Best fix for yellowed/ discoloured headlights?

[bushwakka]

lol....my straightener used the 2 types of sandpaper and a buffing machine and some kind of polish on my lights...and it worked well...cost abt $20

[~Vēġó~]

^^^scene but why in the first place these lights get so? very poor manufacturing imho...........all dem vehicles with lights coming up on a horizontal plane will get faded start from them ek8 civic down to then A33 cefiro.......and then now is all then corollas and vehicles with headlamps curving onto the horizontal plane!!!!!!!! part of the reason I keeping back from a 230JM cefiro!!!!!!!!!!

[DJ Nexxus]

Oh shite!!!...so that is what ah was doing wrong!...an all this time I thought transmission fluid is what the clutch cylinder needed!

[RBphoto]

Cheapest fix: use a wet cloth and tooth pase, going left right motion. Any white toothpaste. Works on CD's as well, verry gentle, and scratches less than polish.

[Strauss]

Polish the headlights with white toothpaste and old toothbrush, let dry then clean off with dry cloth.

The toothpaste bonds to the film on the surface and when you polish it off, the film peels away.

[RBphoto]

Polish the headlights with white toothpaste and old toothbrush, let dry then clean off with dry cloth.

The toothpaste bonds to the film on the surface and when you polish it off, the film peels away.

I don't think that either using the toothbrush or letting it dry is a good idea. I keep the entire thing wet while polishing with the cloth, then wash it off. I Might try what you said on an old CD to see what happens (yes I feelin idle)

[^^!SPAWN!^^]

You could use Coca Cola also .... strange but works , just like black pepper stops radiator leaks .

[TurboDrive]

I coca cola could clean a faded plastic lens then you could imagine how it could fcuk up yuh stomach.

[Dion76]

i tried the tooth paste a while back and it really worked i did it about 3 weeks ago and my head lights still looks new

[Strauss]

Polish the headlights with white toothpaste and old toothbrush, let dry then clean off with dry cloth.

The toothpaste bonds to the film on the surface and when you polish it off, the film peels away.

I don't think that either using the toothbrush or letting it dry is a good idea. I keep the entire thing wet while polishing with the cloth, then wash it off. I Might try what you said on an old CD to see what happens (yes I feelin idle)

You just using the tooth brush to spread it in.

It works. I use it on my headlights.

[venum]

I used Mothers Plastic polish lately on my CK2 Lancer and Rudman's CK 2 Lancer - worked well, but not for heavily damaged lights

more of a protectant than repair

[venum]

used brake fluid on some heavily discoloured Wingroad headlights today

couldn't believe the effect

it was like black and white

have the following pic to show (sorry about the quality, the reflection & glare kinda distorts the view)



wasn't may car so I couldn't really get a before and after of each headlight

[Dion76]

i guess u could use d brake fluid but u just have to make sure it en touch the paint on your car

[RBphoto]

Polish the headlights with white toothpaste and old toothbrush, let dry then clean off with dry cloth.

The toothpaste bonds to the film on the surface and when you polish it off, the film peels away.

I don't think that either using the toothbrush or letting it dry is a good idea. I keep the entire thing wet while polishing with the cloth, then wash it off. I Might try what you said on an old CD to see what happens (yes I feelin idle)

You just using the tooth brush to spread it in.

It works. I use it on my headlights.

I am only worried about the toothbrush scratching the lens. Hope you use soft. I used car polish about twice, and found that leaving it to dry before wiping off causes lots more scratches than just polishing while wet and washing off, so I never left the toothpaste to dry. Also worried about some drying on my paint and causing some wrinkleing.

[Strauss]

^^^ No I'm not that smart.

I normally like to use a hard toothbrush or wire dishwasher so I can really get in deep. Sometimes I wipe it off the next day after it's properly baked on with a fine coating of KY jelly. I just don't care how I do it because original Levin's headlights are so cheap.

[equipped2ripp]

Strauss, ent dred...

[Carcrazy007]

Just try some mother plastic polish...
$45 - $65 and yuh good to go

[venum]

brake fluid better than Mothers any day

my recommendation - clean with brake fluid and protect with Mothers

[TurboDrive]

^^^ Nah dred I fraid that brake fluid thing... I go stick with the mothers. Headlights for my model very scarce in this country.

[bgh]

Toothpaste worked for me.
I think I used Colgate whitening with my wash sponge.

[trinigamer]

Used a combination of 1200 grit water emery, No. 7 polishing compound and Mothers Plastic Polish. Looks like new when polished, but have to repeat every 3-4 months.

[RBphoto]

Tried the mothers, much better than the toothpaste. I think I was wasting my time with the cheap fixes. Two months and still looking new. Not going back to any of el-cheapo methods. I can actually see the scratches I made with my previous tries better now against the highly polished surface. The only thing I think I might try again is the buffing machine from the polishing thread, as soon as I find a friend who have one.....hint hint.

[Sky]

:shock: I coca cola could clean a faded plastic lens then you could imagine how it could fcuk up yuh stomach.

You wont believe how corrosive Coca Cola is. Leave a real dirty 5c coin in a container with some cokes over night. next morning is bling!

Toothpaste worked for me.
I think I used Colgate whitening with my wash sponge.

No meng you need to use Crest with Tartar Control

[r3iXmann]

saw some guys on the sera forum used to bake the headlight (yes,in an oven), with varying results...i think the brake fluid looks best though

[De Dragon]

saw some guys on the sera forum used to bake the headlight (yes,in an oven), with varying results...i think the brake fluid looks best though

EH? For discolouration? Or is the baking part of the procedure to remove the lens to change/clean it?

[r3iXmann]

saw some guys on the sera forum used to bake the headlight (yes,in an oven), with varying results...i think the brake fluid looks best though

EH? For discolouration?

yep ^

edit: just re-read it..the technique is to bake it to separate the components and to reassemble it...but some use it as part of the cleaning process

[RBphoto]

The baking melts the top layer of the palstic, so all scratches and cracks are filled in. Risky in my oppinion.

[M-Tech]

Ok plastic polish works well after some Autosol, aluminium polish or 1000 grit sandpapaer.. BUT what about when moisture gets into your headlights and yellow them up from inside?? Is there any chemical to wash the inside and get out water spot marks and all?? Where in Broadway is this guy that was mentioned earlier??

[biggy82]

personal experience from my primera...

would buff the lights out with compound and fine sandpaper and water until all the brown stuff was gone. then use mother's plastic polish after. however, it would get back brown in 4-5 months time. my painter then buffed the lights out and applied a few coats of clear to the lights. the lenses stayed clean for a lil more than a year...but then the clearcoat started peeling so eventually had to rub out the clearcoat and redo it. i have never seen or heard of any other alternatives

my $0.02

[RBphoto]

Clear coat will reduce light output over time also. I say use the mothers alone, sparingly as required, as the other abrasives will cause deeper scratches than the mothers can actually help remove, giving a less than prefect shine with the mothers. Want to try the motherrs with a high speed buffing machine, soon, as soon as I find a friend with one (Hint Hint). I see it have clear protectors for lights which might help with spslashes and stones, but not too sure if they work to stop discoloration.