I was going to buy new headlights for my '96 mustang, but I thought I would try wet sanding them first. The lenses were VERY yellow, and I could barely see through them at night.

I went through 320, 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper to wet sand the lights. I wrapped 3" strips of sandpaper around a foam block and sanded through all the grits by hand.

After that I used 3M liquid rubbing compound with a felt pad attached to my drill. The final step was to use Meguiar's PlastX polish. Last but not least I used clear RTV Silicone to seal up the seam between the front and back of the headlight to prevent any water from getting in. It took me over an hour, but I think the end result was worth it.

Before:


After:

5/25/2007 9:35:38 AM

wow. Maybe I'll do that with mine.

5/25/2007 9:38:28 AM

^^ considering that replacements for your car are less than $25 each, not really worth the time

5/25/2007 9:40:15 AM

right, but its much better to feel like you've done a job well, instead of paid for the replacements

and I already had the sandpaper for other projects, so I just bought the 3M and Meguiar's

5/25/2007 9:42:17 AM

PlastX is some good stuff for a quick shine-up. I had moderate yellowing on the lenses on my Lincoln, and PlastX by itself helped quite a bit, though the results were not in the same league as wet-sanding.

5/25/2007 12:03:15 PM

you have to coat the plastic with something that will prevent UV related damage.

like formula 303 or something.

the lenses will haze up again if you don't. this time much more quickly, since the protective factory coating is gone.

[Edited on May 25, 2007 at 12:04 PM. Reason : eh]

5/25/2007 12:03:48 PM

nice! like someone else said, even if you could buy them for cheap, i think its much more satisfying to fix the problem yourself.

now if only you could wet sand the rest of the car into something better =P

i kid i kid

[Edited on May 25, 2007 at 12:31 PM. Reason : fda]

5/25/2007 12:29:36 PM

^^ I thought the Meguiar's I put on the lenses would function as a UV Protectant, apparently not.

I'm not sure there was any factory UV coating left on the lenses considering how bad they looked before, haha.

Where would I find this 303 stuff? I'm just looking around at places online at the moment

^ if you can tell me how to wet sand a mustang into something better, lets do it! lol

5/25/2007 1:11:37 PM

i did this on my first car, a 89 dodge spirit turbo I

i just used some rubbing compound and a buffer

the results werent nearly as nice as what you got there

definitely coat them so they stay nice

5/25/2007 1:37:20 PM

would goo gone work to remove the crap on my headlight casing on the outside? Its like tiny grains of sand i think. when you run your hand over the surface its rough.

5/25/2007 2:05:09 PM

boaters (marine) world pleasant valley off glenwood is where i get mine.

[Edited on May 25, 2007 at 7:05 PM. Reason : you can also get that 3m clear shield stuff and it'll work really well.]

5/25/2007 7:04:13 PM

Well done man

5/25/2007 10:11:34 PM

you know the old saying, you can polish a turd!

5/25/2007 10:18:44 PM

Im lazy ...........I would have spent the $24 bucks

5/25/2007 10:43:28 PM

Quote :

"would goo gone work to remove the crap on my headlight casing on the outside? Its like tiny grains of sand i think. when you run your hand over the surface its rough."

are you sure the surface of the headlight isn't pitted?

mine are like that.

5/25/2007 10:50:25 PM

Using aluminum polish and some elbow greese works about as well. The key is finding something that will coat the surface to slow down future yellowing.

5/26/2007 7:24:53 AM

I've never seen a headlight get that bad. Is it a common problem?

5/26/2007 7:43:06 AM

Fuck yes. My wifes 97 LeSabres are HORRIBLE. Which is ironic because my two other vehicles are as old and are much better off.

5/26/2007 8:06:50 AM

i've only seen it be a large problem on domestic makes.

sporadically on foreign brands. i guess they use a better formulation.

5/26/2007 11:30:29 PM

that and tooth paste

5/29/2007 6:58:02 PM

you dont even need to go through all of those steps. if you know how to wetsand you can just get some 2000 grit paper and it will work as good. then use an orbital buffer to smooth it out.

5/29/2007 7:32:34 PM

cars with glass headlights FTW

5/29/2007 7:43:20 PM

tr00, just wet sanded with 2000 and buffed. looks new y0.

no need for all those steps

6/7/2007 7:18:20 PM