Cloudy headlight lens

Just purchased a 2012 for our son. It's in great condition but headlights cloudy. I know about the restoration kits but not up for that. Is buying an aftermarket lens replacement worthwhile? Any advice on brands appreciated. Or should I just take it somewhere and have someone restore the ones on the truck? Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome where are you from? Doing the Headlights yourself is very easy, but if you are local I can do it for you. I just did mine a little while ago and they came out like new.

 

I am in Greenville, SC....so far away but thanks for the offer! I'm happy to pay someone here to do it. Just don't know where to go.

 

Any reputable detail shop

 

I wish mine would of came out like new after attempting them to do them myself

 

I put 3m Professional Clear Bra over them when I was done.

 

It's pretty easy to wet sand a hazed lens clear. The problem is that in doing so you remove any of the remaining UV hardcoat. In order to keep the lens from rehazing you need to topcoat it with something that is UV stable.

2k automotive clearcoat is a great option, but you really, really need to wear a chem respirator when using it.

I've had good success with outdoor rated (UV stabilized) gloss clear polyurethane. It's easy to apply (50:50 poly: mineral spirits to thin it), cheap, and easy to fix if there are runs or fisheyes (just use mineral spirits to polish it back off the polycarbonate).

I did my parents 2010 earlier this fall. The driver side headlamp was completely hazed over. It had been repeatedly sanded clear and then topcoated with auto wax (which even if the wax is uv stabilized, it wears off very quickly) for the past several years. The passenger side headlamp had been replaced a few years ago due to the reflector being roached.

I don't have an up close shot of the finished product, but this was done with varathane spray outdoor rated clear gloss poly.

I've also done my sisters driverside headlamp on her scion xB. She lives in myrtle beach, so it will get well tested by the sun. The pic here is about 9 months after application (december of '19 to august'20), and its still as clear as when it was coated.

 

Headlight restoration is relatively simple and straight forward. As others have said, it's pretty easy to do yourself, but any reputable detailing shop should be able to do it for you.

As for replacing the headlights, that too can be done, but beware. There are lots of aftermarket headlight housings out there that are pretty cheap compared to OEM housings. Trust me, the OEM housings - particularly the optics - are far superior to the aftermarket stuff. You do get what you pay for with headlights.

If you want my 2 cents, have a detail shop restore the headlights. If they're not too bad, you'll be very happy with the results.