Cheap Headlight Restoration

[Fl_bug]

Ok, i'm not saying this will work for everyone but it DID work for me. Try at your own risk, i'm not responsible, results may vary, yada yada.

This How-To should help those with Yellowing or Hazy headlights that are trying to turn them back clear on a budget.

Anywho, every since I bought Titan, He has had very yellow headlight lenses with lots of fine scratches. Well, lately, i think they've been getting worse so I started thinking about getting headlight restoration. I was going to shell out $40 to a local place, but i suffered another kick in the pants from the economy at work and couldn't afford to lose $40 to something i really didn't need.

So, i saw this 3-M kit online for $20 bucks. To see if it worked, i went to Youtube to look for videos to see if the product really worked. It really did work! But after the video, I saw this video someone made with them using toothpaste on their headlights. I thought, yea this really won't work so i watched to have a few laughs. I saw some difference in his when he was done, so i decided i would try it because I was desperate for clear lenses.

I didn't go out and buy a whole tube, but i just bought some new toothpaste a day ago and the old tube was sitting at the top of the trash so i used the remainder of what was in there. My toothpaste is Arm & Hammer Advance White Brilliant Sparkle. IF you run out to buy some, on the side of the box, the are checkboxes. DO NOT get the one that says low abrasive formula.

Materials

• Water
• Arm & Hammer Advance White Toothpaste Brilliant Sparkle (or toothpaste of your choice)
• Towel for rubbing toothpaste in. SHould be somewhat abrasive and not a microfiber or chamois.
  Towel for Drying everything
  
• Optional is a buffer. Again, I used one, but it didn't do much justice as it was on its last legs.

Steps

• Step One was to just pour some toothpaste on the yellowed headlight and rub it on with your hands all over the lense and let it sit for about a minute.
• Step Two is pour on some water to moisten it back up.
• Step Three is with a towel, rub in the toothpaste. You will slowly notice that it is becoming harder to rub the toothpaste as it is drying so you will need to periodically need to add more water.
• After 5-10 minutes of rubbing or until all the toothpaste is gone, you can rinse off the rest off the entire headlight.

Make sure you rinse off the splatter from your paint if there was any. The splatter made good reason to wash my car afterwards.

I did use a buffer the second time, but it was on its last legs so i'm not sure if it really did much as it barely worked. I'm pretty sure you can get better results with the use of different grits of sandpaper too as you're getting deeper into the headlights.

Finally, my headlights didn't clear up RIGHT away, they slowly turned clearer as time passed. After all of the step, i noticed the yellow was disappearing. I dont think they will get 100% clear again, but this did bring back a good portion of clarity without sanding.

Sorry I forgot to take a picture of my headlights before so i just pulled one of my most current photos with a headlight in it. Also, the two After pictures are kinda blurry camera phone photos. My Camera is on a cruise with my sister, so when it returns, i'll post better photos. its Before then After for each type of shot.

Any Questions, Comments, or Concerns? Feel free to respond to this or send me a PM Steps are pretty much the same as this youtube video i watched that inspired me to try.

BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES!

[scarabY2k]

Hey that's pretty cool! Cheap is good too. I use to use toothpaste on my trombone back in the day to remove tarnish.

Good how-to CJ!

[dnyed]

*Step One was to just pour some (what) on the yellowed headlight.........



My guess - toothpaste? Or what?

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by dnyed

*Step One was to just pour some (what) on the yellowed headlight.........



My guess - toothpaste? Or what?

oops!! Fixed! Thanks Deb!!

[Mutato]

That one pic was from the future.

[kjsanmiguel]

i use rubbing compound to clean my headlight. just simply pour some on a rag and rub on your headlight. works great! you can get a bottle at kragen or autozone for like $5

[SMG]

How is doing it the right way not cheap enough?

Wetsand 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000. 3M Rubbing Compound, Meguiars PlastiX. Done.

I bought the supplies a few years ago and I've done at least 5 sets of headlights and 2 sets of taillights. Totally worth the (cheap) investment.

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by SMG

How is doing it the right way not cheap enough?

Wetsand 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000. 3M Rubbing Compound, Meguiars PlastiX. Done.

I bought the supplies a few years ago and I've done at least 5 sets of headlights and 2 sets of taillights. Totally worth the (cheap) investment.

Thanks for the list! I've gotta do my wife's PT Cruiser like yesterday- thanks.

[SMG]

How To: Wetsand Headlights....with pics! - TDIClub Forums

It's WAY easier to start with 600 though. They advise to start at 1000 and I did that the first time and that takes forever.

[Fl_bug]

I'll be doing this again soon. They've cleared some, but there are still lots of scratches to get out. I'll do the wetsanding technique the next time.

Thanks for the link SMG_

[CASilBug]

If its too badly gone, the dealer will replace it. The one place VW cheaped out was in using plastic for the headlight cover instead of real glass.

[SMG]

Nah not really. Using plastic headlight lenses was pretty common for new models in 1998.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by CASilBug

If its too badly gone, the dealer will replace it. The one place VW cheaped out was in using plastic for the headlight cover instead of real glass.

Not a unique to VW concept, EVERYONE uses polycarbonate lenses today, typically doesn't crack or "rock chip", and the material lends itself to "shaping" more so than glass for today's exotic shapes.