headlight refinish?

[stefan]

is there any thing that can be done (like buffing/polishing) to restore the lenses on the headlights of my 01 Jetta? they have lost their clairity and dont look that good anymore. im thinking of upgrading to some e-codes eventually anyway, but in the mean time it would be nice to fix these up a bit.

[Smarty39]

Re: headlight refinish?

I would be interested in this as well . I know that you can buff out scratches on hockey visors, but I don't know if the same plastic is used.

[Kor]

Re: headlight refinish?

is there any thing that can be done (like buffing/polishing) to restore the lenses on the headlights of my 01 Jetta? they have lost their clairity and dont look that good anymore. im thinking of upgrading to some e-codes eventually anyway, but in the mean time it would be nice to fix these up a bit.

The first step is to determine if there is any grime on the inside of the lens vs. the outside. Sometimes dust and moisture get inside, and then it really looks like crap. If you need to clean the inside you will need to take the whole light apart.

If its just the outside, you should start by cleaning the plastic really really well.

There is a product called PlastiX I think by Meguiar's. It works pretty well once the headlights are super-clean to help restore their transparency. It is the same stuff you can also find at motorcycle shops that is used to restore the transparency of motorcycle wind-screens.

It might be possible to use a more abrasive compound to smooth out the plastic however I will not make any specific recommendations since I don't want to be responsible if you ruin your lights. One example of using an abrasive compound is that some people recommend buffing plastic headlight lenses with toothpaste. Another is to use tile grout. Yet another idea is to wetsand with 2000 grit. Or all of the above.

[Aleks]

Re: headlight refinish?

In the autobody shop, we used to polish plastic lenses using the same polishes as paint (meguiar's #4, #2,etc), with smaller spot air buffers....it worked great!

[stefan]

Re: headlight refinish?

In the autobody shop, we used to polish plastic lenses using the same polishes as paint (meguiar's #4, #2,etc), with smaller spot air buffers....it worked great!

yeah, i think with the little pits in the lens, i'll need a power buffer of some sort... my arms will give out on me otherwise

Bow cycle said there is a product called Plastic Restore that is pretty good for polishing plastics on motor bikes. He thought it would work for clear plastic too (its an abrasive). There is also a product by Meguiars called PlasticX that is supposed to get out fine scratches in plexi visors/windshilds, but I dont think it would get rid of whats on mine. I might try the abrasive... if it works, I'll let ya know.

[RobG]

Re: headlight refinish?

In the autobody shop, we used to polish plastic lenses using the same polishes as paint (meguiar's #4, #2,etc), with smaller spot air buffers....it worked great!

I have done this, it works quit well

[BadKenny]

Re: headlight refinish?

PlastiX worked great for me. The OEM headlights for my A4 are frosted. And old. And cloudy. Plastix or whatever the Meguiar's product was called work miracles. 10 minutes later I can actually see through the plastic and even though they are old and pitted, the pits are now transparent...My 2-piece "ecodes" (depo projectors) are coming in thanks to EBay, should be here any day so I can junk the OEM's, but FWIW, that plastic polish stuff did work for me......

[stefan]

Re: headlight refinish?

In the autobody shop, we used to polish plastic lenses using the same polishes as paint (meguiar's #4, #2,etc), with smaller spot air buffers....it worked great!

would it work wihout a buffer? i have a drill, but i dont think it will spin slow enough... it might though

[Aleks]

Re: headlight refinish?

Plastx works great too, but I find its not as resistant to getting cloudy again, so you have to do it much more often

[stefan]

Re: headlight refinish?

k, i buffed them up a bit with some turtle wax polish (no meguiars where i went) then used plasticX after. Worked great!.

next problem:
It seems that my right headlight is missing one of the sealed covers on the back, so there is a lot of dust in on the back of the lense. I had the headlight out and tried to seperate the lense so I could clean it. Its glued on damned well, and although i could pry the lense apart a little (like milimeters), i was doing damage to the black plastic behind the light. Any ideas how to get it off? or if one can? Also, anyone out there have a right headlight for a 01 jetta that is broken and I can steal the cover from the back so I can seal this up?

Thanks for advise guys, they polished up well.

[Aleks]

Re: headlight refinish?

Yep, in the overn at 200 FARENHEIT for no more than 90 seconds......then pry GENTLY

[R_Ethug]

Re: headlight refinish?

yup bake them @ 200 for like 1-2 minutes and it'll pull apart easy..

then to put them back together heat main housing back up and it softens the glue and push the lens back on..

[stefan]

Re: headlight refinish?

genious! :P soon as I can track down that panel, I'll do it!

[stefan]

Re: headlight refinish?

i got them all cleaned up, there is a little spot on the inside where windex took the chrome off :( . Its not too bad, but after all the work of opening them up its a little dissapointing. They look a lot better though. thx guys.

if anyone has a busted up left mk4 jetta headlight that i could steal a piece from.... let me know