Restoring plastic headlamps.

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pre65
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#1 Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by pre65 »

The plastic headlamp lenses on my van have become cloudy.

There are many restoration kits on Ebay, but has anyone any personal experience of using such kits ?

Or even a DIY method ?
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#2 Re: Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by steve s »

Plastic watch faces cone up nice with metal polish Phil, t cut is good too
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#3 Re: Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by shane »

I bought one of these for my old Fiat Punto which had dull and yellowing plastic headlamps. Dead easy to use and brought them up like new. About £20 on Amazon.

https://www.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/company-u ... 875&rt=rud
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#4 Re: Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by Max N »

With any of the various the restoration kits, there should be plenty left over for scratched acrylic turntable lids etc
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Ali Tait
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#5 Re: Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by Ali Tait »

Yes metal polish will work well, as will toothpaste.
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Paul Barker
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#6 Re: Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by Paul Barker »

I did my own just before mot using green scourer and toothpaste after a while just toothpaste. Only using elbow no power tools. It passed mot!
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#7 Re: Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by jack »

It depends how bad the UV damage to the lenses is.

I recently did both our cars. Toothpaste/metal polish i.e. very mild abrasives are generally a temporary and very poor approach. Firstly, double tape round the lights to protect paintwork. You may have to cut back 0.5mm or more.

The best way I've found is to cut back the lenses by going through the grades of abrasives from about 120 grit up to 3000. Be brave - Use the coarser grades to really cut back the plastic until whole lense is completely cloudy/opaque and all UV damage removed, then work up. Don't worry! It'll be fine! Only need water mister when up to 1200/2000/3000 grades - lower grades are dry - change often/when clogged.

Finish/final polish is with t-cut and then after drying, a UV protection lacquer.

I used a battery drill with a 3" hook-and-loop foam pad on a low rev setting (600 rpm or less) - higher revs are a problem as the abrasive pad can heat up and the plastic melts, so you would need to start again to remove the damage.

About 30 minutes total per lense - use a chair when working to prevent back ache.

Came up like new on our 05 Volvo and Micra.
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#8 Re: Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by shane »

That's pretty much exactly what the 3Ms kit does. It has a 3" foam pad for your drill, and a series of progressively finer sanding discs to attach to it, finishing off with a polishing mop and compund. Also includes protective tape for the surrounding bodywork.

I was genuinely surprised at how well it worked and how easy it was.
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#9 Re: Restoring plastic headlamps.

Post by jack »

I just used decorator's masking tape - two layers.

You HAVE to cut back the UV damaged plastic. The YouTube cheap fixes look ok for a few days, then revert to original damage - the surface layer of the light has to be completely removed. The light should be completely opaque and a uniform white when done. It looks awful/fatal but as you move up through the grits it gets progressively clearer until then final polish when it really is like brand new.

It's also essential to reapply the UV protective layer otherwise it'll look crap again within a year. I used e-tech "restored headlight clear coat" - I think from Lenco but I suspect eBay, Amazon etc. have it or similar.

https://e-tech.uk.com/e-tech-restored-h ... clear-coat
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