# Restoring faded Headlights



## rt_007 (Jul 15, 2012)

Hi I thought i'd write a guide to restoring faded plastic Headlights. 

You may have noticed that after a few years of owning your car the plastic headlight covers have become faded this can let down the appearance of your car. Leaving your headlight cover not treated will just make the situation worse. Eventually this will seriously affect the operation of the light.

Like the paintwork of a car, the headlight cover can be damaged by many factors, including acid rain, harmful UV rays, bonded contaminants, tree sap, bugs etc

Stage 1. Clay the headlight plastic surround. This will remove any bonded contaminants. A good quality plastic polish should then be used, this can either be applied by hand or with a machine polisher. The surrounding paintwork should be protected from the plastic polish to prevent damage.

Stage 2. If the headlight is to heavily faded you may need to use wet and dry sandpaper, making sure that the paper is kept wet. Use different grades until you have achieved the desired effect. It is best to use a machine polisher with the plastic polish afterwards to remove any marks caused by the sandpaper.

Stage 3. Once completed the headlight cover should now be crystal clear. The cover should now be protected with either a sealant or wax to prevent the headlight cover from fading again.

Have fun can take several hours to get like new


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

I have a feeling this thread might dissapear a bit quick


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## Sonia (Dec 27, 2011)

I actually found this very interesting as I was recently wondering the same thing! 

Thanks for the info


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## birch1983 (Sep 6, 2012)

Shall hopefully be putting this guide to use at the weekend.


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## Ghaf (May 10, 2011)

No pics but worked for me


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## TigerUK (Apr 1, 2012)

my car is pre-2003 so it has glass headlights. I've compared my make and model with my 2003 brederen and noticed the huge difference in clarity the glass headlights make.

I think the glass were discontuinued due to safety reasons as they can shatter and harm pedestrians involved in the accident.

there are tonnes of video tutorials on this though.






edit: didn't watch the video all the way through, can't believe he attaked the lights with a rotary without any masking and giant pads.. leaving it up there for how not to use a rotary to restore headlights.






edit2: what is it with people who don't use masking? I'm guessing they're trying to sell the product and they're not using the masking to make the job look easier as people might be put off by it if they know that they need to prepare the car better.


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## Steve Roberts (Oct 10, 2012)

Has anyone tried using toothpaste? Not sure if it works for badly pitted headlights but could be worth a try if you need a quick way to restore headlights


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

I've got a rotary, what size pad should I use? I've only got 5.5 Hex pads....... are these too big for the tricky corners and edges?


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## F2 Ed (Nov 6, 2006)

TigerUK said:


> my car is pre-2003 so it has glass headlights. I've compared my make and model with my 2003 brederen and noticed the huge difference in clarity the glass headlights make.
> 
> I think the glass were discontuinued due to safety reasons as they can shatter and harm pedestrians involved in the accident.
> 
> ...


Brilliant, thanks for that


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## xScotty (Apr 21, 2012)

VenomUK said:


> I've got a rotary, what size pad should I use? I've only got 5.5 Hex pads....... are these too big for the tricky corners and edges?


nah, ive done plenty of headlights fine with mine :thumb:


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

I just went and done it in the end and very happy with the results


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## xScotty (Apr 21, 2012)

VenomUK said:


> I just went and done it in the end and very happy with the results


Just gotta be a tad careful and mask up!


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## gary9 (Aug 12, 2012)

just use wet and dry sandpaper start with roughish paper making sure wet get finer and finer and finish with very very fine paper also very wet then wax or sealant to finish the job. no need for any type of machine.


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## xScotty (Apr 21, 2012)

gary9 said:


> just use wet and dry sandpaper start with roughish paper making sure wet get finer and finer and finish with very very fine paper also very wet then wax or sealant to finish the job. no need for any type of machine.


A machine will get a much better finish than that. Probably take much much less time and effort to do, I could probably do a set in less than half an hour.


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

The bumper was off anyways so no need to mask up.

They look crystal clear now but there is marking/cracking at the bottoms of the lights, Not sure if its inside or outside the lens?

I even resorted to 180 grit wet & dry and just wasnt shifting it.....?


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## john182rs (Oct 25, 2012)

Ive used toothpaste on plastic headlights in the past and just masked up properly, only once have I had to use wet and dry but still with a rotary it took less than 30 mins for a pair of lights.


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

I was taking ages wet sanding by hand...


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## xScotty (Apr 21, 2012)

VenomUK said:


> The bumper was off anyways so no need to mask up.
> 
> They look crystal clear now but there is marking/cracking at the bottoms of the lights, Not sure if its inside or outside the lens?
> 
> I even resorted to 180 grit wet & dry and just wasnt shifting it.....?


You can feel the texture if its on the outside mate


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## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

xScotty said:


> You can feel the texture if its on the outside mate


There was a texture on the outside but now nice and smooth  The headlight lens looks as if it can be unclipped, Thinking is it possible to do the same process on the insides of the lens with a spot pad?










And after.....You can still see it on the bottom edge if you look.


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