Rubing compound to clean cloudy headlight covers?

[Wilhelm]

Anyone use fine grit rubbing compound and a clean shop towel to clean those cloudy plastic headlight covers? There is all kinds of stuff being sold for stupid prices for cleaning those covers. I suspect most of it is just your basic fine grit rubbing compound. So fine grit rubbing compound , a clean shop towel and some elbow grease should do just fine . Right ? What have you folks used?

[Evans, Marv]

I did it with a kit. It had a disposible buffing pad & didn't cost much. If you don't have the rubbing compound, of course you'll have to spend the money for that & the compound in a kit is the right grade for the job. Don't forget to mask off around the lenses. You can find compounds especially for plastics.

[intakexhaust]

Toothpaste.

[Wilhelm]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I did it with a kit. It had a disposible buffing pad & didn't cost much. If you don't have the rubbing compound, of course you'll have to spend the money for that & the compound in a kit is the right grade for the job. Don't forget to mask off around the lenses. You can find compounds especially for plastics.

Thanks for the reply. I took my Frau's 2001 Prius in for an oil and filter change today and I asked the "Service Writer "what they charge to clean those headlight covers. $75 !!! But he said they "Do a really good job." I hope to shout...for $75. I'm really cheap. I have fine grit rubbing compound in my garage. I might take a shot at using that on a tiny corner of one of the headlight covers to see how it works.

[Wilhelm]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

Toothpaste.

Right. Kinda along the lines of what I was thinking.

[eastbay]

Chrome polish kicks a$$ on the plastic headlights

[speeder]

Success depends on how far gone the lenses are and which type of plastic they are composed of. Certain types, like those used on w210 Mercedes, ('96-02 e-class), are impossible to restore.

It never hurts to try, though.

[dan79brooklyn]

I bought a kit. It cost about $15. Worked pretty good. There were two grades of compound a towel and microfiber cloth. The first compound smoothed out the lenses and the second compound polished the lenses clear.

[DanielDudley]

Rubbing compound works fine. If you have a buffing wheel for your drill, or a polisher, it will go faster.

[wreckersteve]

Scoth brite and some clear paint have worked well for me. Mercury Mountaineer. And I have seen my buddy do everything from cars to Peterbilts doing the same thing.

[Halm]

This is a frequent topic over on the 996/Boxster RL forums as well as many BMW forums. As others just said, it depends on how far the lens have deteriorated.

I tried a metal polish yesterday (P21S) on my X5 lights and only got a modest improvement. If someone can recommend a better one, I would like to try it. The alternative is sanding / polishing the lens but that removes the UV protection. I found a kit that includes a UV protection compound, but I think the only viable long term answer would be something like XPel lens covers. They are expensive at $70, but way less than a new factory headlight unit.

[Oh Haha]

I just did my Mazda headlights again. I used the Meguiar's headlight polish 1st, then used 3M handglaze, and finished with paste wax. They weren't horrible but if left untouched they will get cloudy.

I think any of the widely available "kits" sold today will work just fine on most headlights. If really bad, light sanding and then polishing will be needed. Think of them as like a painted surface and approach the the same way as you would to bring back the shine.

[Mrmerlin]

I like the idea of clear coating the plastic after its been polished never tried it though.

I have done some polishing of headlights with compound then swirl remover using a gray waffle pad it works pretty well.
I would not use wax on the plastic as that will possibly damage the surface and increase its susceptibility to fogging.
Though plastic polish seems to work well,
I would suggest to not use anything other than car soap and water to wash the covers

[89911]

Mequiars sell a specific compound called "PlastX" usually located with the other rubbing compounds. To buff plastics, you need a combination of high speed and low abrasives. A buffing wheel on an electric drill with some care is enough to get them looking new.

[URY914]

Why hasn't the mighty hand of the Federal Gov't stepped in and required these be replaced as a safety related recall item?

Or some lawyer start a class action lawsuit?

Someone is sure to use this as a defense in court. "I couldn't see the other car cause my headlights suck."

[89911]

This is what I used a couple of times. It also worked well for getting scratches out of some of the high polished plastic trim inside.

[azasadny]

I used Klasse rubbing/cleaning compound, followed by Rejex and the cloudy lenses always cleared up and stayed that way for quite awhile...

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by DanielDudley

Rubbing compound works fine. If you have a buffing wheel for your drill, or a polisher, it will go faster.

Thats what I used on mine.
The lenses on my p/u were trashed. Fine, than 3M 3000 ultra fine with a buffing wheel. Look brand new.

[redstrosekNic]

I have a 20 year old tin can of Turtle Wax Color Back that works great. I use it on the GF's Corolla, and it looks pretty good for a month or two.

[rcooled]

I used the kit from Turtlewax and it worked great on headlights that were so far gone that rubbing compound alone wouldn't remove the cloudiness. This kit includes 4 sanding pads of varying grit, that when used in succession, remove the heavy damage. This is followed by a polishing with the liquid rubbing compound. You finish it off by applying a UV protectant which also helps fill any remaining fine scratches. I got the kit at Autozone for around $8.00.