Yellowing headlights

[S500 Pete]

Main thing is not to put on sealant until the lens looks good. Otherwise if you decide it isn't good enough and do more work on it you will first be removing the sealant rather than improving the lens.

 

[Adamki83]

Main thing is not to put on sealant until the lens looks good. Otherwise if you decide it isn't good enough and do more work on it you will first be removing the sealant rather than improving the lens.

Yes you are correct, I haven’t put any on mine yet as I’m not quite happy with them

 

[joderest]

I have to agree with Lost kiwi.
I have done both our Mini's, the Aygo and the Mercedes, except for the Mercedes, just done by hand and elbow grease, used T cut to finish, then a good wax coat.
The Mercedes I removed the headlights and used a cordless drill to do them (as they are so easy to remove, and then a good coat of wax. Did them about a year ago, re waxed once, they are as good as new still.

 

[Madtutle3]

Throw all the wet sandpaper and polish out the window.

I've done that method which works well but is a lot of work.

Just did the lights on one of my cars and this method, using Meguires ScratchX 2.0, is quick, simple, easy and inexpensive.

Yellowing headlight cleaning

 

[Frontstep]

Don't do as I did and forget the clear coat you have to polish again much quicker.

 

[Paul Garrett]

Depends on how bad , Meguires PlastRX or opposite end of the scale by starting with 600 grade .

I use the Maguires PlastRX with microfibre cloths and does the job very well. Someone had laquerer coated the lenses years ago and that went yellow and was a pain to remove so i will never clearcoat it just use this stuff and suffices enough

 

[alexanderfoti]

I use the Maguires PlastRX with microfibre cloths and does the job very well. Someone had laquerer coated the lenses years ago and that went yellow and was a pain to remove so i will never clearcoat it just use this stuff and suffices enough

How long does the PastiRX last vs clearcoat?

 

[Paul Garrett]

How long does the PastiRX last vs clearcoat?

I tend to use the Maguires once a month if needed sometimes longer, but it does bring up the headlights really well

 

[Madtutle3]

Lamin-x clear film over them after they are polished. is recommended on the other forum.

 

[HankScorpio]

I picked my new car up on Saturday and the headlights weren't great. After a few minutes with a bit of T-Cut and a cheap foam pad on my drill, here is the result (before and after)

Not perfect but a definite improvement. I've got a couple of cans of 2k lacquer in the garage for a couple of surfboards I'm building. When it's time to crack these open in a few weeks, I'll do a better polishing job and lacquer them properly. I'll probably have a go with a courser cutting compound first as the left over bits seem a bits tough.

Not bad work for the time it takes to drink a coffee.

Now I just need to clean the T-Cut splashes that are all over my bonnet.

 

[Madtutle3]

I picked my new car up on Saturday and the headlights weren't great. After a few minutes with a bit of T-Cut and a cheap foam pad on my drill, here is the result (before and after)

Not perfect but a definite improvement. I've got a couple of cans of 2k lacquer in the garage for a couple of surfboards I'm building. When it's time to crack these open in a few weeks, I'll do a better polishing job and lacquer them properly. I'll probably have a go with a courser cutting compound first as the left over bits seem a bits tough.

Not bad work for the time it takes to drink a coffee.

Now I just need to clean the T-Cut splashes that are all over my bonnet.

Honestly. The Scratch-X 2.0 I mentioned earlier eliminates all the need for cutting polish & power tools.

 

[AnthonyUK]

Honestly. The Scratch-X 2.0 I mentioned earlier eliminates all the need for cutting polish & power tools.

I'm sceptical tbh. How would this work?

 

[Madtutle3]

I'm sceptical tbh. How would this work?

Have a look at the piece I did in the attached link. Left half is still yellowed, right half has been cleaned up. I don't know the chemistry behind it, but it does work. You can see the whole thread by clicking the link at the top right of my post.

The Subaru SVX World Network - View Single Post - Question on Headlight polishing

Subaru SVX World Network. The home of the best group of SVX Enthusiasts, worldwide!

www.subaru-svx.net

 

[AnthonyUK]

Have a look at the piece I did in the attached link. Left half is still yellowed, right half has been cleaned up. I don't know the chemistry behind it, but it does work. You can see the whole thread by clicking the link at the top right of my post.

The Subaru SVX World Network - View Single Post - Question on Headlight polishing

Subaru SVX World Network. The home of the best group of SVX Enthusiasts, worldwide!

www.subaru-svx.net

There is really only one way and that is to remove the discoloured layer. The ones in your example look pretty yellow but still smooth so no crazing etc.
Others will require deeper crazing to be removed which requires sanding and polishing so there is no silver bullet solution for all cases unfortunately.

Just my opinion and glad that what you used fulfilled your requirements.

 

[Madtutle3]

There was actually some crazing, not a lot, which took the extra rubbing that I mentioned. The car is 30 years old.

In any event, for the very small cost I highly recommend trying it first to save you a lot work. You can always sand later if it doesn't work.

 

[AnthonyUK]

There was actually some crazing, not a lot, which took the extra rubbing that I mentioned. The car is 30 years old.

In any event, for the very small cost I highly recommend trying it first to save you a lot work. You can always sand later if it doesn't work.

I’ve already done them and I couldn’t see that anything other than sanding with progressively fine grades of papers would’ve worked.