Headlight cleaning/polish the easy way

[kdee122]

Has any one used this stuff?

http://www.ibc34.com/Onestep.html

Its some kind chemical headlight cleaner. It looks shady and like "snake oil" to me but PBlaster works and looks just as shady.

I was hesistand to do the sanding method as I recently spent a week in Headlight factory for my job. Not being "The Expert at All Things" i asked about 2 months works of questions in that week and I'm now a Phd on headlight technology and constructions.

***All Plastic headlights are made of polycarbonate (this is to pass the impact resistance requirements here in the USA). The problem is that polycarbonate is very soft and scratches easily. To address that problem all lens are "Hardcoated". I dont know the chemical make of the hardcoat, but its a clear liquid which is spayed on the lens and then is UV cured. Oh its really bad for you skin also!

When you used sandpaper or any aggressive polishing for the lens (as is needed with old supra lights) you destroy the coating and make the lens more likely to scratch and yellow.

FYI I'm gonna sand/polish mine and beg to get mine re-hardcoated, but if i cant I'll just roll as is

Just sharing the knowledge of others.

kdee

[agm]

that stuff you linked looks legit enough, although it did work pretty fast.. almost too fast

my headlights were disgustingly yellow when i bought my car

i picked up this stuff:
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2008/0...s-restorer.htm

mine prolly weren't as bad as that guys, but they came out perfect. the stuff i used went on and off the lens pretty much the same as typical car wax

you can also use toothpaste, none of that crazy stuff neccessary, dollar store bargain bin garbage toothpaste works perfect

i swear to god toothpaste works just as good as most products
im sure many people will agree

i just read the bottle on the product i linked you, it even says on there that severe cases may require 2000 grit wetsanding to achieve desired results

BUT heres the important part, it also mentions that it prevents re-yellowing
so it sounds to me like it contains some sort of knockoff hardcoating, either way polishing your headlights every year or 2 (or in my eyes, even once every couple monthes) isnt a bad price to pay for crystal clear headlights

[SUODRAXAH]

I wetsanded mine with 2000 grit, then used regular car polish, then used that stuff that agm just posted. Then after the lights were smooth and clear I used a plastic cleaner to remove any residue I may have missed. They came out great.

[turboBB]

I just purchased this but haven't gotten around to using it. As a FYI, the claim about preventing re-yellowing has a little disclaimer on the bottle. You basically need to repeat the process every two months in order to "prevent" re-yellowing.

So in essence, I don't believe it contains additional preventative additives, the prevention comes from the act of maintenance.

[AlxRSPTT]

While they very well may be hardcoated you can still sand them down. Don't worry about it. Just spray a coat of clear on them after you polish them. If you don't have a spray gun they sell automotive clear in aerosol cans, or use a Preval spray gun.

Also I thought some newer lenses on cars were acrylic?

Alex

[RogueSupra]

I have a buddy that does the toothpaste thing to his R34 Skyline headlights and he does it often... they dont look scratch from the eye as you see them but he does do that to them about once every 2 weeks.

[Tony the Tiger]

I get into a habit of using Klasse AIO and sealant on my headlights each time I detail my car. It's like maintenance for your paint, so why not do it for the headlights. My headlights are in prestine condition on each and every of my car, and a slick protected surface also prevents the chances of huge scratches, nicks and chips from regular wear and tear.