Restoring dull cloudy headlights

pablo

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duct tape seems a bit overkill for masking lol but superb work bet the owners are well chuffed
 

RoniN

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RoniN
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Since photobucket stopped working there's no photos on the 1st post, I can't edit the 1st post.
Can it be set so I could edit the post and put links to the photos again?

Cheers
 
Last edited:

Gareth

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I'm going to be tackling the headlights on the Civic soon and a few questions before I start.

After sanding, I'm guessing a Rupes yellow pad with some M105 is enough to polish out the sanding marks. Do I need to refine the cutting? Is a UV clear coat necessary for long term results?
 

-Pete-

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im not sure about the pad combo since I would be using older stuff but it differs between lights and age of them. Older cars which have had way more uv exposure, the lights I have found have clouded up again quicker than newer ones.
ideally you would want to protect them with something after polishing but I've never bothered. Usually once every couple of years is enough to keep them sharp.
my current cars headlights are from 2007 and they're still crystal clear. I've always found honda to have very soft lights that need to be done nearly once a year to keep them from yellowing or clouding up.
 

Gareth

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im not sure about the pad combo since I would be using older stuff but it differs between lights and age of them. Older cars which have had way more uv exposure, the lights I have found have clouded up again quicker than newer ones.
ideally you would want to protect them with something after polishing but I've never bothered. Usually once every couple of years is enough to keep them sharp.
my current cars headlights are from 2007 and they're still crystal clear. I've always found honda to have very soft lights that need to be done nearly once a year to keep them from yellowing or clouding up.

The CRV (2012) is in great condition, but the Civic (2004) really need doing. My dilemma is either ceramic coat them and just upkeep the maintenance of them or get a UV clear coat and never worry about it again.
 

Crow555

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I was going to attempt to do them myself using the 3M kit and some UV polish that needs reapplied every 6 months.

In the end I was getting the front bumper resprayed and the guy offered to sand and relacquer them for £100. It brought them up quite a bit even if they aren't perfect but he reckons the inside is at fault there, not the outside.
 

weeloaney

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I was going to attempt to do them myself using the 3M kit and some UV polish that needs reapplied every 6 months.

In the end I was getting the front bumper resprayed and the guy offered to sand and relacquer them for £100. It brought them up quite a bit even if they aren't perfect but he reckons the inside is at fault there, not the outside.
The plastic can get damaged all the way through so sometimes impossible to get them perfect
 

weeloaney

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Yep, I agree. But for £100 versus £270 for a new set of headlights, I'm not gonna complain.
Oh I understand, was just kinda confirming that it’s possible the insides damaged like he said.

I polished up ford ones last week and could see damaged inside the plastic lense
 

Gareth

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My issue isn't the outside of the light, it's inside...

20190212_181235.jpg

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Cracks on the inside ffs

20190212_190626.jpg
 

Father Stack

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Bump on this - what's good to use for this at the moment? One of the headlights on the Cayman has gone a little yellow and it annoys me.

I have a porter cable polisher sitting around somewhere, but I see most of the kits now have backing pads that attach to drill bits?
 
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