MK19

I know this is a well worn topic....but;

My 2002 headlights are showing a very fine, crazing that appears to be deep in the plastic. It's fairly dense. It almost looks like one wiped them with a new micro fiber towel that left a lot of lint on the surface....in fact that was my initial impression.

Will this come out with a 1000/1500 grit wet sanding and polish job? Or are they shot (cosmetically) ??

Thanks for all the help.
MK

Wachuko

Here you go... can't be worse than mine..

Restoring headlights

and they now look perfect.

Wachuko

Forgot to add... notice that I had to do it twice... second time I got a set of covers (clear plastic film that glues on the headlight)... that has kept the headlight from getting scratched... looks great.

Remove the headlight. Push some air on the headlight washers and take them out to avoid scratching the chrome surface... take the whole washer nozzel out, don't try just to take the chrome cap off... don' ask...

You will need to wetsand the headlight a couple of times until you see all the deep scratches go away... then go up to a finer sandpaper (1000, 2000, 3000)... and polish it with some Plastic polisher compound (Mothers Plastic Polish or Meguiars PlasticX or something similar).

If you don't get the plastic shields... buy a headlight restore kit (14.95 from WalMart, Autozone, etc...) that comes with a clear coat... that way it will protect and keep it clear longer... the kit comes with sandpaper... but get additional sandpaper... the headlights in our cars are huge...

MK19

Thanks Wachkou. It sure looks like it's deep in the plastic......not surface flaws, but I'll give it a try and let you know. Mike

Land Jet

Performance Products sells a nice thick, perfectly shaped, plastic film cover that I have been very happy with.

Blue Monster

I just did a similar process with Micro Mesh (wet sand) and X-pel (3M) clear bra headlight protector. Looks great. I did the sanding by hand and it is a lot of work, but looks so much better.

youzzi714

I used a metal polish with a rag, worked fine.

Fahrer

Headlamp housings are made from polycarbonate ( PC). PC has very good impact properties but the worst chemical resistance when it comes to plastics. PC is normally is "hard coated" ( chemical coating for chemical resistance) for applications where it will be subjected to severe environments such as headlamp housings. If there is crazing in this situation, the material has already been attacked and there is no after market coating or other aid that can fix the problem. The only real answer is to replace the housing. Its impact performance has already been compromised.

How to minimize damage to PC...... Never, never use isopropyl alcohol or other strong solvents on PC. It will destry PC in seconds. Be careful not to use anything that will abrade the PC lense as it will remove the protective coating.