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I tried the Turtle Wax kit and things didn't turn out very well. I'm thinking that I failed to polish enough with the abrasives and with the final sealing coat sprayed on, I'm worried that I might make things even worse trying it all over again.
Acetone is a very powerful solvent. I certainly would not recommend it on a plastic headlight lens.
Originally Posted by Alco RS-1
I tried the Turtle Wax kit and things didn't turn out very well. I'm thinking that I failed to polish enough with the abrasives and with the final sealing coat sprayed on, I'm worried that I might make things even worse trying it all over again.
I don't see how you can make it worse. The protective coating you put on will only last so long and then the discoloration will begin again and you'll have to do the process over and over again anyways.
OMG, as a chemist I'd NEVER use acetone or worse yet methyl ethyl ketone which is even stronger on plastics such as polycarbonate. You run the risk of dissolving the plastic and ruining the lens.
You shouldn't be doing it every 3 months if you do it properly. You're supposed to protect the plastic with a UV coating.
My headlights are pretty bad but I haven't gotten to trying it yet at all though.
Well since this 3 year old thread got bumped I got a notification, might as well update it, because I did the headlights eventually:
Originally Posted by mobby_6kl
Also did the headlights. People generally suggest like 5 grades of sandpaper, then compounding and polishing with fancy stuff, but... some polishing paste on a kitchen sponge works perfectly fine for a 20 year old beater.
I did a test on an area that wouldn't impact the light output if I messed up
But it turned out pretty well. There's still some weird cracks and crap that seems to be on the inside but
Step 1: Compound with a literal dish sponge on a drill.
Step 2: There is no step 2.
Well it should probably be to apply some protective coating but I had none on hand. But since it takes literally just 5 minutes, I'll gladly do this again as needed.
The 3M headlight restoration kit works great, and it's ~$12. Use LOTS of water while sanding - a constant light spray from a hose if possible. When using the drill attachment, never stop moving around - long, slow, back and forth motions. Otherwise just follow the instructions.
That's all about the protective coating. There's two elements to the headlight repair process - stripping off the old coating and/or oxidation with an abrasive kit, then applying a coating to protect the plastic long-term. The quality of the abrasive kit controls how clear the lenses come out when you're done, the quality of the coating controls how long it stays that way.
I tried the Meguiars with the spray last weekend. Super fast and easy. Supposed to last a year.
That's what I used the last couple of years before I sold my Fit. Was able to do it every 2 years. And it is super easy compared to other kits or products.
It should be kept in mind that using an abrasive on the lens reduces the thickness slightly. Not significant each time but over and over again the strength of the lens is weakened and it becomes more vulnerable if hit by a stone. A UV protectant spray should extend the interval before it needs to be done again probably to a number of years.
Our 2013's headlights were completely clouded over, looking terrible and quite unsafe. Yesterday I tried a Rain-X Premium Headlight Restoration Kit and am really pleased with the results. It uses three grades of abrasive paper applied to a drill. Because the Fit's headlights aren't flat, I did a bit of extra work by hand in some areas. MUCH better than the Turtle Wax kit I tried several years ago. I read that none of these kits retain their clarity, but is there something I can apply on a regular basis to help? Thank you.
