Cleaning plastics headlights - cloudy faded

[Tupac]

Not sure where to post this topic as its not specific to Landcruiser's but to all cars.

My car headlights are 'cloudy'  and wondering what others owners may have done to rectify this.

I 'googled' and seems there is support for mixing baking soda and toothpaste.

Any owners that have undertaken restoring the jaded looking headlights shed some light on this topic.

Much appreciated for your time in reading this post.

Thanks

[Tony Prodigy]

12 hours ago, Tupac said:

I 'googled' and seems there is support for mixing baking soda and toothpaste.

That's the layman's approach if you don't have access to a polishing device.

If you have or know someone with a machine polisher, you simply polish them back with the same cutting/polishing compound you'd use for car paint.

A 3" polishing head is ideal, but if you don't have it, you can get away with a 5.5"-6" pad. Just work the machine so that it can effectively contact the lense cleanly.

You can use lambswool or a sponge. If using sponge you'd want to use one for cutting, which in most cases will generally be the Orange pad. The white pads are for refining and the black pads are for finishing. The latter two aren't needed for plastic as we're not interested in making plastic look concourse as you would paint. 

Some plastic lenses can be quite bad and may require wet sanding with 1500 grit to remove the badly oxidised layer. Then follow up with a decent machine polish then buff with a microfiber cloth. You may need to do a few passes depending on how bad it is. 
Generally if the surface feels rough, then it will need a sand. If it's smooth but only faded, then just hit it with the machine straight up and go over it several times for best results.

Some yellowing of the lense will disappear after a good machine polish and some that are more yellowed may still have that yellow tinge but at least the lense will present nicer.

If the lenses are too far gone to the point they affect clarity and the safe use of the vehicle, you should replace them.

Once you're done polishing, clean the surface with some surface prep then apply sealer. I always advocate for a protective sealant once they've been polished, to protect them from the very UV rays which degraded them in the first place.

Any quality automotive spray on sealant, preferably a ceramic based sealant, will work just fine. Just reapply every few months to keep it good.

Hope that helps.

Let us know how you go if you end up tackling this yourself.

Cheers