I saw a thread a little while back on polishing the plastic lenses on headlights (ie using progressively finer grades of sandpaper, then final polishing) and it seems to have disappeared or I am losing my touch for searching on YT.

Can someone help me find it?

 

i dont know for sure... but supposedly if you take it to the level of sanding your headlights that you have to keep polishing them because they go foggy after a little while..

 

That is probably correct to some extent because often plastic headlight lenses will be hard coated. I just did mine so I'll tell you next spring how well it holds up (still looks great at this point....after about 1 month so far). I tried it on my 2002 Civc which had one headlight that had obviously been replaced due to a prior accident (looked very foggy/scratched/weathered..... noticably more so than the other side) and I was amazed at how well it came out. I think the writeup had mentioned to start with 600 grit wetsand paper then move to 1000, 1500, 2000 and final polish. I wrapped the sandpaper around a wet sponge and used that to wetsand the lens (I skipped the 600 and just started at 1000) along with letting a hose drip over the area. I finished up with Meguiars wax & scratch remover on a power buffer and the result was just stunning. Looked like a brand new light and no fogginess left whatsoever. You can obviously apply this process to almost any polished plastic on a 3rd gen (guage cluster is another one that seems to get scratched often).

.....and to think I contemplated buying another light because of it. :pat:

 

Jamie, here's some recent thinking about aircraft windshield cleaning and polishing...

http://www.globalair.com/discussions...ip/article.asp


And a source for related care products...

http://www.skygeek.com/wipoto.html

I've used Plexus and Novus products. Both work well, are half the price of Meguiars, available at your local airport pilot's shop and I'm thinking a good bet for Toyota plastic care. The 3M method sounds interesting and should be available direct from their site.

 

3m rubbing compound and a powerball.....done

 

some links that might be helpful:

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread....ight+polishing

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...ing+headlights

 

After applying that 3M compound you'd still need to put on a protective coating with a product like plexus or novus.
There is a cheap alternative product that we sometimes used at the flight school.. Pledge furniture polish... it works really well cleans and brings a sparkle to the plastic, continued use does lead to a build up which is can be difficult to see through without minor distortions, but that would not be an issue for the light lenses.

 

x2, but I used a rag and my hands. Same effect, works the same way..

 

My ex-g/f recently bought a headlight polishing kit at Wal-Mart for about $20 and used it on both of her Cheap Grand Jerkyourknees. It is a 2 step process that sands in the first step then recoats the plastic in the second. Although the price was steep IMHO, I was surprised what a great job it did on both of her vehicles, one of which had been so bad that her headlights barely lit up the road. The thing I like about the kit was the 2nd step which I hope provides lasting protection from any more degradation.

 

Turtle Wax polishing compound (and scratch remover) I used it three times on the outside of the lense only, (I did not take them apart) while still on the truck, it took about 20 mins max from start to finish, they went from a dull yellow to a very nice clear, I was going to buy new ones, total cost $8.00 and that included three rags.