# How to improve my headlights?



## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Hi all,

Some of you may have seen my post recently after I machine polished my Honda Civic.

I was extremely pleased with my results but a couple of people rightly pointed out that the headlights need a bit of a polish but not sure where to start.

Currently in my arsenal I only have Chemical guys hexlogic pads in Green, White and Black and I have Sonax EX 04-06 and Sonax Perfect Finish polish.

I have posted a couple of pictures below but not sure if what I already have would do the job or if I need anything else.





Any advice would be great appreciated. Thanks.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Father in law has used the Meguiars headlight restoration kit with some success - still has some more work to do on them, but they are much improved over what they were. He's going down the route of slight polishing / wet sanding and repeat / repeat as necessary...


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## c87reed (Dec 9, 2015)

They don't need anything aggressive on them. Looking at them, I don't think that they need sanding with wet & dry sandpaper, although one looks slightly worse than the other. I only use Rupes pads so I can't really make pad recommendations, but I think an equivalent 'fine' pad and corresponding polish should sort it. 

You would need to put something on to protect from UV and stop the same returning. Some waxes can offer short term protection but ideally you want to coat with something like Carpro DLUX.


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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

c87reed said:


> They don't need anything aggressive on them. Looking at them, I don't think that they need sanding with wet & dry sandpaper, although one looks slightly worse than the other. I only use Rupes pads so I can't really make pad recommendations, but I think an equivalent 'fine' pad and corresponding polish should sort it.
> 
> You would need to put something on to protect from UV and stop the same returning. Some waxes can offer short term protection but ideally you want to coat with something like Carpro DLUX.


Thanks for the advice. I would prefer not to wet sand if possible so probably worth a go with the pads and polish. I will look into the Carpro DLUX.


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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Andyblue said:


> Father in law has used the Meguiars headlight restoration kit with some success - still has some more work to do on them, but they are much improved over what they were. He's going down the route of slight polishing / wet sanding and repeat / repeat as necessary...


I'm a bit tight so hoping to get away with using the polishes I have. However it sounds like these kits are worth a look. Thank you for the suggestion.


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

I had a try of the Autoglym headlight restorer kit at their DW open day, it is a very good kit, and the results were excellent


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## c87reed (Dec 9, 2015)

fatdazza said:


> I had a try of the Autoglym headlight restorer kit at their DW open day, it is a very good kit, and the results were excellent


This is a decent kit. I looked into getting one before I did my GF's old Micra headlight: it was really bad and in some ways it was too far gone. I think it makes sense to buy a kit if you don't own a DA. As I own a DA, I considered the contents and just bought the same grade sandpaper types and used some pads and polishing compound that I already had after using the wet n dry papers.


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## c87reed (Dec 9, 2015)

Nidge76 said:


> Thanks for the advice. I would prefer not to wet sand if possible so probably worth a go with the pads and polish. I will look into the Carpro DLUX.


I found Dooka to be the cheapest place to purchase DLUX. Just add a coating of wax for the time being until you get some.


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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

I might try with my Da and the pads and polish I currently have and if it needs a bit more I might buy the AutoGlym kit as that looks good. 

I will check out the Dooka website for the DLUX. Cheers. 

Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk


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## MagpieRH (May 27, 2014)

Larry @AMMO NYC's got your back :thumb:

3 ways to do it, as far as I can tell the most effective is to compound & polish (yours don't look terrible so you might get away with that, otherwise wet n dry followed by compound then refine with polish). As others have said, you'll remove the UV coating (if there's any left), so will need to replace it. I've got some Gtech G5 on mine, but will need to top that up every so often as it's not a permanent solution.


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

Michael Stoops, worked for Meguiars in the USA he mentioned the compounds used in that headlamp kit, it does look like some initial blooming so try what has been mentioned no wet sanding needed.

John Tht.


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## Fairley_46 (Aug 17, 2015)

Andyblue said:


> Father in law has used the Meguiars headlight restoration kit with some success - still has some more work to do on them, but they are much improved over what they were. He's going down the route of slight polishing / wet sanding and repeat / repeat as necessary...


2nd reconmendation for this, i used it on my ep3, they came up well.

Regards

Andrew


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## Fairley_46 (Aug 17, 2015)

also at the time i did it, mine were worse then yours


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## Smanderson117 (Jan 19, 2015)

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=362537

My thread re: meguiars headlight restoration kit. Definitely worth a punt and don't just use the compound I'd wet sand while you're doing the task. Do it right first time and all that jazz


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Once you got them to standard you're happy with then PPF them will be well worth it.


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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Smanderson117 said:


> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=362537
> 
> My thread re: meguiars headlight restoration kit. Definitely worth a punt and don't just use the compound I'd wet sand while you're doing the task. Do it right first time and all that jazz


Thanks for the link to your review they certainly came up nice. The Meguiars kit looks good.

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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Soul boy 68 said:


> Once you got them to standard you're happy with then PPF them will be well worth it.
> 
> View attachment 51842


Sorry Soul boy I'm not sure what PPF is? Some sort of UV protection I'm guessing?

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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Thanks to all that have helped. I've currently in the middle of repainting my brake hubs and calipers so when I get more time I will buy a kit and post my results. 

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## djberney (Oct 2, 2016)

PPF is Paint Protection Film. I had to look it up after reading another thread. I saw a youtube clip where someone had done theirs as above then sprayed them with clearcoat to protect them. Seemed like a sensible idea. Let us know how you get on as mine are ready to be done so always good to see how others get on.


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## Dipesh (Oct 12, 2007)

My headlights were similar and I flat and polished them. They look great now. Unsure how long it will last though as I've just put sealant on them.


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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Sorry folks, been a bit of a delay getting this job done with one thing and another.

Anyway this is the kit I decided to go for in the end:



I found the task nice and easy if you go careful. Although the headlights weren't too bad I still used the sandpaper before the pad and polish.

Left side before:



Left side after:



Right side before:



Right side during (no going back now):



Right side after:



I'm sure I could get them a bit better if I spent more time but I am very pleased with the results and thanks to those here that offered help, it's appreciated.


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## Smanderson117 (Jan 19, 2015)

Looks brilliant that mate, I too found the kit quite easy and that review I linked you was from way back when before I'd even attempted machine polishing! Put a wax on them for now to at least give them a bit of protection


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## Nidge76 (Sep 16, 2016)

Smanderson117 said:


> Looks brilliant that mate, I too found the kit quite easy and that review I linked you was from way back when before I'd even attempted machine polishing! Put a wax on them for now to at least give them a bit of protection


Thanks mate. Yes I'm really pleased with the results. I've put some Auto Finesse Tough Coat on for now until I get something better.

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## Smanderson117 (Jan 19, 2015)

Ah yeah least it's got something on it  Really refreshes the front of a car doesn't it


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