Making this post for those who will use the search function in the future to read upon ways to remove headlight haze.

I was really annoyed with the hazy headlights my car had. After reading much about how to get rid of it, I decided to go with the quickest way to remove it. Wetsanding with 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit then rubbing compound would take too long. I also read Eagle One Never Dull and Meguiar's PlastX work well too. The Never Dull was cheaper than PlastX, but it is made for metals. I paid a little more for the PlastX, which is what bottle says it would do, remove oxidation on clear plastics.



So after only a couple of minutes on the right headlight, the difference is night and day.



Now, I only used a few drops to clean the lights, kind of a waste because there is so much in the bottle.

9/6/08 EDIT: The yellow tinge returned, so I bought sandpaper. Wetsanded first at 1000, to 1500, and finally finished with 2000 grit. Buffed out the lenses afterwards. Hopefully this lasts much longer. Updated picture below.


<FONT COLOR="white">Keywords: Headlight, Haze, Polish, Oxidation, Cloudiness</FONT>


Modified by BlueIntegraBoy at 4:21 PM 9/6/2008

 

works pretty good, i used it on my old headlights and taillights, definetly makes a huge difference if you used 1,500 grit before it

 

There weren't any scratches. Didn't feel like I had to wetsand first. It was just the haze.

 

Nice post, my headlights have the dreaded haze. I'm gonna give that a try

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueIntegraBoy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Now, I only used a few drops to clean the lights, kind of a waste because there is so much in the bottle. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Don't worry - if it's your daily driver, you'll be using it about once a week. I've been using it on the headlights on my Civic for a while now.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mugen Mike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Don't worry - if it's your daily driver, you'll be using it about once a week. I've been using it on the headlights on my Civic for a while now.</TD></TR></TABLE>

So, a more permanent fix is wetsand followed by rubbing compound? Well, 5 minutes once a week isn't too bad. There's a lot in the bottle to last over a year.

 

The way I learned to do it when I worked at a body shop was some 1200 grit, wet sand really good, then buff it out with a good compund, I recomend 3m extra cut. Then I put a coat of wax on em.

 

Problem you guys are having is your not sealing your products after doing this.

After you have used the plastic X wash the lights with dishwashing detergent to strip away and grease and oils.

Then seal the headlights with a sealant, I highly suggest Zaino, get Z2 pro and seal it.

 

wax will seal it fine.

 

There is a difference between wax and sealant. Don't post useless crap.
Synthetic Sealants last a lot longer than a carnuba wax.

Anybody using crap like turtlewax on there car should be shot.

Would you rather apply every 6 weeks ? or 6 months ?

 

yeah you def need to seal it or the haze will be back in a couple weeks

 

on top of not sealing it, there are better products than PlastX out there.

i know firsthand - i used to use PlastX thinking it was hot stuff, but after trying other products and techniques...wow

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spec R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">on top of not sealing it, there are better products than PlastX out there.

i know firsthand - i used to use PlastX thinking it was hot stuff, but after trying other products and techniques...wow</TD></TR></TABLE>

care to share?


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueIntegraBoy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

</TD></TR></TABLE>


this is one thing I noticed about U.S. headlights, so many of them have that manky horrible fading. I don't think I've seen that on a car over here, is it because we never get any sun?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spec R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">on top of not sealing it, there are better products than PlastX out there.

i know firsthand - i used to use PlastX thinking it was hot stuff, but after trying other products and techniques...wow</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll probably end up wetsanding, but bought PlastX for a quick fix.

 

oh yeah sorry - using a mother's powerball with a fast drill helps also.

or a Porter Cable dual action polisher with whatever polishes you would use on your paint works well also.

wetsanding works well as long as you do it right. 1000 grit to 1500 to 2000 to 3000..just dont sand too hard - let the paper do the work

i've recently tried a product called "Glassy Lite" and it worked better than anything i've tried, but we'll see how long it lasts. it is kind of pricey (25 bucks for a kit) but it comes with the sandpaper and everything you need.

http://downforce.biz/cart/prod...age=1

 

Team Lzy and performing interviews all day chiming in here.......

what does the plastX cost?


Need to remove some oxidation on the new DD's headlights this weekend, so i am really glad this post was made.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tartje &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I don't think I've seen that on a car over here, is it because we never get any sun? </TD></TR></TABLE>

That would honestly be my answer.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jon D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Team Lzy and performing interviews all day chiming in here.......

what does the plastX cost?</TD></TR></TABLE>

around $7-8 for a bottle.

 

Well after about a week, as mentioned the headlights started forming a yellow tinge. I went out today to buy sandpaper.

I wetsanded with 1000, 1500, then 2000. Buffed it out. The results were pretty damn good, too bad it isn't sunny to capture how well it turned out.

 

dam that came out good i think i am gonna try this out now on some headlight i was always iffy about doing it

 

It was a little time consuming. I removed the bumper (too many damn screws/bolts) to have full access of the lenses.

 

Turned out well mang. I've been wanting to do the same but I've been way too lazy

 

If you have a small buffer like myself just blue tape around the light, sand away, and then buff. You wont have to remove your bumper.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmeg6b18b &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you have a small buffer like myself just blue tape around the light, sand away, and then buff. You wont have to remove your bumper. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I think we have a small hand buffer, but I have no idea where it is. I think it's best to remove the bumper to allow access all the way to the edge of the lenses. I sanded only in the horizontal direction. Plus didn't want that nasty, cloudy water to run down the bumper.

 

meguires scratchX works very well too if you have scratches on your headlights. andgets rid of the haze/oxidization.