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Dull headlight plastic

R

ROAD DETECTIVE

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Location
Oxfordshire
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Mazda 3 Sport
Have been having a problem with the plastic headlight lens covers dulling with a rough outer feel to the plastic. This was mostly occuring in front of the dip beam, so it must be heat related. It must have been blocking some of the light getting out on the road to a degree. Went to the local car accessory shop and they recommended I buy Xerapol Acrylic Scratch Remover. Started with a bit of the wet and dry paper supplied in the kit. Then a few minutes rubbing with the compound from the tube. A quick wipe with a clean rag and hey, what a result. They are like new lens covers again. Very impressed with this product. It's also for other uses such as wood trim, motorcycle screens etc. In the past I have tried meg x scratch remover for body work and got some improvement, but not half so good as this product, which is specifically designed for the clear plastic. Hope this helps somebody with the same annoying problem.
 
ROAD DETECTIVE said:
Have been having a problem with the plastic headlight lens covers dulling with a rough outer feel to the plastic. This was mostly occuring in front of the dip beam, so it must be heat related. It must have been blocking some of the light getting out on the road to a degree. Went to the local car accessory shop and they recommended I buy Xerapol Acrylic Scratch Remover. Started with a bit of the wet and dry paper supplied in the kit. Then a few minutes rubbing with the compound from the tube. A quick wipe with a clean rag and hey, what a result. They are like new lens covers again. Very impressed with this product. It's also for other uses such as wood trim, motorcycle screens etc. In the past I have tried meg x scratch remover for body work and got some improvement, but not half so good as this product, which is specifically designed for the clear plastic. Hope this helps somebody with the same annoying problem.
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Cheers for that, might give it a go soon then.
 
Sounds great John, got any before and after pics by any chance?
 
F6HAD said:
Sounds great John, got any before and after pics by any chance?
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Hi Fahad, sorry no pics, should have though of taking some before I started the job. Mind you, I would then need to look in the various threads to work out how to download them.
 
Im ***uming XERAPOL PLASTIC POLISH AND ACRYLIC SCRATCH REMOVAL KIT is the same thing? Found it on eBay. The tube comes in a green colour right?
 
nice product indeed, might try it on mine. Clear headlamps makes all the difference
 
I almost brought this today for my caravan windows I might still but after a bigger tube me thinks.
 
A cheap way to do it is to get some car wax and scrub away at the headlights, leave it to dry buff it out and keep going. I did this yesterday and it really cleaned the car up a lot.
 
Yeah, turtle wax (I think) metallic colour restorer cut through the majority of the grime on mine. With a boy more elbow grease I'm sure I could get them like new!
 
a light cut polish like T cut or Menz Final finish also works wonders, if they are really bad use Autosol metal polish first and finish off with a lighter cut.

As a motorway cruise mine pickes up lots of mini stone chips and teh above once a year keeps them in good nick.
 
Isn't the head light plastic covered in UV protection? If you start rubbing that of the plastic, it will be yellow after a week in the sun. Or am I wrongly informed?
 
looks like you are wrongly informed as mine are still as clear as glass and have been done numerous times over teh last 2 years...
 
pointman, i think you are correct. i have always been weary touching headlight plastic for this reason. you can buysome clear UV film to stick over the headlights or there is a liquid compound that does a similar job.
 
I charge people to do this at work, depending on how bad the lens is we start with p1000 wet and dry and work up to p2500. No need for any special polish we use Farecla G3 cutting compound (handy in any toolbox) on a rotary polisher, works a treat. 15min per lens and they look like new. If you are worried about uv use a good wax or sealent on them afterwards and keep it topped up every few months!
 
I did this on a 2000 plate focus about 6 months ago using TOOTHPASTE, they were very dull at the time and our now still crystal clear!
 
I did my wifes car...

what I did was

wet sand using:
240
400
800
1200
1500
2000

once that was all done I used some megs scratch x on a rotary buffer and used speed 1 to 3 to use to finish off the headlights.

I will put some pictures up tomorrow of the results.

once that was done I
 
Toothpaste is a cheap and wonderful tool... no need to go waste money on certain products when toothpaste is the favourite and has been for many years for this kind of thing guys.. give the headlights a good wax afterwards to protect them ;)
 
Anyone tried Turtle Wax Headlight Restorer? I heard they were good and can be had for a tenner on eBay.

simorfc said:
Toothpaste is a cheap and wonderful tool... no need to go waste money on certain products when toothpaste is the favourite and has been for many years for this kind of thing guys.. give the headlights a good wax afterwards to protect them ;)
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Toothpaste is very weak, if it cleans anything, it will be very temporary as there is no protective formula. Mighty Car Mods on YouTube busted this and oddly avocado juice worked best for them.
 
don't need a protective formula.. that's why you give the headlights a wax afterwards.. toothpaste ant weak if you buy the correct kind.. ordinary toothpaste.. you could try the likes of g10 which in return will do the job without scratching all the plastic like some of these headlight restorers do.. take time and do it right rather than a rush job.. will end up with a much better finish.
 
I used colgete with whitener... I myself never believed it until a good friend of mine showed me using my dull headlights lol takes a bit of patience but you end up with a cracking finish without scratches all over your plastic like some of these head light restorers give you mate
 
ive always had my mates telling me toothpaste is the best method so I believe ya SIM :)
Mine are looking good at the moment but I might get out there and spend an hour or so on each lens see how she looks after ;)
 
Trust me mate.. a bit of hard graft will have them looking there best without paying 20 quid for a product that does the same thing mate
 
I had this problem on my E class (w211) and the paint wizards 'Harry & Captain' sorted it out for me and then sealed the lights from future dulling

So thumbs to them
 
I've used the meguires headlight restore kit on my girlfriends clio and it worked a treat. Need to give my lights a little go over with it too.
 
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