ProStreetDriver

How to refinish your foggy/hazy plastic vehicle headlights cheap and easy. This is a tutorial on how to fix it, without breaking your budget and buying new headlights or lenses. You will need 1000, 1500, 2000 grit, soapy water, rubbing/polishing compound, & wax. Instead of compound, you can also use tooth paste because it does have a small amount of grit in it.

Material/products:

-1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper
-1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper
-2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper
-bucket of water with car wash soap (or dish soap)
-paste or liquid polishing compound/scratch remover
-paste or liquid automotive wax (I used carnauba wax, but it doesn't have to be)
-2 lint free polishing clothes

KissMyWhiteSS

iTrader: (3)

how long does this last? can you preserve it with automotive clear coat?

LT4vert

iTrader: (3)

When you restore headlights you remove the factory lens coating. So if you do not replace the coating, the lights will yellow and fog up quicker next time around. I would recommend either clear coating by traditional methods, or the cheaper but equally effective route is to coat them with cquartz or opti-coat.

Start with the least aggressive method and work up to sanding only if needed, unless your lights are really bad. Sometimes all it takes is a polish like m205 on a orange pad to clear them back up, this would also preserve the factory coating.

ProStreetDriver

Yes you can clear coat the lights for added protection. If you were to go that route, all you would need to do is wet sand with 1000 grit and then apply the clear coat. Then you can polish the surface if needed or if the clear does lay with minimal orange peal you can leave it.

That is very true... But if the headlights are as severe as shown in the video, that UV protection coating is worn off and already gone. Adding clear coat to the lights in an excellent recommendation too. That does add that protective layer and they will last for a very long time.