How to get rid of the yellowed headlights

[LegacyT]

Here's mine after doing the 1000-2500 wet sanding routine:

[Mattheww044]

oooo man, that is one sexy ss
headlights look great

[SwedishChef]

I had used a couple different kits in the past for clearing yellowed headlights. One worked great, the other two did nothing and I can't remember which any of them were.

But I just did mine, and here's how I did it:

1. Remove lenses and clean with warm water and a tad of dish soap
2. Wet sand 150, 300, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000 (no really) I used a standard palm sized sanding block by 3M
3. Rinse and Let dry
4. Polish by hand using microfiber pushing pad with "Turtle Wax Scratch & Swirl Remover" compound
4. Buff with clean microfiber pad
5. 3 medium coats with 1 minute in between using spray "Krylon ColorMaster Acrylic Crystal Clear"
6. Let dry, install

I initially just sanded up to 1000, but it didn't look smooth enough to me. Still hazy. I wanted to go much further, so I hunted down the Turtle Wax compound which is great on acrylics. I also bought a set of cotton buffing wheels for use in a drill, but after I tried them on a corner it was apparent that no change was happening after the polishing compound.

I didn't take any before pics, but will upload my after pics shortly. Needless to say, they came out crystal clear, looking brand new.

[Legacy777]

Yup, putting in a bit of elbow grease with the sanding and polishing definitely clears up the lenses pretty good.

[kimokalihi]

3m sells a kit at auto parts stores like AutoZone for $30 that comes with a bit your attack in your drill and has a Velcro face with different grit sandpapers. 500, 800, 3000 and a foam buffing pad with compound and a wax. I skipped the wax and used option-coat 2.0. It's a clear resin. Should last a few years. Awesome stuff for paint once the paint is corrected to perfection. I clear coated in the past and it didn't last more than a year or so. I used a sealant and a wax and that lasted longer than the clear coat. Hopefully the option-coat works even better.

[Legacy777]

That's interesting the clear coat paint didn't last. I gave Doug Vincent my old lights that I clear coated and I think they were still fine.

[SwedishChef]

Yes it is weird that it didn't last. Maybe it wasn't great paint or too thin. I've never had it NOT last forever.

[kimokalihi]

Well then it was probably my poor painting skills. Painting always Pisses me off. I always wind up with a bug or specs of dust in the paint.

[SwedishChef]

Well then it was probably my poor painting skills. Painting always Pisses me off. I always wind up with a bug or specs of dust in the paint.

Try using tack cloth before painting, and setting up a little booth doesn't hurt either to keep the dust out.

[WRXish]

anybody got an extra working fridge? Not enough room in mine for headlights