Restored the headlights on my '05 SSL. I was hesitant to tackle this as I didn't want to ruin them. However, with my basic detailing skills and a helpful Mothers kit I knocked it out. Think the results are well worth the 20$ and hour or so I spent.

Process is quite easy. The kit includes 1 buff wheel/pad, Two, 2 sided sanding pads and the buffing / protection bottle.

1. Tape bumper / fender surrounding headlights to avoid any sanding "outside the lines" and eventually when you buff.

2. The Mothers kit included 2 sanding sponges, double sided #1-4 of increasing grit. Soak these in water and wet the headlight. (Before any of these steps do a normal wash of the headlights to ensure they're clean prior to starting)

3. They recommend in the kit to sand #1 in one direction - sanding lightly. Proceed to pad #2 sanding 90 degrees to the first pad so and so forth. With each pad they recommend to increase the amount of sanding. Ultimately you're using a very fine pad #4 leaving your lights looking completely hazed over.

4. Attach the polish wheel and apply a little of the product. Being careful not to sling it all over. This step took me the longest. I used a cordless drill. Some of the kits out there recommend corded...others (this included) a cordless. I'm sure the detail folks have a better idea and can chime in.

Anyway - here's the pics.

Before any treatment. Years of DD and weather. Not terrible but room for improvement.



After the 4 steps of wet sanding



Buffed, washed and dried. Looks great IMO



Lighting Pic



Thanks!

 

Nice, just have to see how long the coating lasts, that's the part I hate.

 

Yep - I've heard this as well. I think there are varying degrees of degradation on headlights from age, weather or whatever are determining factors. Mine weren't too bad to start. They feel baby bottom soft now though.

Light output on the roadway was much improved too.

 

I used the 3m kit on my jetta about two years ago, they still look pristine. Its absolutely worth the money.

 

I did the same thing to mine about a year ago. After a while, they started to get scratched from dirt and washing because the raw plastic was more exposed since the uv coating had been sanded away, even after waxing them frequently. So what I did was redo it, and this time, I've put lamin-x clear headlight film over the headlights. Holding up much better this time around. I would recommend the headlight film after doing this because it will preserve that clean plastic.

 

Nice, great improvement for just $20

 

That's actually a good idea. If I recall inside the Mothers box was a discount coupon to order a set of those.

 

keep them waxed and you should never have this problem again. good work

 

It looks good but the best solutiopn would be to sand them and clear with a quality automotive clearcloat. Clearcoat has a UV protectant which wont let the plastic below haze or yellow ever again. I've done this for hundreds of customers and offer a lifetime warranty when I do it. I've never had to redo a set. They come out looking brand new and stay that way.

 

Yep - I heard this as well. Friend of mine who does detailing said he can toss something on there that will help w/ the UV and protect them too.

Might spring for the LaminX too. We'll see. I didn't mind doing the maintenance on the lights as i'm a noob when it comes to a polishing wheel and detailing etc.

 

I'm not a fan of lamin-x because it doesn't look clear. Just keep them waxed with a quality wax. You could even get a small bottle of Zaino Z-2 just for the headlights because that is 6-12month wax and you wouldn't have to worry about them again

 

great job man...keep it up...

 

With the clearcoat that you can apply after restoring the headlights, do they come in different tints at all? The clearcoat on my 9 is starting to flake/peel a little and has light smoky tint to it. How are clearcoats applied? Spray or wiped on by hand? (I prob haven't worded properly)

 

any automotive clearcoat applied by a professional shouldn't do that. You need to keep your car waxed. Also, if you do wax your car please use automotive soap. I know people that will wax the car and then use a household soap like dawn which is great for removing wax...

 

Bump .., OP can you fix the pics??