qualityrockola
Member
Thought Id try my hand at a how to, maybe it will be good enough to make it into the how to section (cabpatch) .
DISCLAIMER: USE YOUR HEAD, THINK THINGS THROUGH, PROCEED AT YOUR CAR'S OWN RISK.
I noticed a few weeks ago that the headlights on my 2002 Protege5 were begining to get the dreaded haze that really makes a car show its age. The passenger side was not too bad, but the driver's side was extremely noticable. Another terrible thing about the haze is how quickly it spreads! Just within a few weeks it had spread to the whole top quarter of the lens. Ive tried Meguiars lens restorer product in the past on my work truck and sisters car and was very disappointed with the results.
I wasnt about to be driving around in a hazed up car, no way, so I decided to be a little more drastic this time. I decided to totally wet-sand and polish the oxidized portion of the headlight. This takes a little time, but not that much, and it is better than the alternatives, paying $300+ for replacements or an expensive kit if you can find one. I saw one online for like $50, ripoff.
I originally wasnt planning to write up a how-to, but I liked the results so much I decided to go for it. Because I wasnt planning on writing it up I do not have any before pics of the Pro5 I do however have an after pic here: http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1868.JPG
It came out really well so I did it again on my '89 Ford F-SuperDuty work truck and took pics along the way. The work truck is a most extreme example of hazed nasty headlights. Its had almost 20 years to build up, sitting in the sun the whole time. This should work on any car you might have with plasic headlights. I think it will even work on tail lights or turn signals.
I should begin by listing what you will need:
-Spray bottle with water in it
-1000 grit paper (optional, NOT recommended, only needed for EXTREME measures)
-2000 grit paper
-Soft rags or towels, maybe applicator pads if you've got them
-Turtle wax POLISHING COMPOUND (not buffing)
-Blue Magic Headlight lens restorer.
All this stuff should set you back around $15, probably less, but I dont want anyone to get pissed at me for quoting too low (argh) .
Lets see a before pic: http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1871.JPG
Not a pretty sight eh?
This is the heavy duty 1000 grit step. Start with 2000 grit and see where that gets you before you use 1000...if you are doing normal oxidation, skip to the next step and use the basic info from this step. I began by spraying the light liberally with water from the spray bottle. Next, I folded a sanding block sized sheet of 1000 grit in half and also misted it with water. Like I said before 1000 is for extreme cases. It would have been overkill on my Protege. With everything wet, its just a matter of sanding the hazed area, in this case the whole light, in small circular motions until the surface is uniform, keeping things wet and clean while you do it. On this light I sanded with the 1000 grit until the paste created from sanding turned a nice white color from the nasty yellow that came off initially. It probably took me 3 passes, spraying the area down, clean, in-between. This is what it looked like after the 1000 grit: http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1873.JPG
A little better, but we're not done yet
Next we move on to the 2000 grit. This is basically the same as stated above, but its a little more difficult because there isnt really a hard and fast way to know you've done enough. You definately want to make sure its thoroughly sanded in the areas you might have done with 1000 grit. If youre just starting with the 2000 grit now, you will want to sand until the area around the haze looks uniform. You should not be able to tell that there was ever oxidation there if youve done it right. It should look uniformly crappy now because you just scuffed up the lens with sandpaper (boom03) . I unfortunately do not have a picture of this step, I must have forgotten and went right to polishing.
So lets do that.
I used one of my wax applicator pads to do this step. Its pretty easy, just get the pad or towel a little wet and wipe a good smattering of the Polishing compound onto it. Just polish the light in small circles thoroughly. You might have to do it several times. This step will let you know if youve done it right. It should look "almost" new at this point. It should look just a little not-shiny. There should be no evidence of any haze or oxidation at this point. If there still is, you'll have to hit it again with the 2000 grit and re-polish. Here's the pic: http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1874.JPG
Pretty good, but not great. I dont care about this truck too much either so I could have done better like on my Protege5.
Now we get the Blue magic headlight lens restorer and apply it with a towel or applicator in small circles, then buff it off with a towel or rag. It might take a couple coats of this stuff to get a real good shine. I think the Blue Magic is a superior product to the Meguiars version. Here is the final pics. I think the difference is pretty amazing, and it could have been even better if I was a little more meticulous.
http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1875.JPG
Passenger side before and drivers side after:
http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1876.JPG
Questions, comments, suggestions, clarification? Thanks folks
DISCLAIMER: USE YOUR HEAD, THINK THINGS THROUGH, PROCEED AT YOUR CAR'S OWN RISK.
I noticed a few weeks ago that the headlights on my 2002 Protege5 were begining to get the dreaded haze that really makes a car show its age. The passenger side was not too bad, but the driver's side was extremely noticable. Another terrible thing about the haze is how quickly it spreads! Just within a few weeks it had spread to the whole top quarter of the lens. Ive tried Meguiars lens restorer product in the past on my work truck and sisters car and was very disappointed with the results.
I wasnt about to be driving around in a hazed up car, no way, so I decided to be a little more drastic this time. I decided to totally wet-sand and polish the oxidized portion of the headlight. This takes a little time, but not that much, and it is better than the alternatives, paying $300+ for replacements or an expensive kit if you can find one. I saw one online for like $50, ripoff.
I originally wasnt planning to write up a how-to, but I liked the results so much I decided to go for it. Because I wasnt planning on writing it up I do not have any before pics of the Pro5 I do however have an after pic here: http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1868.JPG
It came out really well so I did it again on my '89 Ford F-SuperDuty work truck and took pics along the way. The work truck is a most extreme example of hazed nasty headlights. Its had almost 20 years to build up, sitting in the sun the whole time. This should work on any car you might have with plasic headlights. I think it will even work on tail lights or turn signals.
I should begin by listing what you will need:
-Spray bottle with water in it
-1000 grit paper (optional, NOT recommended, only needed for EXTREME measures)
-2000 grit paper
-Soft rags or towels, maybe applicator pads if you've got them
-Turtle wax POLISHING COMPOUND (not buffing)
-Blue Magic Headlight lens restorer.
All this stuff should set you back around $15, probably less, but I dont want anyone to get pissed at me for quoting too low (argh) .
Lets see a before pic: http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1871.JPG
Not a pretty sight eh?
This is the heavy duty 1000 grit step. Start with 2000 grit and see where that gets you before you use 1000...if you are doing normal oxidation, skip to the next step and use the basic info from this step. I began by spraying the light liberally with water from the spray bottle. Next, I folded a sanding block sized sheet of 1000 grit in half and also misted it with water. Like I said before 1000 is for extreme cases. It would have been overkill on my Protege. With everything wet, its just a matter of sanding the hazed area, in this case the whole light, in small circular motions until the surface is uniform, keeping things wet and clean while you do it. On this light I sanded with the 1000 grit until the paste created from sanding turned a nice white color from the nasty yellow that came off initially. It probably took me 3 passes, spraying the area down, clean, in-between. This is what it looked like after the 1000 grit: http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1873.JPG
A little better, but we're not done yet
Next we move on to the 2000 grit. This is basically the same as stated above, but its a little more difficult because there isnt really a hard and fast way to know you've done enough. You definately want to make sure its thoroughly sanded in the areas you might have done with 1000 grit. If youre just starting with the 2000 grit now, you will want to sand until the area around the haze looks uniform. You should not be able to tell that there was ever oxidation there if youve done it right. It should look uniformly crappy now because you just scuffed up the lens with sandpaper (boom03) . I unfortunately do not have a picture of this step, I must have forgotten and went right to polishing.
So lets do that.
I used one of my wax applicator pads to do this step. Its pretty easy, just get the pad or towel a little wet and wipe a good smattering of the Polishing compound onto it. Just polish the light in small circles thoroughly. You might have to do it several times. This step will let you know if youve done it right. It should look "almost" new at this point. It should look just a little not-shiny. There should be no evidence of any haze or oxidation at this point. If there still is, you'll have to hit it again with the 2000 grit and re-polish. Here's the pic: http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1874.JPG
Pretty good, but not great. I dont care about this truck too much either so I could have done better like on my Protege5.
Now we get the Blue magic headlight lens restorer and apply it with a towel or applicator in small circles, then buff it off with a towel or rag. It might take a couple coats of this stuff to get a real good shine. I think the Blue Magic is a superior product to the Meguiars version. Here is the final pics. I think the difference is pretty amazing, and it could have been even better if I was a little more meticulous.
http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1875.JPG
Passenger side before and drivers side after:
http://www.msprotege.com/members/qualityrockola/headlights/PICT1876.JPG
Questions, comments, suggestions, clarification? Thanks folks
Last edited:
