First a picture of the problem:



As you can see the headlights I'm working on are pretty bad, not too sure what causes this build up of yellow crust on the headlights but I have seen this problem with many other cars also. Instead of buying a new set of headlights, which can be costly, the cheaper alternative would be the method I'm about to show you.

NOTE:
-This will not clear up problem areas inside the lens, in order to clean the inside of the lens. You would need to take off your headlights and bake them to remove the lens to clean the inside.
-Also this method only works on PLASTIC headlights and not GLASS.

A list of all the things you will need to do this job:

-400, 1000, and 2000 grit sandpaper (preferably wet/dry sandpaper)
-3M rubbing compound
-Blue painter’s tape
-Micro-fiber towel (or terry cloth)
-Extra towels/rags to dry and clean
-A LOT OF ELBOW GREASE!


Okay now that you have everything listed lets start.

1. Tape off surrounding areas that you do not want to be damaged by the sandpaper with the blue painter’s tape.



2. With the 400 grit sand paper start sanding your head light try to get an even circular motion and remember to get all the edges. This will make the lens appear very foggy but that is what you want, just make sure that the entire surface has an even texture.

To wet sand; apply water (its not rocket science). There are a couple ways to do this; 1, pull up the garden hose and spray the headlight sporadically or 2, have a bucket and dip the sandpaper in often. Personally I used the garden hose.

Wet sanding provides a more even finish and conserves the life of the sandpaper, however it is optional.

400 grit wet sanding


400 grit wet cleaned off debris


3. Repeat with 1000 grit sandpaper. At this point you should see the lens clear up a little bit.

1000 grit dry


4. Repeat with 2000 grit sandpaper. It is essential during this process to make sure that the surface is completely even. If it is not it will be prominent when you polish. In saying that I usually spend a little extra time and effort in this last step. Also when the headlight is wet you will be able to get an idea of how it is going to turn out when you polish it.

2000 grit wet sanding


2000 grit wet clean


5. Clean and dry off the surface of the lens. Make sure that it is dry before applying the rubbing compound.

6. Start polishing! Use about a quarter size of the 3M rubbing compound on the micro-fiber and apply evenly to the lens. Now for the strenuous part, time to put all those years in the gym to work, elbow grease rub that rubbing compound in until it shines!

Apply more rubbing compound if needed.

The rubbing compound and micro-fiber


Applying the rubbing compound


7. Step back and marvel at the work you have done in just about a little over an hour you probably just saved over a hundred bucks =]






Hope you all found this useful!

please let me know if there are any questions.

 

nice!

 

pretty cool

 

It works ive done to my old cars headlights.

 

I use a buffing wheel, less grease from the elbows

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MSchu &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I use a buffing wheel, less grease from the elbows</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha I'm a poor and stingy man and do not have one of those but if i did it would have been appreciated


thanks for all the feedback

 

Nice work!

 

good work homie, i did this last summer to mine!

 

I did this also to a pair of headlights I bought from a friend.

Great job on yours, I used the same rubbing compound...lolz

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2226337

 

I used to work at the Cadillac dealer detailing. We some type of cleaner which I cannot remember that we used to clean the yellow crust from the headlights. It required no sanding whatsoever. I wish I could remember what it was called

 

Oh man, I wish I knew about this 2 years ago when my brother's EK had sun damage! I'll keep this in mind! Thanks for both of the sites!

 

Good post. I'll definately try this on my car.

 

if you use just rubbing compund you will get the same results.

 

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EM1FORLIFE. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you use just rubbing compund you will get the same results. </TD></TR></TABLE>

yup

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EM1FORLIFE. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you use just rubbing compund you will get the same results. </TD></TR></TABLE>

daym lol well in this process i was able to also get rid of most of the rock chips too by evening the surface.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Si_chRis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I did this also to a pair of headlights I bought from a friend.

Great job on yours, I used the same rubbing compound...lolz

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2226337</TD></TR></TABLE>

nice!

 

great thread!!