Head light lens covers

[rottun]

My head light covers are no longer clear. I got a quote for $200 to replace each one. Is there anything else I can do to clear them without buying new ones?

[hangpilot]

Have you tried polishing them. If you do not have the proper supplies/tools try tooth paste on a rag. I saw that on a car show somehwere. It may not make them look new but may help.

[Invid]

You can buy new ones on ebay for $65 each. Pep Boys sells a reconditioning kit that attaches to your power drill to polish scratches and dullness away for about $20.

[benbeaux]

Kit#1 from here: Plastic Headlight Restoration Sandpaper from walmart auto section by the paint supplies, car parts stores or car paint supply shops. Definately use auto products, the other stuff is lower quality & may very well thrash your parts.

Mask off the area around the lights. Wet sand with 600 grit left to right until the lens is smooth. Wet sand with 1000 grit up & down. Wet sand with 1500 grit left to right. Alternating the directions helps you see what you've missed & just does a better job. For the wet part, I use a few drops of car soap in a quart squirt bottle of water. Keep it drenched while sanding. This floats away the debris & gives much better results.

When sanding is done, wash & dry the area to insure all sanding debris is gone. Polish with Plastx using the backing plate, pad & a drill. You can do it by hand, but it'll wear you out. It may take several apps of the Plastx to get the results you want.

This is the method I used on my Cousin's Camry & it worked great.

If your lights are heavily pitted, you'll need to start with courser sandpaper. 300 or 400 should work.

Here's some pics & slightly different method:
VWvortex Forums: DIY: Polishing PLASTIC...like headlights and tailights!

[AZ IS350]

Meguiars Plast-X works well on cloudy headlights. It's much cheaper than buying replacement headlights and much easier than sanding/refinishing. It doesn't last forever, so you'll have to re-apply it periodically. It's around $8-9 a tube at sprawl-mart and a tube will last for quite a while.

[KDTundra]

I had the stupidity to use a dish washing scrubby to remove bug gunk and scratched the hell out of my lenscovers. You live and learn!!

I ordered some plastic polish from Griot's (item #11186 @ ~$10.00) and polished each lens 5 times and it's almost like new.

Good Luck

Kev

[bamafire]

I second the plast x. I bought replacement headlights for mine, but that was before I tried the plast x on the wife's Maxima. The stuff works!

[T100_2_TUNDRA]

Originally Posted by rottun

My head light covers are no longer clear. I got a quote for $200 to replace each one. Is there anything else I can do to clear them without buying new ones?

The clear hard coat from the factory that is applied to the lens is what clouds up. It's there to help with strikes from road debris but over time it seems like it clouds up with exposure to UV. Polishing it down just removes it so its clear again, but the lens is more susceptible to damage. Pick your poison, clear and more chips or cloudy. I probably would go with clear, and take my chances on the chips.

[Tundrav8yamaha]

Originally Posted by rottun

My head light covers are no longer clear. I got a quote for $200 to replace each one. Is there anything else I can do to clear them without buying new ones?

i have covers on mine. Headlights New are $90 per side. Also try Auto Zone I resurfaced my Dads Older 99 Avalon with 1000 grit to 1500 gritt to 2000 to 2500 grit and then Plastic polish and it looked like brand new.

[TundraXX]

My Dad just did the lenses on his 00 Maxima with plain old polishing compound and they look great. I'm going to try it on my wife's Pathfinder...


(if it works then I'll do my Tundra)

[Justin727]

Not trying to go a little off topic here but do the 05-06 AC head lights fit in the 00-04 aside from the fact that is has a spare little orange light in it?

[Greenie]

Originally Posted by Tundrav8yamaha

i have covers on mine. Headlights New are $90 per side. Also try Auto Zone I resurfaced my Dads Older 99 Avalon with 1000 grit to 1500 gritt to 2000 to 2500 grit and then Plastic polish and it looked like brand new.

Where did you purchase your covers, online, locally or catalog? Do they affect light output?

I noticed an AVS logo in the corner. Is that the preferred brand?

[atbspinner]

You can also use the clear adhesive film to protect from chips. I bought some off ebay for $2.25 per linear foot. You just have to cut it to fit but it is a cheap way to protect the lenses. Look here: eBay Store - Clear Bra: Precut Window Tint, Computer Cut Tint, Bumper Protection

[Tundrav8yamaha]

Originally Posted by Greenie

Where did you purchase your covers, online, locally or catalog? Do they affect light output?

I noticed an AVS logo in the corner. Is that the preferred brand?

I received them from performance products.com cost was fourty five dollars .this doesn't effect light can't tell there on.I like them so far.

[BAD BONEZ BJ]

Originally Posted by Tundrav8yamaha

I received them from performance products.com cost was fourty five dollars .this doesn't effect light can't tell there on.I like them so far.

Hey, thanks! I didn't realize they also came as clear, just saw the smoke ones and know they are illegal here.

Back to the subject - I picked up a Headlight Repair Kit at my local Walmart, cheap. Worked great, three foil packs, if I remember right. Followed instructions, cleaned, polished, and sealed.

My problem was hazing on the inside of aftermarket blackout replacement headlights bought off ebay. Couldn't fix them and they failed my state inspection, so I went back to the stock headlights. Check photo album for pic of lights before they went bad.