sand with 2000 grit and buff with scratchX.

Do this. Did it on my uncle's old Mercury Villager & RV. They look brand new. Went from looking like frosted glass to ultra clear and bright. I did one with just the Scratch X and it looked tons better, but it still had little spiderweb cracks in it.

Some folks put flexible, clear adhesive plastic on their fog lights to protect the lenses from small impacts. Search for fog lights threads ... I think 3M makes such a product.

Yup! When I purchased my E new, I invested in the Clear-Bra for the nose and the whole hood. They added it to the plastic lenses of the headlights and even on the factory fogs to keep everything looking great. It is a 3M product, and <I think> it was money well spent, not a single rock chip in 3 years!

You can look here (http://www.invisiblemask.com/cgi-bin/products_ip/browser.cgi?prevtype=Automobiles+and+light+trucks&prevyear=2006&prevmake=HONDA&prevmodel=&prevsubmodel=&prevseries=&type=Automobiles+and+light+trucks&year=2006&make=HONDA&model=ELEMENT) and add your year E for some pricing.

I was changing the bulbs in my wife's Civic yesterday (talk about cramped quarters) and I noticed that the passenger side headlight plastic is quite hazy/fogged.

Additionally, I know there are products out there that purport to allow you to polish that haze out. Question is, are they just snake oil, or is there something out there that really works?

Inquiring minds want to know!

I was changing the bulbs in my wife's Civic yesterday (talk about cramped quarters) and I noticed that the passenger side headlight plastic is quite hazy/fogged.

Additionally, I know there are products out there that purport to allow you to polish that haze out. Question is, are they just snake oil, or is there something out there that really works?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Have not used the polish, but I think that the whole polishing plastic process works. It's really just making fine scratches in the plastic first to remove the oxidized outer material. I suspect that the compound that Meguiars is using holds a chemical that melts the plastic surfaces slightly and that's how they get the shine and luster of the plastic to come back. If you are able to get the results that you want with some elbow grease, spend the $40 bucks to add the protection (http://www.invisiblemask.com/cgi-bin/products_ip/browser.cgi?prevtype=Automobiles+and+light+trucks&prevyear=2006&prevmake=HONDA&prevmodel=&prevsubmodel=&prevseries=&type=Automobiles+and+light+trucks&year=2006&make=HONDA&model=ELEMENT) to the headlights if you plan to keep the car for a while.

Ah, this may be the trick right here for the ol' civic!

With about 113k on the ol' E, the front end was starting to show signs of wear and tear - especially the headlights. After this past winter, it became obvious to me that the 'twinkle' was gone from the headlamps. Thinking the only solution was going the wet sanding route, I was surprised when I stumbled across the Meguiar's Headlight Restoration Kit.

It comes with a bottle of PlastX, a buff pad for a drill, and a microfiber towel for cleanup and shining. The instructions are simple to understand and the application process is even more so. Even though it didn't clean up all the small dings, it did a pretty good job in clearing things up. Heck, from a distance the darn things look new again!

Feeling so good about the results, I applied the stuff on the bug deflector, too. Same deal - took out all the haze and made it just like when it was new!

So.. for $20, this product did a great job in putting the sparkle back into my E.

Cheers!

-D

Here is a site that stocks a few headlight restoration products.
I have use the 3M kit with good success.

http://www.autogeek.net/headlight-lens.html

don't know if the mods here discourage posting commercial sites links

Don't forget the step where you put them in the oven and remove the orange piece (also paint the housing if you have a pre-07). :)

Ya, was waxing my E the other day and was annoyed with the dullness of my headlights. Was thinking of rubbing compound but thought it might be to abrasive and tried mag wheel polish(in a little test area first) and worked great. My E is 7 years old next month with 130,000 miles and when I pulled into work the next morning a bunch of guys were standing outside and the first thing they said was "did you get new headlights", lol. Should have done before and after pics, but it was to late when I thought about posting.

I use a #2 aviation plastic polish every couple months and they still look like new other then a few pits from gravel and I just bought a bottle of the Mothers polish and it seems to work good also. I have those 3M plastic covers over the fogs to keep them from breaking and use the polish on those and it works great also.

Restoration: Walmart and some of the parts stores sell a restoration kit that works well if done correctly. I used it on my old Jetta. It comes with two different grits of sand paper (i think 2000 and 3000), an abrasive compound for after sanding, and a clear coat to protect after you're done. When I used it, I found that in an extreme case like mine, there is not enough paper in the kit. A friend at work saw mine and bought this for his car. When he bought it, he also bought a small pack of sand paper. Anyway, the sanding is the critical part. When all the rough spots are gone, there will still be a foggy hazy look. when you apply the clear coat, it goes away and the lights will look new. I have used the Plast-X also, and it looks okay for a while, but you have to re-do it after a while.

Protection for new lights: I am also looking for the best way to prevent the damage from occurring on an 08 E that looks good right now. I want to keep it that way. So far, everything I have seen that is made specifically for headlights has the abrasive in it. I have used regular car wax and armor-all type products before, but no luck.

There's a guy at the big flea market in Sevierville, Tennessee that will restore your headlights for $10.00. I saw his sign at the entrance of the flea market a couple of weeks ago.