Plastic Headlight Restoration (Pics and Video!!!)

[RoadRage212]

Cool man. Glad to hear this helped you out.

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[jayare05]

nice thread! ima try this over the weekend i think!

[Budget Racer]

Nicely done. Good write up!!

[PatrickGSR94]

Here's pics of a couple sets of headlights I've restored over the years:

Civic, one finished and the other not started yet:


Prelude before, all taped up:


And the same headlight after:


I'll say one thing, the Civic headlights were done off the car (I brought the headlights back from a friend's house several hours away). It was MUCH more difficult trying to keep the headlights braced and in one place while working on them. It is much easier to sand and buff with the headlights attached to the car. On some cars like the Integra, though, where the headlights are not flush with the bumper, the bumper must come off in order to have clear access to the entire headlight surface.

[Budget Racer]

VEry Clean!!

[JDMDC2BOY12]

Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94

Here's pics of a couple sets of headlights I've restored over the years:

Civic, one finished and the other not started yet:


Prelude before, all taped up:


And the same headlight after:


I'll say one thing, the Civic headlights were done off the car (I brought the headlights back from a friend's house several hours away). It was MUCH more difficult trying to keep the headlights braced and in one place while working on them. It is much easier to sand and buff with the headlights attached to the car. On some cars like the Integra, though, where the headlights are not flush with the bumper, the bumper must come off in order to have clear access to the entire headlight surface.

wow big difference do u have a link or a write up how u did it?

[JDMDC2BOY12]

Originally Posted by JDMDC2BOY12

wow big difference do u have a link or a write up how u did it?

nvm bout link or write up.. i just watched the YOUTUBE from this write up... good write up by the way specially the video..

[RoadRage212]

Originally Posted by JDMDC2BOY12

nvm bout link or write up.. i just watched the YOUTUBE from this write up... good write up by the way specially the video..

Thanks everyone. I haven't had a lot of time to get on here lately, a detail business is quite the bitch to get up and running. I want to get more how-to's done and posted in the near future.

[KangBanger]

do u think it would work on side mirrors too? not the glass.. the plastic part

[RoadRage212]

Yeah those side mirrors get ashy and look dull and faded. I'm not sure exactly what material they use, but when they get looking like that, I just buff them then polish.

I use a high speed rotary buffer and a medium compound to eat up the flawed layer of plastic, then I use a random orbiter like everyone around here talks about with a waxing sealer and the result usually ends up looking brand new compared to how it was. There may be a little swirling, though. That plastic is very sensitive to a buffer.

[Allurian]

The restorations turned out pretty good

[KangBanger]

what about the scratches that are on the side mirror?

[RoadRage212]

You can buff/polish them just like you would a bumper or moulding. I say that because you have to be careful on a plastic painted surface. It will burn a lot faster than anything that is metal or fiberglass.

[KangBanger]

are u suppose to apply new finish or turtle wax with the buffer or by hand?

[RoadRage212]

On the headlights? I apply Nu Finish to it by hand after polishing it to protect it.

[Vicious-]

Nice write up. Generally novus plastic polish will clean them up without all that work though.

[Imp-tuner]

My friend did it to his CTR's.....I noticed the difference but I realized that most of the yellow part was in the inside. So he just left the headlights like that he doesnt want to mess with those 'cause they are an expensive part and [freak] them thats not an option.

[RoadRage212]

Originally Posted by Imp-tuner

My friend did it to his CTR's.....I noticed the difference but I realized that most of the yellow part was in the inside. So he just left the headlights like that he doesnt want to mess with those 'cause they are an expensive part and [freak] them thats not an option.

Yeah sometimes, the entire housing gets a light yellow tint from oxidaton. Its that awsome UV inhibiting clear coat that everyone warns you about removing. Doesn't it do a bad ass job of protecting the housings?

Sorry, no sarcasm directed to you, and tell your friend to keep those CTRs looking good and don't go opening them up to clean the inside or anything. LOL!!!

[tontonpacute]

Bookmarked, good job.

[RoadRage212]

Thanks. Glad to hear this is helping people.

[SportEL]

After this is done, can you just put 3m protection film on the headlights to preserve it forever?

[RoadRage212]

I don't see why not. Hell, you could use an automotive clear out of a can if you wanted. Don't buff and polish the finer scratches (1500-2000) just clear over them. Wetsand again and do a final polish on the clear you sprayed to remove trash and orange peel like you would a normal paint job. Depending on the quality of work you do with them they should last a long time.

[ejsixx_hatch]

nice def doing mine tonite

[omega02379]

You may have just saved me a ton of money and aggravation.

[Inkidoo]

Looks good. Wondering if this works with every light. I imagine it does... mine are not as bad as those Civic lights you restored. Looking forward on doing this!