DIY Tutorial: Eliminating Severe "Cloudy" headligh

[4-G-rim]

DIY Tutorial: Making "cloudy" plastic headlight lens brand new.
(This is for SEVERELY corroded plastic headlight lens. I am also NOT responsible for any damage done to the headlights…do this at your own risk.)

Not sure if the Admins or Moderators want to make this a sticky…but this is for those that have this problem with their headlights plastic lens. For light cases you may not need to do this procedure. –G-rim had severely corroded surface on his headlights most likely due it being a semi northern car at a point and the last owner not cleaning off the bugs from her highway driving. Here is what you are going to need:

- 1000 or 1005 grit sandpaper
- Soap (handsoap is fine)
- Bucket of water
- Soft cloth rag
- High speed buffer
- Rubbing compound
- Plastic scratch polish ( I used 3M brand)

Step 1. Wet the headlights with plain water thoroughly
Step 2. While wet..apply soap on the entire surface of the headlight lens.
Step 3. Get your 1000 or 1005 grit sandpaper and sand the surface of the lens lightly but thoroughly. The more sudsy buildup…the better.
Step 4. Rinse and wipe down the headlight lens with a damp soft cloth completely. Don't freak out if the headlights seem to have a white haze to them...its normal.
(Note: check the surface for and roughness…if so repeat Step 3 and 4 again)
Step 5. While the lens is semi wet…apply a good amount of rubbing compound on the entire surface of the headlight lens.
Step 6. High speed buff the headlight lens till all the surface has been buffed out. Don’t rush buffing..take your time.
(Note: Inspect lens and if there is any spots the need attention…repeat Steps 5 and 6 again)
Step 7. The headlight lens doesn’t have to be wet this time. Apply Plastic Scratch Polish on the entire surface of the headlight lens and then high speed buff the surface of the lens thoroughly. When done…inspect the surface and repeat if necessary.
Step 8. You are done! If you want you can rebuff the headlight lens with plastic scratch polish again.

Here are pics of the Before/After.
*On the 1st pic..the "Before" headlight is a fellow coworkers 7g with the very similar problem as mine! I didn't take a good pic of my headlights before I did them...so I just took that one as a good example!
http://publish.hometown.aol.com/mitsuboy25/images/cloudyheadlights.jpg
http://publish.hometown.aol.com/mitsuboy25/images/cloudyheadlights2.jpg

[brandon]

Nice job... https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[josh_877]

uhh...PICS? of before and after?

[4-G-rim]

I will post pics of the Before and after pics. I just did it at work today during my lunch out back at our dealership. I will have pics soon. I will admit...the headlights looks BRAND NEW.

[Mindless]

Kev....you are the fuking man.

Random: Does your gf have a sister....hahahaha.

[josh_877]

any pics yet?

[josh_877]

ANY PICS YET!?

[LJM9000]

PICS :?:

[peanotation]

wtf is this, the lemming convention?

[4-G-rim]

:shock: ...I will have pics posted up tomorrow. I have been pretty busy the past several days and have been replacing some rusted suspension parts on -G-rim...my outer tie rods needed replacing! Pics should be up tomorrow! 8)

[LJM9000]

No Worries. Just as long as they get up.

[4-G-rim]

Pics are UP! 8)

[Ositoyb]

nice and clean....very good job

[brandon]

Wow I'm really amazed at how clean/new they look. Nice. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[josh_877]

niiiiiiice, but i wont be needing this...mine already look like that! https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif

[StreetDreams]

Bump: useful info. Thanks.

Where did you find the 3m plastic scratch polish? I went to Discount and Pep Boys, and neither had it.

[StreetDreams]

Here's some before and after pics. I followed your tutorial exactly, and it worked pretty good. I added a step, though. After everything was done, I used Blue Magic metal polish on them. It makes them shine and very smooth to the touch. Thanks G-rim.

Note: I also cleaned the inside of the lens, which helped a lot.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid152/pa8b0794c17242f992a59d6a0b79b6839/f5b9226a.jpghttp://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid152/pcd2f4156eb05d13df43c116b648754db/f5b93381.jpg

[laxattack2001]

so where did you get the plastic scratch polish?
and explain the high speed buffer (would a drill with a bufferthing work with this?)

[StreetDreams]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(laxattack2001)</div><div class='quotemain'>so where did you get the plastic scratch polish?
and explain the high speed buffer (would a drill with a bufferthing work with this?)</div>

I got the plastic scratch polish from Autozone. It was Blue Magic plastic and plexiglass polish. And, I used a drill with a polishing bonnet attachment.

[AntimonyER]

I did mine today, it helped a little bit, but not as much as I would have hoped. Oh well, gonna get some JDMs or at least 02-03 headlights soon anyways.

[SamirDarji]

In my search for the 3m scratch polish, I found out that there are complete kits for restoring headlights. It's also a service that a lot of window repair places have.

I bought a kit from www.micro-surface.com ('http://www.micro-surface.com'). I haven't used it yet (haven't had time). But this is what my lights look like currently: http://pics.huntsvillecarscene.com/events/headlite ('http://pics.huntsvillecarscene.com/events/headlite')

[StreetDreams]

Damn, those lights are fucked up. You should be able to clear them up the way g-rim described. Post some after pics. Good luck.

[REDLANT97]

another thing i use for the outside is a metal or aluminum polish like that mothers BILLTER and it works really good. My lights stay nice and clear since ive cleaned them. lol believe me it works GREAT if there not too bad!!!

[StreetDreams]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(REDLANT97)</div><div class='quotemain'>another thing i use for the outside is a metal or aluminum polish like that mothers BILLTER and it works really good. My lights stay nice and clear since ive cleaned them. lol believe me it works GREAT if there not too bad!!!</div>

I did the same thing. It makes them really shiny and very smooth. I was skeptical at first because it is made for use on metal, but it worked very well on the headlights. I used Blue Magic brand.

[SamirDarji]

Well, I did the driver's side headlight using the micro-surface product and all I can say is that it turned out pretty good. I'd say it's 93% back to brand new. It's still a bit hazy if you look at it closely. But for the amount of light that now passes through it and how clean it looks otherwise, I'd say it's awesome.

It took around 4 hours of time to do this though, so it's not quick. But it definitely is permanent. After the process was finished, I did one final polish using some rubbing compound and then a healthy coat of wax. They're slick as glass. Even more so than the paint.

I've taken some pics that I'll put up later. Got too much other work to do right now.

I only did one headlight, so I'll also have some pics showing how much more light passes onto the road--it's like having projectors after driving with regular lights. Major, major difference.

[Nyr0283]

has anyone encountered any problems while trying to clear the cloudiness in the headlights?.. im thinking about giving mine a try but im a bit worried i might mess it up. I think i might try it on the turn signal lense first cus they're also cloudy and they wont cost as much to replace if i do mess it up https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[shannon957g]

This process is amazing. My father and I did this, and they look spectacular, all except for the prisms inside the lenses https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

Same thing here with the turn signal lenses.
Why not just find some plastic light covering (like the housing for tube lights at a business or something), in a pattern that you like and cut it to specs, and seal it?

I'm thinking about doing that with the signal lights....but we'll see!

[Nyr0283]

yea im definetly thinking about doing it sometime next week. The pictures that 4-G-Rim posted look amazing and definetly worth the work.


about how long does it take to do this?.. and do i have to remove the headlights or can i do it right on the car?

[josh_877]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Nyr0283)</div><div class='quotemain'>yea im definetly thinking about doing it sometime next week. The pictures that 4-G-Rim posted look amazing and definetly worth the work. Â*


about how long does it take to do this?.. and do i have to remove the headlights or can i do it right on the car?</div>

i would say take the headlights out so u dont miss a spot. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

[shannon957g]

josh is right, because where the headlights go into the grill near the t-bar would definitely be hard to reach https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif and when you take them out, why not go ahead and clear corner them?

But the light projection is 10 times better, and ....they're just beautiful. You'll have to see for yourself!

Didn't take us long at all....maybe 20 mins or so, but I sped up the drying process with extra paper towels. Also make sure you wash your car AFTER you do that...otherwise, there is unattractive headlight plastic sandish stuff all over the place...haha. Lovely.

[Lori]

I tried this tutorial last night and I thought I'd post my befores and afters as well. My before shots aren't that great. I'm not a good camera-man.

PS: My car is very dirty - i know.

PPS: The fog lights still look cloudy, but they are still an improvement, believe me.



Before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_0879.jpg

Another before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_1022.jpg

Hard at work:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_1021.jpg

During:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_1023.jpg

After:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_1025.jpg

[shannon957g]

...da-damn!

Did you take the the lenses off the turn signal lights to sand them down?

...Wow.

[Nyr0283]

wow that looks amazinnnng.. definetly gonna get on that this week, makes the car look so much better..

and the reason i asked about taking the headlights out was because last year i tried clearing the corners and it was a disaster. I had trouble getting the headlights off and when i finally did get them out i guess i rushed the whole process and ruined the headlight. I got into an accident shortly thereafter and had to replace them anyway, dont think i wanna try that again :roll:

[Lori]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(shannon957g)</div><div class='quotemain'>...da-damn!

Did you take the the lenses off the turn signal lights to sand them down?

...Wow.</div>

Yes, for the turn signals, i took off the lens to sand and buff. Couldnt fit the high speed buffer in that area otherwise.


Thanks everyone! https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[Nyr0283]

2 questions before i mess this up.. can i use a regular drill with a buffing bonnet on it or do i actually need a "high speed buffer"?.. and what kind of rubbing compound did you guys use?.. should it be any specific one or will any old rubbing compound do?

[Lori]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Nyr0283)</div><div class='quotemain'>2 questions before i mess this up.. can i use a regular drill with a buffing bonnet on it or do i actually need a "high speed buffer"?.. and what kind of rubbing compound did you guys use?.. should it be any specific one or will any old rubbing compound do?</div>

I believe you can use a regular drill with a buffing bonnet. I went out and bought the bluemagic plastic/plexiglass stuff... but what i did was use Mothers aluminum polish, then the bluemagic stuff. ::shrug:: Really anything is fine, im sure. There's really no way to mess this up... unless you press too hard with the buffer and melt the plastic... so dont do that. Ha


Good Luck! It'll look great. No worries!

[Nyr0283]

well i tried this today and i didnt have much luck with it... they are still cloudy but it seems to be from the scratches..i followed the directions step by step.. i used 1500 grit sandpaper with regular hand soap, used the turtle wax rubbing compound (heavy duty), and then used the blue magic plexiglass and plastic cleaner

i sanded for about 5 minutes, buffed with compound and then the cleaner for 10 minutes each...

any suggestions or think that i am doing something wrong??

[pinoyesv6]

well i tried this today and i didnt have much luck with it... they are still cloudy but it seems to be from the scratches..i followed the directions step by step.. i used 1500 grit sandpaper with regular hand soap, used the turtle wax rubbing compound (heavy duty), and then used the blue magic plexiglass and plastic cleaner

i sanded for about 5 minutes, buffed with compound and then the cleaner for 10 minutes each...

any suggestions or think that i am doing something wrong??

was there any improvement after the technique?

but yea i noticed a few things. first of all with the wet sanding. you used 1500 grit sandpaper opposed to the 1000 or 1005 grit from the tutorials. i don't know how much of a difference it would make by using the 1500 instead of the 1000 but by using something with a finer grit you at least have to wetsand longer since the 1500 doesn't cut as hard as the 1000

with that said you also said you were going to use a drill opposed to the high speed buffer. the drill runs much slower than a buffer so you're gonna have to polish with the drill for much longer than a buffer.

if you were to look at the surface of your headlight with a microscrope, it would look kinda like this ^-__/^----^--/---^--^--

by wetsanding you pretty much knock down the peaks of the scratches so that it will be much more even. kinda like this ^^^--^^^^-^^

and then by using the various compounds, you knock down those scratches even more so you'll get a much smoother surface and thats why things looks clearer

[Nyr0283]

i see a very slight improvement, not as good as i thought it would be..

i said i was going to use a drill but then i found a buffer sitting in my garage so i just bought a new pad for it and used that, so im guessing this is not the problem

the only other thing i could think of is that maybe the rubbing compound im using is not good for the headlights cus its the red turtle wax "heavy duty" one, or maybe the cloudiness is coming from the inside of the headlights, but it feels and looks like its on the outside

maybe it is the sandpaper, maybe its too fine... im gonna go out and buy the 1000 grit tomorrow see how that works

i'll take any other suggestions guys https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[pinoyesv6]

was the buffer a high speed buffer/polisher. maybe similar to this one
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000223IZ.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

or was it similar to like one of these numbers
http://www.boatersworld.com/graphics/boatersworld/products/176971646.jpg

the second one is a lower speed buffer. this is the type that most people have in their homes. the first one is used more by professionals since you can damage stuff easily if you don't use it right.

but yea. if the buffer isn't that fast then you're gonna have to sit there longer buffing. the high speed buffers because of their high speeds are more agressive and get the job done quicker.

just remember after each step (not including the wetsand), the headlight is supposed to be getting a little bit clearer. if for some reason it gets cloudier or duller then something is wrong

[Nyr0283]

yea mine looks like that first you one posted, just a little older

im gonna get the new sandpaper tomorrow, and just take a little more time with each step, see what happens

[Nyr0283]

hmm, i was just thinking.. i bought blue magic plexiglass and plastic CLEANER, removes small scratches... is this the same thing as the blue magic stuff you guys used???

[SamirDarji]

I tried this tutorial last night and I thought I'd post my befores and afters as well. My before shots aren't that great. I'm not a good camera-man.

PS: My car is very dirty - i know.

PPS: The fog lights still look cloudy, but they are still an improvement, believe me.



Before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_0879.jpg

Another before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_1022.jpg

Hard at work:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_1021.jpg

During:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_1023.jpg

After:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/Siriusgrrl/IMG_1025.jpg
Amazingly nice. Good job!

[SamirDarji]

I've got updated pics of what the www.micro-surface.com product does. For only $20 shipped, you really can't go wrong with this stuff.
http://pics.huntsvillecarscene.com/events/headlite ('http://pics.huntsvillecarscene.com/events/headlite')
Look at the ones starting with "P" for the newer pics. Look at the difference in light coming through from the driver's perspective. It's crazy. I feel as if I only have one headlight on now. It's nuts to drive with cloudy headlights. It's a safety issue that should have some sort of recall.

[Nyr0283]

wow, very nice, theres definetly a big difference in the amount of light that passes through them.. nice job :thumbsup:

[Lori]

hmm, i was just thinking.. i bought blue magic plexiglass and plastic CLEANER, removes small scratches... is this the same thing as the blue magic stuff you guys used???

Yeah thats the same stuff i bought. I used the Mothers stuff first and then that. Anything is fine, Im sure. Its just a matter of preference.


Thanks guys!

[ChikagoGTZ]

As a side note, your fogs are supposed to be cloudy. They diffuse the light in order to penetrate a patch of cloud or rain without a reflection.

[Nyr0283]

hmm, i was just thinking.. i bought blue magic plexiglass and plastic CLEANER, removes small scratches... is this the same thing as the blue magic stuff you guys used???

Yeah thats the same stuff i bought. I used the Mothers stuff first and then that. Anything is fine, Im sure. Its just a matter of preference.


Thanks guys!

ok so i am using the right stuff... i dont understand why they are still cloudy then, i guess the only other thing it could be is the sandpaper since im using 1500 grit... i'll have to get 1000 grit sandpaper and better rubbing compound and try it again right as soon as it stops snowing :x

[SamirDarji]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Nyr0283)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lori)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Nyr0283)</div><div class='quotemain'>hmm, i was just thinking.. i bought blue magic plexiglass and plastic CLEANER, removes small scratches... is this the same thing as the blue magic stuff you guys used???</div>

Yeah thats the same stuff i bought. I used the Mothers stuff first and then that. Anything is fine, Im sure. Its just a matter of preference.


Thanks guys!</div>

ok so i am using the right stuff... i dont understand why they are still cloudy then, i guess the only other thing it could be is the sandpaper since im using 1500 grit... i'll have to get 1000 grit sandpaper and better rubbing compound and try it again right as soon as it stops snowing :x</div>
If your lights are really bad and you can feel the problems on the surface of the light, then you'll have to go even more course than 1000. I started with 150 in the kit and worked all the way up to 12000 before finishing with a 1 micron polish. The kit was worth it to me just to have everything in one nice little package that does the job. It's actually only $10, but shipping is $10 https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif

[Nyr0283]

they're not that bad, i'd say they are the about the same as Lori's were before she did the process on hers.

[SamirDarji]

It all really comes down to the concept. You need something course enough to get down to any damage. Then you need something finer to remove that damage. And then something even finer, etc, etc. When you get down to something really tiny (high grit), then you won't see any cloudiness anymore.

I did mine over a period of two days. I only went through half the sanding and the headlight was no longer cloudy, just scratched to death and the light output was the same from both. By the time I started on the last few bits of sanding, it started to clear up really quick. I didn't think it would.

If you jump from something too course to something too fine, it won't take out the damage from the previous step. It's just like sanding wood.

[Lori]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SamirDarji)</div><div class='quotemain'>It all really comes down to the concept. Â*You need something course enough to get down to any damage. Â*Then you need something finer to remove that damage. Â*And then something even finer, etc, etc. Â*When you get down to something really tiny (high grit), then you won't see any cloudiness anymore.


If you jump from something too course to something too fine, it won't take out the damage from the previous step. Â*It's just like sanding wood.</div>


Or just like polishing a frame! :wink:

[Nyr0283]

Just finished working on the headlights, turned out pretty damn well. They're not perfect but 100 times better than what they were. I dont have any before pics but they were roughly about the same as Lori's before i did them. Here are some pics of what they look like now:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/nyr0283/DSCN0461.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/nyr0283/DSCN0460.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/nyr0283/DSCN0459.jpg

(yes, i know the car is a little dirty. it was nice and clean until i did this to the headlights, but its too cold and the weather is too crappy to wash it https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif )

*thanks for all the help guys..

[4-G-rim]

I am glad the tutorial I wrote up is helping some of you out. This is not intended to be a "rush" process..you will have to take your time and get the best results. The more severe cases will need more attention of course....but will pretty much end up better before you started. The lens won't be BRAND NEW, but close enough.

[SamirDarji]

Just finished working on the headlights, turned out pretty damn well. They're not perfect but 100 times better than what they were. I dont have any before pics but they were roughly about the same as Lori's before i did them. Here are some pics of what they look like now:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/nyr0283/DSCN0461.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/nyr0283/DSCN0460.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/nyr0283/DSCN0459.jpg

(yes, i know the car is a little dirty. it was nice and clean until i did this to the headlights, but its too cold and the weather is too crappy to wash it https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif )

*thanks for all the help guys..
Looking nice and clean and smooth! Good work!

[dudj]

what kind of rubbing compund? alcohol, etc?

i need to work on my HL, mines are messed up as you can see my avatar (my 7G).

[Nyr0283]

i used rubbing compound made by turtle wax. bought it at discount auto 4.99, its a green and white container thing.

[wadecounty8g]

mines came out really gud great post

[NiTrOuSoXiDe]

Sorry for bumping an age-old topic, but I'm going to try this within the next few days. I'll hook you guys up with before and after pictures. Thank you for posting this, because I was actually planning on buying a whole new headlight assembly. I didn't think there was a way to fix the cloudyness. See, I got hit a while back on one side, so the passenger side has a brand new headlight and turning signal, while the driver side has an old, dirty and cloudy headlight and turning signal. Looks kind of wierd. If this turns out well, I will be t3h happy!

[chromey]

neon owners use brake fluid and chore boy. it works, i tried it on my neon

just pour some brake fluid onto the chore boy and scrub the shit out of it
then clean with windex. then u have a crystal clear headlight

just dont get any brake fluid on ur paint https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[NiTrOuSoXiDe]

Another Staten Islander eh? There's a lot of them floating about these forums. Are there any Galant clubs or groups or anything in the SI area you know of?

(sorry for OT)

Anyway, I'm going to give that brake fluid thing a quick try before I run off to work.

[mrjaydeeone]

Another Staten Islander eh? There's a lot of them floating about these forums. Are there any Galant clubs or groups or anything in the SI area you know of?

(sorry for OT)

Anyway, I'm going to give that brake fluid thing a quick try before I run off to work.

hey what's up and welcome to TGC, you should go post in the new members section and get an official welcome. As far as galant clubs or groups you can check out www.tgcny.com and also check out the East Coast forum, for local meets and or shows or whatever that might be coming up. As a matter of fact we are meeting up in New Rochelle on Saturday the 26th. Where in SI are you at? I am in Westerleigh.

[chromey]

Another Staten Islander eh? There's a lot of them floating about these forums. Are there any Galant clubs or groups or anything in the SI area you know of?

(sorry for OT)

Anyway, I'm going to give that brake fluid thing a quick try before I run off to work.

yeah man, like jaydee said above, TGC NY.

check out our website and become active man

www.tgcny.com

[NiTrOuSoXiDe]

Definately! Thanks!

By the way, I tried the brake fluid thing, and for some reason it worked WONDERS for my turning signal, it looks brand new, but didn't do anything for the headlight. I scrubed and scrubed and scrubed and scrubed and still is cloudy as hell. When I drive at night, you can actually see how messed up the light is because one headlight makes a nice clear beam of light that lights up the ground while the other side doesn't do much.

[frag_daddy_2007]

do you think i could mold lexan or plexi to the headlight housing and just remove the lens altogether? i mean, would the beam be destorted or straight?
also, would a dremel with a soft buffing tip work for the high speed buffer?

[frag_daddy_2007]

replying to myself, the dremel buffing attatchment does work and my lights look like new

[kondypl]

i did mine with that 3M set.......... it was a fail....... When i touch my headlight its smooth not all sticky its not yellow but its still hazy and looks old... you think this would help ?? it seems like the 3M almost .... any pix from before and after because none of them work

[4-G-rim]

You aren't doing right then.

[kondypl]

so this 3M set should work?

[4-G-rim]

If you are just applying the 3M stuff...its not going to remove all of the oxidized surface.

Did you do the steps with the high grit sand paper from the tutorial?

[kondypl]

no i just tried the 3M stuff i didnt try this tutorial yet

[beam514]

yea dude, I bet some of those pits are REALLY deep. You have to level the surface as much as you can with some sanding + wet sanding before you polish. Obviously don't sand to much though as to break through the surface

[master_visionary]

Super cheap fix ....soft cloth and family dollar non acetone nail Polish remover great temp fix