Plastic Headlight Question (non-mopar)

[hooD]

My son's 1999 Sable has a really bad case of yellow, foggy, headlights.  I have used PlastX by meguires and another plastic cleaner made by 3M without much improvement.  This is why I like our ebody glass headlights vs the plastic stuff that is used now.  Anyway, any ideas on how to restore the shine and clarity to my headlight lenses?  Can they be wet sanded and then sprayed with a clear coat? 

The picture below is 2 years ago after hand rubbing the lenses with the Plastix product.  I had just finished the passenger side. Drivers side wasn't done yet.  They look 1,000 times worse today.  If they looked like this picture i wouldn't be whinning.  I'm considering buying some junkyard lights if I can't clean these up.  It's too cold to go take a current picture of how they look now, trust me they look like poo.

[Chryco Psycho]

try anything , they are basically junk now anyway

[FJ5_440]

I have heard of using cheap toothpaste successfully.  I don't know if they were as bad as the ones you are talking about, but it seemed to have worked pretty well and cost very little.  It is worth a shot anyway

[Slotts]

hooD,

I'd try a side edged buffing wheel on a drill and with rouge.
You can find all differenct types of rouge sticks at a Sears hardware.
That's my

Slotts

[hemiken]

A good freind of mine refurbishes these for a living. Good easy money, so he says.  He gives them a good wash with warm soapy water and then uses micro fine sand paper after he has let them dry and then he clear coates them with clear paint.

[Wang]

I do this for customers ALL THE TIME..   wetsand them, and buff them .

Depending how 'heavy' the crud is on the surface,, start with 600 grit (400 if really heavy crud) and finish up with 1000 . Then buff with a wool pad and a course cut rubbing compound.  

You will be amazed.

[JayBee]

A guy on TCCA (Taurus Car Club of America) suggested Brasso and elbow grease.  I'm there 'cause my other car's a '94 Sable.

[hooD]

I do this for customers ALL THE TIME..   wetsand them, and buff them .

Depending how 'heavy' the crud is on the surface,, start with 600 grit (400 if really heavy crud) and finish up with 1000 . Then buff with a wool pad and a course cut rubbing compound. 

You will be amazed.

Cool, I know thats what I will do.  Is clear coat needed or should I leave them alone?

[71bigblock]

Cool, I know thats what I will do.  Is clear coat needed or should I leave them alone?

I wouldnt think so, there isnt clear on the headlights to begin with are they?   

[alphabuck]

i sell a kit made by permatex to local shops thats gotten some decent reviews. sells for about 13 bucks part number 09135 heres an article about it http://www.permatex.com/documents/4.06.PopMechanics.pdf

[elitecustombody]

I recommend removing them out of the car, sand them down starting with 320 grit, followed by 400 then 600, mix good grade automotive clearcoat,not the rattle can junk,shoot few coats,and they will look good as new for years, I've been doing this for a long time,the sanding & buffing is nothing more than a quick fix that lasts only for few months

[hooD]

I recommend removing them out of the car, sand them down starting with 320 grit, followed by 400 then 600, mix good grade automotive clearcoat,not the rattle can junk,shoot few coats,and they will look good as new for years, I've been doing this for a long time,the sanding & buffing is nothing more than a quick fix that lasts only for few months

So after sanding with 600, no buffing is needed because the clearcoat will shine and seal the plastic?  When you say mix good grade automotive clearcoat, do you mean cutting it with laquer thinner so it is sprayable?

[Bullitt-]

I tried just about everything short of sanding down & that's all that worked for me...I use 600 then 1500 grit for the final sand &  plastic lens polish...I still need to hit with a buffer but  you have to be careful or you can overheat the plastic!!!!         Don't ask me how I know. 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

We've done a little bit of this here. Some plastic's take to it better than others - MOPARS (concords/Caravans/Intrepids) are the worst!!! Any way depending on how bad they are will determine what grit to start with and how much time you want to spend on them.

Worst case senario....
start w 800 go to 1000 to 1500 to 2000. ONLY WET SAND! And only in areas that need it. You may have areas where you can start with 2000 right from the start. You will have to use your jugement. Again only WET sand! And only use LIGHT pressure. After this phase go to Novus Polish #3 with a small buffer. I even use a buffing wheel on my Makita drill at times. Add the Novus and wipe down often. Watch how much pressure you use (or you will make thing worse!). Then go to Novus #2 repeat process. This can be a very time consuming process, but only you know your value/time coefficient.   

I did one off of a 2000 Accord last week that had some scaling issues and it turned out real nice, BUT it was for an insurance job and had to be.

Hope this helps!! 

[elitecustombody]

So after sanding with 600, no buffing is needed because the clearcoat will shine and seal the plastic?  When you say mix good grade automotive clearcoat, do you mean cutting it with laquer thinner so it is sprayable?

I've done dozens and dozens of all sorts of headlights,from Audi,BMW,Honda, Ford,Toyota,depending on how the lense is designed, some lenses are clear and at night when the lights are on,if you only use 600 you may notice sandscratches, but if you finish sanding with 1000-1200 grit prior clearing,they will look as good as new,this is by far the best method that will last for years,all the other polishing stuff is only temporary

by saying mix good grade automotive clear,I mean decent clearcoat you would use painting a car, not a lawn chair,and PLEASE, I beg, STOP mixing laquer thinner in clear or in any refinishing materials, that junk is made for laquer paint and  cleaning spray guns ,I wish they would just stop selling this junk, because all it is ,JUNK, 

use directions on the label of the can for mixing ratio,please or ask the supplier for tech sheet