headlight restore tl

[MadMax]

Time to do something about the headlights.
Search turns up nothing, yet I know this has been covered before.
Anyone able to point me at a good thread?

[vlad]

Depends on how bad it is. Most of the rub on - rub off type contain a mild abrasive. I have tried Meguiars paint cleaner to remove surface oxidation.

[MadMax]

Silly of me to start a new thread on this I know, but seeing search won't help . . .

It's really bad, looks like it goes deep on the upper surface facing th sun, anyway.

Funny though, the CH Lancer, also of 2004 vintage, has the same large plastic headlights but those are still crystal clear.

Might have to take some wet and dry to the TL lights and see how deep the cloudiness and crazing go.

[Neo]

Is it on the outside? TL/TW ones are known for going bad on the side.

If it's on the outside get a 3M kit off eBay

[MadMax]

Yep, on the outside.
Tried some wet and dry on it, it's just on the surface and comes off easily, plastic is very soft. Of course, it leaves the surface cloudy and scratched, so I need to go finer on the wet and dry in stages, down to the finest, 2400 (?), then perhaps some buffing compound and UV sealant.

While I'm buying more wet and dry I will check Supercheap for a 3M kit, thanks for the suggestion.

EDIT: Found a cheapskate solution:
Buffing compound: Jif cream cleanser, brings the clear look back up.
UV protection: ArmourAll. Seems to soak into the plastic without problems.

Got it looking a lot better, still some scratches evident from the (too) coarse wet and dry I used.
When I get some fine wet and dry, I will do some more work on the plastic.

[Neo]

Ideally you need a 3000grit soft pad that comes with the 3M kit. It's the key to getting it fine enough between the sand paper to being able to buff it with a normal cutting foam pad.

You can go from 1200 wet rub (either dry or wet) straight to the 3000 pad and it will look great. Then using a cutting foam pad will make it pop. Yeah lots of fun times. Did 3 sets last week.

[MadMax]

Couple of useful numbers there.
I think I might persevere with the elbow grease method, rather than using pads on an electric drill though.
If they were off the car, and I needed to do a few sets, I'd grab the drill though.