We use Mother's Mag Wheel Polish. Kinda like a rubbing compound only thinner.

I did the Cerakote kit delivered from Amazon.

It worked really well except for the mistake on my end of waiting too long in the day and it got hot. I was in direct sun and the applicator dried too quickly.
So don't be an idiot like me. Follow the directions and you'll get good results.

Cheers~

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
If replacements are less than $200, that is the most logical solution.

The cost of the materials to do it correctly, and the labor will be so close to that $200 on one side or the other, that the decision makes itself.

I can do anything but brain surgery, and what it takes to recondition clear plastic*.

Most of these plastic components not only haze and yellow, but the plastic crazes and pervasive minute cracking means all that time and effort only buys a small return on continued use of them.

*(on parts that are not available, such as classic car parts, that require vacuum forming, and where tooling is more effort than reconditioning)

I see a pair of replacement assemblies on Amazon for around $185 but the reviews are not great. Around 80% 4 & 5 star, but the 1 star reviews are horrifying. Of course there are always the folks that would bitch if you hung them with a new rope, so there's that.

I think the logical course of action is to try a DIY kit for around $20 and see what I see (literally...) and if that's unsatisfactory or doesn't last, I can take another look at replacement.

Fortunately, replacement is dead simple.

They're not horrible now. This is after about 10 minutes with some Meguiars plastic polish.

When you get them back to where you want I would suggest getting paint protection film (PPF) put on them.

^^^After the UV protective clear coat, or instead of?

Regardless of solution, masking off the lens with blue painters tape takes a few minutes and makes clean up much easier.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
When you get them back to where you want I would suggest getting paint protection film (PPF) put on them.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
^^^After the UV protective clear coat, or instead of?

in lieu of a coating or clear coat is what I've seen and only seen it here:

Yours don’t look too bad. So I would just polish them once a year with Meguiar’s PlastX and forget it. Much, much cheaper than new headlights. Make sure the headlight is cool and in shade when you use it. https://www.amazon.com/Meguiar...x%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-1

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
Yours don’t look too bad. So I would just polish them once a year with Meguiar’s PlastX and forget it. Much, much cheaper than new headlights. Make sure the headlight is cool and in shade when you use it. https://www.amazon.com/Meguiar...x%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-1

That won't last long as it's predominately a cleaner polish with a minuscule amount of polymer sealant. To get longevity need to pair it with a UV protectant such as Meg's headlight coating .

I know what it is. Been using it for years. In 1 year the yellowing/hazing won’t come back as bad as what he has now. I polish once a year with PlastX on my 16 year old headlights and they look great, even in the stronger southern sun.

Eventually, as in eventually, you may want to replace the lenses with new factory or aftermarket units. Once the degredation reaches the subsuface of the lenses, and the inside of the lens where you can't reach, it will be time. If the vehicle is expensive or not that old it may be good to get oem replacements from a dealer, else going for cheaper aftermarkets should be ok as long as it fits as advertised. I will be doing that soon on an old truck I have with aftermarkets, because the interval between polishing and sealing is very short, and the insides surface a clouding up. I would hazard to guess there are better plastics/polymers to manufacture headlight lenses from, but then you get into market turnover and planned obsolescence strategies and all that.

I used the Cerakote kit on one headlight on a ford fusion we have. Its the sand off the cloudy surface and then apply the clear protectant.
It lasted 2-3 years and is clouding up again.
The kit came with enough product to do two lenses and I only needed to do the one so I need to use the other half of the kit to do the light over again.

We have a 2003 Toyota 4Runner that had moderately oxidized headlights.

After doing some research I purchased the Cerakote kit to clean them up and restore them.

Before I had a chance to use the kit, I purchased a tube of this (link to Amazon). . .

Turtle Wax 50935 Scratch Repair and Renew

. . .to remove some light swirles from my wife's vehicle (black color) which it did very nicely.

It did not see it at first, but the label also states that it removes "headlight oxidation" so I figured 'why not give it try?'.

With very little time and effort it removed all of the oxidation and the headlights are very clear with no visible swirls or scratches.

I did this about two months ago and there has been no re-haze on the surface or anything. The car is not garaged.

For $13.00 it's worth the price and a little bit of time to see if it works for you.

Maybe I'll use the Cerakote kit if necessary at some point.

I can e-mail some pics to you if you would like to see the results.

Good luck!

Rob

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:...

I see a pair of replacement assemblies on Amazon for around $185 but the reviews are not great. Around 80% 4 & 5 star, but the 1 star reviews are horrifying. Of course there are always the folks that would bitch if you hung them with a new rope, so there's that.
...
Fortunately, replacement is dead simple.

$85 to my door for a set for my 2010 F-150 after looking at the cost and time of kits. (I'll see how long they last )
The best reviewed kits that worked well and had lasting effects were in the $60 range.

Put the originals in the box and I'll keep them until I am either satisfied with the replacements, or I end up refurbing them if the new ones revert to Chinese poop.

And with 80% 4&5, a lot of the 1 reviews are bitching about time of shipping, a bashed up box or not following directions. After a while, it is easy to distill the reviews, it's just tedious.

I sand them and clear them.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:...

I see a pair of replacement assemblies on Amazon for around $185 but the reviews are not great. Around 80% 4 & 5 star, but the 1 star reviews are horrifying. Of course there are always the folks that would bitch if you hung them with a new rope, so there's that.
...
Fortunately, replacement is dead simple.

$85 to my door for a set for my 2010 F-150 after looking at the cost and time of kits. (I'll see how long they last )
The best reviewed kits that worked well and had lasting effects were in the $60 range.

Put the originals in the box and I'll keep them until I am either satisfied with the replacements, or I end up refurbing them if the new ones revert to Chinese poop.

And with 80% 4&5, a lot of the 1 reviews are bitching about time of shipping, a bashed up box or not following directions. After a while, it is easy to distill the reviews, it's just tedious.

I review the worst reviews first, and see how far I have to go before I read anything with intelligence. If all the bad reviews are by stupids, then I read the middle reviews next, and so on. The middle reviews seem to have the most intelligent thought and reason.

The bad reviews talked about very early yellowing and moisture getting inside the housing.

I had an '03 Tundra that had the frosty headlights look to them. Bought the Wipe New(Nu), and it made a world of difference. I can't find those pictures. But I will send you some pictures of the headlights that had the same problem on a Tacoma.