Headlight restoration

[julian]

So the headlights on the new SG Forester looked average. Hazing, oxidation and plenty of light scuffs and scratches.
I decided to try to get them looking nice again.
A before shot, giving an example of the condition I was dealing with.

[julian]

These are the products that I used.
No affiliation with the products shown here but the polish was $20, and the sandpaper was 2000 grit and usually $1-$2 at any good paint or auto store.
If your lenses were really bad you could start with a 1000 or even more coarse grades.

[julian]

I then removed the trim, by pulling out the two fixing screws and sliding out the whole plastic panel, first by tilting it out then pushing towards the outside of the car.

[julian]

Then I hit it with the sandpaper, using a small amount of detergent in a clean bucket full of water until I had a nice milky looking lens.
At this stage it is easy to panic thinking you have f-t-ucked it all up, but persist and READ ON!

[julian]

Then I hit it up with the plastic polish, which is basically an emulsion of aluminium oxide and waxes in suspension I think. Followed instructions and easy to do.

Sorry I didn't get a better shot of the finished product, but both sides are now much better.
Here is a picture of the other side as a finished lens, as well as one done with the other being polished. It was in equally poor condition to start with.

The whole process took me an hour from parking the car to having a cup of tea. Cheap, easy, no mess and results are a very clean looking front end.

If I did it again I might go for a second sanding stage at 3000 or even finer, as there are still some sanding swirls visible, but not from more than 2 feet away.

I'm wondering if a bit of clear coat might bring up the shine and protect them a bit- thoughts?

[steptoe]

Lemon jif does wonders too in the used car yards smells nice too, just does not possess the UV protector coatings that come in the kits

[TOONGA]

Looks great, Ive seen this done at a wrecking yard with a wool buff on an angle grinder and just the polish. It took about 2 minutes, but the guy doing it had done it about a billion times.

TOONGA

[julian]

Jif!!? No, say it ain't so. That would be like coarse sandpaper surely.

[Gannon]

I use black and gold toothpaste on an old t shirt.

[RSR 555]

Here's the one I did a few years ago and still looks ok today but the polish needs to be applied every wash, which is just like liquid silicone.

showthread.php?t=21996

I've also used toothpaste on my uncle's Foz just last month and it worked almost as good but with a little fine sand paper and more elbow grease, then I'm sure it would have turned out the same.