cleaning headlights?

[cb18201]

i just got a pair of clear corners for my car an now my headlights look wierd because there not new looking,there almost like greyish but not that bad. is there any thing i can do to make them look new again without having to buy new ones? any kind of cleaner or anything? thanks

 

[BlueOvalStangGT]

try a polishing compound first, if that doesnt work they sell stuff for that but i doubt itll look new

 

[cb18201]

i just want it to look a little like the new ones i have, it doesnt have to be perfect

 

[BlueOvalStangGT]

try the compound

 

[mytight95]

i've heard you cold wet sand them with like 2000 grit and it would clear them up


jason

 

[cb18201]

i was thinking that too but i wouldnt want to ruin them.

 

[1105]

I wetsanded mine with 1200 grit paper I think then followed it with a rubbing compound (brownish) then a polish compound (white) and they went from being yellow to this

best picture I have... had a before and after but lost thoes

 

[cb18201]

do you know what kind of rubbing compound it was and polish compound, i saw this stuff at auto zone called scratch brite (i think) that was used for shining up dull finishes but im not sure if it would work or not

 

[1105]

I think it was McGuiers... Mike just had it laying around in his gerage and thats what we used... I did my moms headlights and used tutrlewax and they turned out O.k. The stuff we used came in a little circular container... I'm pretty sure it was McGuiers but it could have been mothers

 

[cb18201]

hmm so it was brown in a circular container, like a tube or like the containers turtle wax comes in, those short fat ones?

 

[1105]

It was a short white skinny one... probably about 2" in diameter, same height as the turtle wax containers... Any quality rubbing and polishing compound will work fine taking out the scratches. I would use like a 2000 grit paper just to make the scratches even finer and easier to remove.

 

[cb18201]

ok thanks

 

[BlueOvalStangGT]

do you have a pic of your car?(cb)

 

[cb18201]

as of now i dont but i will soon

 

[viperos]

just use McGuires Scratch X --> great stuff... you don't need to wetsand them either... just do like 4-5 coats of that stuff and all the little coloring and scratches and rock chips are gone! it only works on surface coloring though... so you might need to clean out the inside too... I use the scratch X stuff everytime I wash my car... just put another coat on, just like wax...

 

[cb18201]

yea i was thinking about that, i just use some scratch compound which is probably the same thing in a different bottle, it helped a little but it still doesnt look like the new clear corners i got, i think it is partially the inside too where the chrome has just faded or worn out or something, it seems dull in there. i might just buy new headlights.

 

[viperos]

don't bother w/ new lights yet... what I do is take some aresol window cleaner I get at costco, take off the lens completely from the car, take an old sock or two, put it on a long screwdriver, spray the cleaner all inside to get a good foam going, and just scrub w/ the screwdriver... works really well! I do that to my fog lights about every 4-6 months... they look brand new right now...