Headlight Scratches & Cleaning

I have many post in here about, "how to remove all those scraches", in your headlights. I know people have used 1000 grit sandpaper, 2000 grit wet sandpaper. Here is my question to you!

If you have actually cleaned the lens, what did you use and what were your results?

Let's try to keep this thread clean of all the other questions one might want to ask and leave this thread for those who have actully cleaned the lens and thier responces ---PLEASE!






ps. For anybody inquiring about how to remove the headlight assembly, Ron has post some good notes and some photos to help you out.

hey Kahuna...

I haven't tried the process yet but it's actually not difficult to do it yourself. I would go to a plastics shop like Tap Plastics and purchase a bottle of polishing agent or compound and use a clean rag to buff out the minor blemishes. You can probably order the agent via their website (tapplastics.com).

This process will take a lot of elbow grease , time, and patience if done by hand. The ideal way of doing this effortlessly and quickly would be using an electric buffer/polisher. To ensure you won't get into your paint job/cladding accidently, I'd remove the light assembly entirely from the vehicle.

For larger more significant scratches, I'd start off with the WET sandpaper process using a lower grit as you mentioned and work yourself into a higher grit. Then follow up with the polishing. Scratches and dents that don't come off with the polishing will need to be sanded first in order to smooth out to a level surface.

Depending on how much effort, time and work you put into the process, you can actually polish the lens til it looks brand new again. Do keep in mind that the it's polycarbonate (same plastic used for bullet-proof glass) and it's not going to be easy and results will be slow. But if you're determined to get it into a flawless level then you'll love the end results.

There are several products available specifically for cleaning and polishing polycarbonate, such as our headlight housings. One in particular I'm familiar with that's used quite a bit in the aviation industry is the Autosol brand. Unfortunately they're updating the web site or I'd post a link, but you can find their products at places like Sporty's Pilot Shop or your local FBO. Another product I've heard good things about is from Craftics, where they have several polycarbonate items. Also just found out about this product as well: Novus Plastic Polish.

Just be sure to test whatever product you choose on an inconspicuous area (the underhood portion behind the seal) and follow the directions, especially regarding the type of polishing cloth and keeping it clean. It will require slow, patient work but the right product for the job makes all the difference. ;Do;

you can pick a scratch remover at any well sorted mobile phone shop.
As it is the same stuff that is used for removing scratches from the display of these phones.

used 2000, followed by3000 wetsand paper...then buffed it out with 3M extra cut at about 1000 rpm with my Makita buffer. Crystal clear, perfect. About 1.5 hours invested. Guys have done this at car lots for as long as plastic headlights have been. Deeper scratches? Start with more aggresive paper, say 1000 or even 800 grit. Work your way down to the 3000. Don't rub one small spot, you'll create an optical irrregularity (waviness) in the lens. It's easy---don't be shy.

Having looked into this a little bit myself, I second the Novus recommendation based on reputation.

As for what I have personally used, I have previously used Blue Magic's Plastic & Plexiglass Cleaner with decent success. It will work for minor scratch removal and light hazing. It's probably not the best product for the task, but for what it's worth I'm tossing in my review of it. It will do for minor fixes. It will start to look good before you should actually stop, so go the extra mile. Otherwise it will just temporarily mask the imperfections and they will reappear.

If you aren't experienced with a buffer (like me), it's probably best to steer well clear of 'em and do it by hand. Like others have said, it will most likely require multiple applications and LOTS of elbow grease, so don't be shy and work out some aggression.

I had a few spare moments before heading out to work (and there were no hurricanes!) so I attempted to clean my lights up a bit. Problem was, I only had a bottle of Meguiars plastic polish and 1500 grit sandpaper. My lights looked horrible. Really bad.

In about 1/2 hour, I managed to wet sand both lights down thoroughly and then polish them back up with the Meguiars polish. The results were amazing. I mananged to locate some 2000 and 2500 grit and plan on going back over them. As is, it is a night and day difference and from 5 feet, they look brand new. Up close, with just the 1500 grit sanding, you can barely see some of the surface marks. Point is, if you have been putting this off, dont. It is very easy and you will be very happy with the results.

Hmmmm...... With all the great responses another question somehow can up.

Is it ONLY the outside of the headlight or Inside.

The reason I ask is...because it sounds like a pain in the romp to take the headlight off......boil the headlight.....separate it...do the work.....find an adhesive that will work.......and then re-asemle the whole thing.....

Yep, it's only the outside. I tried some 3M Scratch Remover (basically machine compound) and it did pretty well without any sanding, but would fail the 3-foot test. If preceeded by some wet sanding, as done by rx7tt95, it would come out quite nice. Since I'm out of Autosol I may finish up the IronMan's lights this way since I've got a few packs of 3M 1500 and 2000. We'll see!

Hey: On my headlights I used 1500grit wet/dry with warm water and ivory soap(to keep paper clean) also using a sponge like finger pad to keep it uniform. Taping off the fenders/cladding and opening the hood, (be sure to cover the engine compartment due to flying compound). Sanded the top part of the headlight with even strokes until all the scratches are gone,keeping fresh grit paper at the start then the more used towards the end. Then picked up some Blue Magic Plastic and Plexiglass Cleaner from my local Autozone. Along with my full size varible speed BD polisher I polished each headlight assy. 3 times each keeping the rpm's low and keep it moving and the compound coming ,checking between each one for inspection. All the scratches are totally gone and they both look great. I wish I had some before pic's but I will display some after pic's (My Gallery). Whole process took 30-40 mins. Have a nice day..

toothpaste might work.

You know the ole CD scratch removal technique?

How can I remove the hazing?

To remove the hazing, just try the "Blue Magic" Plastic and Plexiglass Cleaner. Or something like it, it's just a very very fine compound like toothpaste as mentioned .. Click on my "Gallery" To see a pic after the process was done. Sanded and polished a world of difference. If the pic looks bad ..click on it again

Ive used both Blue Coral & Meguires. Meguires did a better job of getting scratches, but Im still left with hazing. Im not too familiar w/ using any sand paper(dont know how), All I used was a terry towel & lotsa elbow PS, I meant Blue Magic,not Coral.....duh!

Here's what I do, it's simple and it works!
1. Use rubbing compound (Cheap)
2. Use polishing compound (Cheap)
If your not satisfied with the results after 2 above, do 1 & 2 again.
3. Use Meguiar's PlastX (About $8 - Optional)
Yesterday I did my 96 Chevy S10 P/U for the first time since new.
It took about 10 minutes and the difference in night driving was absolutely amazing. I've been doing this on my 2001 Montero for the last year and it lasts about 6 months. Some people make things too complicated.