Best products for headlight restoration
 

I currently use turtle wax rubbing compound followed by some swirl and scratch remover, it works for a little while but they start to haze over again. Can anyone recommend to me the best method to make the headlights look their best for longer without having to buy new ones?

As you've learned, cleaning headlights is like losing weight. Losing weight is easy compared to keeping it off. Likewise clearing headlights is easy compared to keeping them clear.

There are several methods. One is to apply a clear wrap. Idea is it protects from rock chips too. 3M makes a good one.

Another is a clear coat like paint. I Haven't tried these.

Another is a product you keep reapplying once a uear or so.

Any one of them is better than what most do after clearing, which is nothing.

All the products pretty much clean the same, you just need to put a protectant on the lights after clearing. It is a two step process clearing and protecting. If you don't use a 2 part kit , 303 aerospace works well to protect as well with UV protection.

get them polished then either

- Wax them often
- If you have a paint booth spray them with 2k clear and level and polish them again. Or get a body shop to. 2k clear is dangerous shit. Then wax them like you do the car, but its now protected by urethane
-vinyl is good for protecting the clear from chips


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Get yourself some sandpaper, polish, and a good sealant. I don't like a lot of the kits out there, because the sealant is either lacking, not good, or feels toxic in my hands. So I got my own materials and restored my headlights. You can follow my thread here:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/introduc.../#post24548640

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...955faf66ca.jpg
after clearing the haze with 2k sandpaper. use polish to clear it up and then a product like meguiars to seal and protect. made my hazy headlights look brand new

Wet sand,

600, 800, 1000, 2000, 3000. Then meguiars ultimate compound using a rotary buffer. Then meguiars polish using a rotary buffer.

Clean with windex or wax stripper.

Clear coat using UV blocking plastic coat, or apply headlight specific clearcoat layer.

I know the before/after is from 2 different headlights...but...


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...3b859193ca.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...86d6fec8a8.jpg

I also re-wet sanded the clear coat after a few days to smooth it out. Then compound and polish with a rotary buffer. Then seal with ceramic coat or synthetic wax.


They'll look great for a year or two.

^You're not gonna do any of that, are you?

My 2004 MDX headlights finally needed work a few years ago. I did the full blown wet sanding all the way down to polishing with a DA. Worked very well, looked new. However, after 6 months it started to decay again. I found that a quick shot with my DA and using 3M glass polisher (pea sized amount of polish) on a Chemical Guys hex polish pad restored the headlight to like new condition in 30 seconds. I now do that every few months to keep them looking great. Of course I also use 3M glass polisher on the windshields about once a year to take care of the small pits and wear.

For my 2009 S, I am about to apply XPEL clear covering applied with rubbing alcohol and a heat gun.

type in Chris fix headlight on youtube and watch his video on it. I plan on doing it do my S in the near future. Haven't tried it but I am very confident that his headlight method is high quality just like all the rest of his content.

Going to try doing the wet sand + clear coat when weather warms up. Hopefully it'll turn out okay and last for years to come.