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Thread: DIY Tutorial: Eliminating Severe "Cloudy" headligh

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  1. #1
    You are here entirely tooo much!! 4-G-rim's Avatar
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    DIY Tutorial: Eliminating Severe "Cloudy" headligh

    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!


    1991 Galant VR4 1948/2000_________1996 Galant "S" 5 speed 2.4L turbo

  2. #2
    brandon
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    Nice job...

  3. #3
    uhh...PICS? of before and after?


  4. #4
    You are here entirely tooo much!! 4-G-rim's Avatar
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    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.

    1991 Galant VR4 1948/2000_________1996 Galant "S" 5 speed 2.4L turbo

  5. #5
    Mindless
    Guest
    Kev....you are the fuking man.

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

  6. #6
    any pics yet?


  7. #7
    ANY PICS YET!?


  8. #8
    New Member
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    PICS :?:

  9. #9
    You are here entirely tooo much!! peanotation's Avatar
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    wtf is this, the lemming convention?
    http://socallifestyle.com/

    1994 Galant GS 5spd

  10. #10
    You are here entirely tooo much!! 4-G-rim's Avatar
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    :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)

    1991 Galant VR4 1948/2000_________1996 Galant "S" 5 speed 2.4L turbo

  11. #11
    New Member
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    No Worries. Just as long as they get up.

  12. #12
    You are here entirely tooo much!! 4-G-rim's Avatar
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    Pics are UP! 8)

    1991 Galant VR4 1948/2000_________1996 Galant "S" 5 speed 2.4L turbo

  13. #13
    nice and clean....very good job

  14. #14
    brandon
    Guest
    Wow I'm really amazed at how clean/new they look. Nice.

  15. #15
    niiiiiiice, but i wont be needing this...mine already look like that!


  16. #16
    Bump: useful info. Thanks.

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

  17. #17
    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.


  18. #18
    so where did you get the plastic scratch polish?
    and explain the high speed buffer (would a drill with a bufferthing work with this?)

  19. #19
    <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.

  20. #20
    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.
    What is the meaning of life? 42.

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