Easiest headlight restoration ever!

[cowmeat]

So I heard about this trick yesterday, and had to try it on my daughter's car

Tools required for headlight restoration:

#1 - soft cloth or paper towel (I used paper towel)
#2 - can of Deep Woods Off insect repellent
#3 - Windex

Steps to restore hazed headlight:

#1 - spray some bug spray on a paper towel, enough to saturate it a bit
#2 - wipe it *briskly* on the headlight, rubbing it in pretty good
#3 - *quickly* wipe clean, don't let the bug spray stay on the headlight for a long time, or it can melt the plastic!
#4 - spray it with Windex and wipe down with a clean paper towel to remove residual bug spray

Don't know how long the results last, but it took less than a minute per headlight, and you can see the difference it made! It actually took off the layer of haze, the paper towel was brown.

[dirtydave]

Cool trick. I'm going to have to try this. I hate my headlights they are actually dangerous because they are all fogged up.

[cowmeat]

The "before" pic didn't do it justice, hers were so hazed they were dangerous, too! I feel a lot better about her driving it now

[ksa8907]

Fingernail polish remover does the same thing, melts off the oxidation.

[cowmeat]

Make sure if you guys try this that you spray it on the rag, wipe it on the headlight, rub it off real good and shine it with Windex or something to take all the remaining bug spray off.
There's a youtube video where the guy warns that it could eat right through the plastic! But the headlights I did look real good, and I'm going to wax them tonight just to keep them clear for a while

[nemo]

Originally Posted by cowmeat

Make sure if you guys try this that you spray it on the rag, wipe it on the headlight, rub it off real good and shine it with Windex or something to take all the remaining bug spray off.
There's a youtube video where the guy warns that it could eat right through the plastic!

Maybe you should add this to your first post.

[MetroMPG]

Cowmeat - don't forget about this thread... keep us posted on how long it lasts.

I did it the hard way yesterday: buffer, rubbing & polishing compounds, then wax.

[cowmeat]

Maybe you should add this to your first post.

Updated the first post!

Cowmeat - don't forget about this thread... keep us posted on how long it lasts.

Will do!

I'm going to give Turtle's headlights a shot of it tonight, but I'm going to add the step of waxing them afterwards to see if that lasts longer. Maybe I ought to wax one and clear-coat the other to see which lasts longer?
I still have almost a full can of cleat coat left from doing the rim this weekend

[Xist]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Cowmeat - don't forget about this thread... keep us posted on how long it lasts.

I did it the hard way yesterday: buffer, rubbing & polishing compounds, then wax.

That was how I did it, it did not seem difficult, but I was already polishing my hood.

[Chrysler kid]

Originally Posted by Xist

That was how I did it, it did not seem difficult, but I was already polishing my hood.

Same here, the bug spray way looks pretty easy though I'd like to try it next time. If the windex leaves the surface feeling smooth I would cover it with a wax, if not you could probably make it look new hitting it with a polish then wax after