Headlight Restoration

I thought the headlights were pretty good for a 12 year old truck when I bought it in March, 2019. Lately they’ve been looking slightly cloudy.
I used the Maguire’s Two Step restoration kit and I’m frankly amazed. Quick, almost can’t mess it up.
Before and after images are below.

 

Nice job

 

Nicely done! Makes the front end of that truck look brand new

 

How well do you think it would work on these?

 

Try Mother’s Mag and Wheel polish with a DA polisher. 10 minutes per headlight at the most.

 

You can also use Derp Woods Off sprayed on a cloth.

 

Deep Woods Off

 

Thats it.

 

I used the Meguiar's headlight coating after polishing the headlights on my Corolla. It works really well and I plan on using it on my Tacoma this Summer. It's a good product.
In my opinion, it's a better option than going aftermarket.

 

What did you use to polish the headlights?

 

Don’t knock this until you try it but whitening toothpaste works really well for headlights. Take a slightly wet paper towel add the toothpaste to either the towel or directly onto the headlights and scrub well. Follow with rinsing off with water and if needed you can do two trials.

did this on my 2011 Honda Civic and worked like a charm and costs almost nothing haha

 

I’ve seen worse made look like new again. Maybe not the Meguires stuff but it can be done.

 

Hope your wife didn't make the connection between your shiny headlights and her missing toothbrush

 

Looks good.

I would buy more sealer. You can get it on Amazon.
Apply it every 6 months or so.
Other wise you’re likely to be doing the restore again in less than 2 years.

I’ve done mine 2x now.

 

Without being there to look at your lights in person, I don't want to guesstimate results. More than likely a Sand, Compound, Polish, and, Seal would bring those lights back. Pm me if you want some solid advice in doing this.

OP, good job! Just remember now that you have effectively removed what was left of the original UV coating the lights will haze quickly from this point on.

A good coating, sealant, or even regular waxing will help attenuate this... just a heads up.

That being said, stellar job bro!

Edit- bourbon typo

 

Dude those look pretty bad and you're probably going to need a proper headlight restoration that goes beyond what home remedies or a two step process will provide. The idea is to TAKE OFF the sun damaged outer layer of plastic.
Start with 1000 grit wet sand and scrub all that dead plastic off. Then use 1500 to take that down and finally 2000 grit until all the fine scratches from the 1500 are gone (Its important to pre soak the paper and use plenty of water when sanding). Next move to a compound with a medium to light cutting agent and polish it down until the lens has just a slight haze. For a final step you could use Maguire's Plastex and hand polish or make it easy on yourself and use a 3" polishing pad with your hand drill. At this point I recommend putting on a polymer sealant or you can use whatever you use as your go to paint protectant to help eliminate future UV damage. I used this process during my 30+ years as a self employed auto detailer and although comprehensive it's the correct way to properly bring your lenses back to new.

 

Used the 3M kit from Amazon today on mine. 10bucks and one hour for both. Couldn’t be happier.

 

For 20 bucks and 20 minutes it couldn’t hurt. There are other kits that are meant for heavier damage like yours. I used one of those on a Mazda that I had and it worked well. It was 3 different grits of wet/ dry and a wipe on coating. Google that for yours.

 

Nice work! The problem is that the restorations never seem to last too long.

 

There’s enough polish and spray coating to restore them 2 or 3 times. Box states the finish will last a year.