flattire

Hello! I have a 2006 lexus is250 and both my headlights are insanely cloudy/ foggy, they are so bad that when I turn on my HID's they almost have a green look to them! I have tried everything from headlight restorer to polish to even buffing the inside of the lenses! Dose anyone know of a better solution to fix my problem without having to spend $400 on a new pair of headlights? Thanks!

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

Did you wet sand then buff. That the real way to clean the lense.

flattire

Yes! I used the whole complete mothers headlight restorer kit.

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

So you said you did the inside. I'm guess you bake the headlight and crack it apart. I don't know too much about the mother kit. But I know you need a fine sand paper like 2000 grid and soap water in a spray bottle. Then sand till you rub off the cloudiness. Repeat a few time if need then polish to see result. Or keep repeating the step too make sure you get the sand deep enough. Other then that buy a new or used set. But I suggest to repeat the set a few times.

KaShiDC

If you are near a metropolitan area there are businesses that will actually sand down the headlights and polish them back to full gloss. I am in DC and paid around $50 or $60 for my old car. You can schedule for your home or business, it takes about an hour and they look like new. People actually thought I bought a new car when I had mine done. Just Google" headlight restore" for your area and use yelp review (or similar) to find a reputable business. There are kits but they are not inexpensive and you can not do as well as someone that does this for their job if you have no experience.

Kumar350

iTrader: (5)

Where in FLA you located I know a guy who will come out to you and make them look brand new.

flattire

Naples Fl about 15mins south of FT. Myers

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

This happens on most cars eventually. Ambient conditions play a major factor in how soon it will occur... given the climate of FL, it is very common for this to happen within 5 year or so (sometimes much less).

Headlights come from the manufacturer with a UV protection on them. This wears down over time causing the plastic to oxidize. This heavy oxidation often requires sanding followed by a series of polishing steps to remove the damage and then restore clarity. Once the lenses are clear, it is extremely important to apply a new layer of UV protection, or else the lenses will begin to oxidize again within a matter of weeks. You can simply wax the lenses with a traditional automotive wax, but you must do this on a very regular basis if you hope to protect the lenses. The best choice would be to find someone who applies Opti-Lens coating after restoring the lights.

MEAHT

iTrader: (1)

Just did this, not fun. Idiot me thought I could do it by hand. F that, get a drill attachment or a real sander and wet sand on 1000->1500->2000->3000. A bit overboard but I was tired of having to keep redoing it to finally remove that ugly **** stain color.

The most important part of the process though is the polishing part. They will look blurry till u polish them for like 20 minutes with plastix or something similar.
Hope this helps.
Cisco

carlos3366

and do it yourself.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

If you're finishing with 3000 grit sand paper, you should only need to polish for a couple minutes per headlight if you are using the appropriate product, pads, and tools. The entire process (both lights) typically takes an hour or so if you're not doing it by hand. If your lights are just lightly oxidized then sanding is not even needed... just compound, polish, and seal them. 10 minutes per light and you're done.

MEAHT

iTrader: (1)

I messed up and did the inner lens as well, so it took me 2x as long :/

Ive taken off my bumper and headlights so many times I wasnt taking any chances, wanted to get it over with.

thanks
Cisco

mandyfig

flattire post pics of this ugly headlamps of yours...

flattire

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Not the best picture, but those don't look terrible... I would sand with 1000, 2000 and then compound and polish. Maybe an hour to get them looking good again.