Headlight restoration

[SurfnSun]

I know we aren’t really supposed to post car stuff here but what the heck…it’s Easter! :funny:

Backstory, the headlights on our Explorer sport are just about toast. Microcracks and hazing. I’ve been thinking about trading the car so I didn’t want to spend $1200 on new headlights.

I had good luck on one of my cars with Cerakote’s headlight restoration kit. I thought I would see what it would do on some headlights that were in really bad shape.

I am very pleased! Highly recommend…would buy again.

[Vandelay Industries]

Looks good! How long did it take?

[KenHorse]

Looks good! How long did it take?

In a flash!

[Bill]

Post an update, say at 6 months, so we know how long that lasts. Everyone I know that has tried polishing their headlight cover plastics says they haze over again fairly quickly.

[SurfnSun]

Looks good! How long did it take?

Less than 12 minutes for the one, and I did quite a bit of wet sanding. Starting the other now.

[Vandelay Industries]

Less than 12 minutes for the one, and I did quite a bit of wet sanding. Starting the other now.

:seasix:

Like bill, curious about the durability.

[SurfnSun]

Post an update, say at 6 months, so we know how long that lasts. Everyone I know that has tried polishing their headlight cover plastics says they haze over again fairly quickly.

I did my Caddy a few months ago, they weren’t in too bad of shape and the coating still looks perfect.

Cerakote seems to be a good brand.

[Swany00]

was wondering if that crap really worked, apparently it does!

[SurfnSun]

Just finished the passenger side. That one took me about 20 mins, it was a little worse than the driver. Cracks can still be seen if you look closely, but it’s WAY better for $18 and 45 minutes of actual work.

[SurfnSun]

Here is one of my ELR lenses that I did in January. Car sits in the Florida sun every day, garaged at night

[Tikiman]

Huge difference between before and after. :thumbs:


Did you do it by hand or use a machine buffer?

[SurfnSun]

Huge difference between before and after. :thumbs:


Did you do it by hand or use a machine buffer?

Just by hand. It comes with a little foam grip for the sand paper discs.

[DJ_Critterus]

Post an update, say at 6 months, so we know how long that lasts. Everyone I know that has tried polishing their headlight cover plastics says they haze over again fairly quickly.

6 months?? 3 weeks should be sufficient for them to look like crap again. Every resto system out there gives the same results, it seems.

[GTOguy]

I've done a few sets and then applied 303 over them. Lasts about a year or so. Sometimes longer. Worth the bother.

[Datawiz]

Very nice. I usually just get a replacement set from rockauto.com an fix it in 10 minutes. The above does not apply to Corvettes.

[SurfnSun]

Very nice. I usually just get a replacement set from rockauto.com an fix it in 10 minutes. The above does not apply to Corvettes.

Cheapest Explorer set was $500…my guess is the fit and quality is not great but who knows. If spent an hour of my time and $18 it is worth it.

I don’t make $500/hr…yet :D

[Datawiz]

Cheapest Explorer set was $500…my guess is the fit ams quality is not great but who knows. If spent an hour of my time and $18 it is worth it.

I don’t make $500/hr…yet :D

For my Tundra, with just shy of 300k miles, I've replaced the headlights twice. $200 all in, and done in 10 minutes. :yesnod:

[the new me]

You have to put a UV protectant coating on the headlight lenses if you want the polish job to last.

Here's a reddit discussion about it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/udgmp8/what_do_you_use_to_seal_headlights_for_uv/

And here's a web search (where I obtained the reddit discussion FTR) if you want more choices:
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+kind+of+uv+protect+for+restored+headlights

Whatever it was I used last time I did some headlights 6 or 7 years ago, it seems to have held up pretty well so far.

[Frankie the Fink]

Post an update, say at 6 months, so we know how long that lasts. Everyone I know that has tried polishing their headlight cover plastics says they haze over again fairly quickly.

Absolutely - once the poly-carbonite in the lens is compromised all subsequent restoration is temporary - garaging the car as much as possible will prolong the treatment, but not forever.

[bsmith]

I did it on my old pickup
Everything I read was that you needed a kit that had a "clear coat" that you put on after the cleaning, or it would look like shit in no time.

[RMVette]

The lights look great! :seasix:

[ptindall]

I use the Meguiar's kit, but I start by wet sanding with a DA sander to 3000 grit. The kit comes with the UV protectant spray. Works great and lasts a long time.

All the new aftermarket headlights I've seen are shit quality and often have a poor beam spread. Fixing OE headlights is a better option.

[SurfnSun]

For a newer car, PPF is the answer for poly lenses. I peeled the film off of our Highlander when we sold it. 12 years/180k miles later the lenses still looked brand new

[the new me]

Stumbled on this stuff, watched the first one. His technique looks good.

Headlight restoration pro shows his work: POLISHING HEADLIGHTS IS A SHAM/scam --- and why you should never only polish headlights - 19 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFntOLDjGC8

Best Headlight Restoration Kit in 2024? Let’s Find Out! - Project Farm - 13 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyVCEbfrU-c

[CurtP]

Stumbled on this stuff, watched the first one. His technique looks good.

Headlight restoration pro shows his work: POLISHING HEADLIGHTS IS A SHAM/scam --- and why you should never only polish headlights - 19 minutes

Best Headlight Restoration Kit in 2024? Let’s Find Out! - Project Farm - 13 minutes
Cliffs?

[BayouCountry]

I just buffed them out with my buffer and some polishing compound. Then apply wax or ceramic coating. Lasted longer than my relationship on my girlfriends jeep.