How to stop yellowing headlights?
03-27-12, 10:59 PM
#1
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
How to stop yellowing headlights?
So I know that there are ways to clean our headlights, but Ive been hearing that sometimes we have to clean them again within a few months, is there somekind of coating that we can put on to make sure they stay clean for longer?
Sly
Sly
03-28-12, 12:31 AM
#3
I have always wet sanded mine with 1500 and recleared them. My friends gs300 i did almost a year ago and they still look the same as when we first did them. The clearcoat on the plastic headlamp deteriorates and starts to oxidize and turn yellow.reclearing them will put back on the layer of protection just as it does for your paints finish on your car.
03-28-12, 01:05 AM
#4
Driver
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: CA
Posts: 147
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have always wet sanded mine with 1500 and recleared them. My friends gs300 i did almost a year ago and they still look the same as when we first did them. The clearcoat on the plastic headlamp deteriorates and starts to oxidize and turn yellow.reclearing them will put back on the layer of protection just as it does for your paints finish on your car.
polishing them is what makes them clear again, but polishing something doesn't give it a new layer of protection or put one back on. a good coat of good wax is the best you can do for both headlight or paint. if you stay on top of it i.e. light polishing and new coat of wax when needed, you won't have to worry about doing any heavy/deep polishing.
03-28-12, 01:15 AM
#5
^^^ what are you talking about? I said wet sand it with 1500 grit it will take away all the yellowing out then re- clear coat them.Then wet sand the clear coat you applied with 2000 then Polish them out. When you just Polish them it only last a few months.
Last edited by 2slow2care; 03-28-12 at 01:21 AM.
Trending Topics
03-28-12, 07:50 AM
#10
Mine haven't re-yellowed after ~ 8 months with just a wax. However, you don't want to use a real wax; carnauba wax will yellow with time. I used Meguiar's Tech Wax but any other synthetic would work fine. They work via a chemical bond moreso than just a layer of gunk on top of the surface.
03-28-12, 08:24 AM
#11
what no this makes no sense. polishing them is what makes them clear again, but polishing something doesn't give it a new layer of protection or put one back on. a good coat of good wax is the best you can do for both headlight or paint. if you stay on top of it i.e. light polishing and new coat of wax when needed, you won't have to worry about doing any heavy/deep polishing.
polishing them is what makes them clear again, but polishing something doesn't give it a new layer of protection or put one back on. a good coat of good wax is the best you can do for both headlight or paint. if you stay on top of it i.e. light polishing and new coat of wax when needed, you won't have to worry about doing any heavy/deep polishing.Here are some facts:
If your headlights are even slightly yellow, faded, or oxidized, it's an indicator that the factory UV coating on them has ALREADY failed. Further polishing by hand or machine will remove hte yellowness and hazing, but you are also further removing what's left of the factory coating. So in essence, you are leaving even less protection than you started with. Topping with a regular wax or regular sealant will realistically only last a few months at most if your car is garaged. If it stays outside in the sun, re-application of the wax/sealant would probably be needed on a monthly basis.
Even the industry's most durable coating (opti-coat 2.0) will fail on freshly polished headlights after several months.
If you want a permanent (relatively 2 years+) solution to clear headlights, you need to wetsand them and re-clear them or use a spar-urathane/mineral spirits 50/50 mixture and coat them after they are wetsanded 1500 or polished to a high gloss.
03-29-12, 03:39 AM
#12
The 3M clear coat coating(not sure what it's called) seems to work the best. This is based on personal experience from two members in Florida.
Member Teelex bought brand new headlights a few years back and put the 3M clear plastic coat on them and they look like the day he picked them up from the dealer.
Another non CL member bought two new headlights when we had our last hurricane in fForida which had to be at least 7 + years now. He also put the 3M clear plastic coat on them and they also look like the day he picked them up from the dealer.
If you have the money to shell out for new headlights, then try this route and you should have the same sucess as these two guys did..
Member Teelex bought brand new headlights a few years back and put the 3M clear plastic coat on them and they look like the day he picked them up from the dealer.
Another non CL member bought two new headlights when we had our last hurricane in fForida which had to be at least 7 + years now. He also put the 3M clear plastic coat on them and they also look like the day he picked them up from the dealer.
If you have the money to shell out for new headlights, then try this route and you should have the same sucess as these two guys did..
03-29-12, 09:30 PM
#14
If you go cheap you can use some spray can dupli-color clear coat. It works fine or you can go to ppg or whatever auto paint supply store in you area and buy clear. Just wet sand the headlights lightly with 1500 until the yellowing is removed. Then clean with isopropyl alcohol or tack rag. Spray your coats once you let it dry for a few hours and harden. Start wet sanding with your 1500 and buff to a perfect shine.hope this helps
