Car DIY: Fix for yellowed headlights

[Chris57ltr]

Just tried this on my Legacy and it worked a treat, thanks for the vid!

[MudRFunR]

Thanks for posting! I post a new "How to" video every other Thursday!

[lennartkns]

nice :)

[umaxen01]

That's crazy. 4 minutes = new headlights. Thanks...

[dillonmerritt]

Thanks Sleeperawaken, good easy to follow video instruction, I have a 96 Cougar that could definitely use this, I'm sure it will work fine for me as well. Thanks!

[KkF00]

Older caravans and neons seem to really have that problem.

Any rubbing compound would work? 

[DefinitelyNotHaraku]

@KkF00 The more fine the better, but also means more work.

[DefinitelyNotHaraku]

@DefinitelyNotHaraku Also toothpaste works, primarily, due to the baking soda acting as a rubbing compound.

[KkF00]

@DefinitelyNotHaraku

Will this ruin the paint if I get any on it?

[DefinitelyNotHaraku]

@KkF00 If you rinse it off, it shouldn't; however, if you try to wipe it off it may scratch the paint.

[ThinkStage]

nice, need to do that soon to my car.

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[jrodz02]

Nice video, I just did it the way your video shows, and my headlights look beautiful! Thank you

[bandittdukeboy]

I tried it, (abit modified) I used 3M rubbing compound, and old school military spit shining, brought a 20 year old headlight to near new.

[megadeth22885]

try it with a dremel tool and a buffing wheel, i bet it would get much, much clearer with less effort... or put a dish cloth on a palm sander

[edungtran]

The BIG question is : HOW LONG THE CLEAR FINISHED WILL LAST !

[sleeperawaken36]

@edungtran: Oh maybe a year or at best two before you'd need to do it again. It's not a perfect solution, and certainly not as good as replacing the headlamp completely.... but if it's a vehicle that you really don't want to spend much money on, it's a nice quick, and inexpensive fix. This idea isn't really about professional results, I would NOT recommend doing this to like a Mustang you were rebuilding...LOL... but an older work vehicle just to get you around, sure.

[eyewarnedyou]

@edungtran Who cares......it's a CHEAP FIX and lasts long enough for most of us. Then just do it again in a year or so. No big thing!!! ;-)

[passavator1]

i notice only idiots who polish their head lamps when they polish their cars have this problem. Stop trying so hard to polish everything. your head lamps will look good for ever. the old glass headlamps never had this problem. the new plastic lenses break down from the polishing compounds

[sleeperawaken36]

@passavator1 : I never did anything to the headlamps prior to the headlamps going yellow/oxidized... moron. This was the first time I used anything on this set of headlamps. Only idiots make posts like yours because they want to get attention.

[ventureelect]

@sleeperawaken36 you are right on about that idiot. Sickening to read shit like that.

[ramborobbo]

@passavator1 Your an idiot who knows absolutely nothing

[BushPilot444]

Next time, open the hood so you can do the top without the hood lip being in the way....

[randy9937]

why you google it youtube it!!

[Tetragagaca]

HUGE difference,

would car polish work? like Nu polish?

[flickurbic187]

They say not to rub the compound too hard on the paint or the paint will come off. So its only logical that it would work to buff out and clean up the headlights. Great idea, good vid thanks!

[its0a0me]

@sleeperawaken36~ dude im pretty sure that Turtle-wax polishing compound will say to NOT use on plastic!

[sleeperawaken36]

@its0a0me : dude... did you watch the video? It worked, so whatever... Again, it's not the best solution in the world, but it is a good cheap solution for a vehicle that you don't want to put a load of money into, particularly because you could also just buy new headlamps, which would be the best solution of them all. It's all a matter of how much money you want to put into it. This was an old van, didn't really want to put a lot of money into it, but needed brighter headlamps, and IT WORKED

[marek0086]

@sleeperawaken36~ The best way to do it is with the sanding paper sequence. Spend a LITTLE extra money and do it right!. U buy the kit and u can use it forever on ALL cars. The consumables (circle shaped sanding paper) are cheap enough! And then u just coat it with a chemical that will stop it from oxidating.

[sleeperawaken36]

@marek0086 Good advice, thanks for the comment :)

[its0a0me]

Using a sanding paper sequence is the way to go. IT will give u the best results!

[mrFalconlem]

its called a headlamp not a FIXTURE

[driftking9293]

this headligh is from plastic or glass??

[zloben9000]

this vid is Some GOOD SHIT yeaaa.....

[tasoulinh]

i'm going to try it. its a great idea as i have a carbonfiber hood that needs a rubbing and polished for a newer shine..

great vid.

[Joggins1989]

@sleeperawaken36 hahaha some people are ridiculous on youtube, thanks for the video, I have a 95 corolla that i'm gonna give this a shot on.

[ganee6a]

does it work with glass headlights ?

[skababy8227]

toothpaste works alot better

[roanokebarry]

Just use a soft cloth and soft scrub......then put a coat of car wax on the lense to protect it in the future.....takes 10 mins.........DO NOT USE ANY SANDPAPER ON THE PLASTIC LENSE....THAT IS STUPID...YOU WILL RUIN YOUR LENSE.....

[bestamerica]

'

that is a good cleaning the front outside headlight,,,

but cannot clean inside the headlight

[badboy81791]

dam that works realy good .. tooth past works realy good to

[YeskaSmoke]

very useful info.

good job

[sssalbaluchi]

hey bro nice but does it really works plz b honest dude coz i am aving this same problm

[sleeperawaken36]

@sssalbaluchi : Seems to last about a year, then you need to do it again. Results vary a bit as well, as far as how much effort you put in. If you really want your headlights to look new after going yellow though, the best long term answer is to ebay it for another headlamp in good condition. Also the kits probably do a better job than this as well. But hey, it's cheap and simple. You can always do this, and if it doesn't provide as good of a result as you want, you out what, $4?

[sssalbaluchi]

@sleeperawaken36 ok bro thnx but i gues i should try ur idia first thn i will check on ebay n thnx alot 4 ur help :) Tc

[skaterboy520c]

how long does this last?

[MADDOG6400]

My 2003 Toyota Tundra is starting to fog a little.

Thanks for the video! I think I'm going to try it!

[sof1map]

good job

[turbovation]

Will work quite a bit better if you use fine finishing papers and such. shinyheadlights-dot-com see MY results.

[ntarlas]

Hii I made on my own a cream and it works perfectly. Just mix sault + water + toothpaste + and detergents powder = cream and after you brush your headlights clear it with water and let it dry . Then Put some Shining cream like overline and you are ready . i try it and it works fine!

[bradrsavidge]

this only works so good just get a kit they run from 15-50 bucks depending on the quality of the kit and amount of different grits of sand paper 3m restore kit is the best ive seen

[wagner03mustang]

hey man, cool video but you really need to go 1 step farther. Ive been restoring headlight for the past 3 yrs and i use the same turtle wax compound, but both of the products that you used were compounds, so really all you did was clean it and smooth it, You need to then buy a bottle of polish, i use neu finish, but the 3m polish works great. rub it on real hard after you used the compounds, let it dry till it turns hazy white and rub it off with a dry rag. Hope that helps man.

[xiola696969]

600-800-3000 Grit sanding pads, will restore the lens to factory look this will make it look better but not the day it rolled off the line.

[cooldomo]

dont sand your headlights down its very bad

[coreyhudson2]

Sanding your headlight is only damaging if you use a coarse grit. Fine sandpaper is what all the professionals use to restore headlights.

[MrKeyboardcrazy]

@coreyhudson2 Nothing finer than 220 grit will work on the Chevrolet Impalas. Unless you wanna take 4 hours!

[bingbong6099]

this works but make sure you don't let the rubbing compound dry at all. a little bit dried on mine and it was a bitch to sand off. fine grit sandpaper is ok as long as you dont go crazy with it, i wet sanded. I got better results with first wetsanding most of the yellow off and then using meguiars headlight restoration.

[kedigitalservices]

I have used wax (auto and household floor wax) in the passed. Initially it works but later it turns yellow again. I have a 2000 voyager that fogged up bad. It looked like they were painted yellow (much worse than the ones in this video. I used a micro fiber cloth attached to a 4 sanding pad for my cordless drill and some turtle wax polishing compound & scratch remover like in the video. Took about 20 min per headlight, but they now look new again. Then used the same equipment to polish my van.

[dasgeilehund]

@kedigitalservices Finally someone touched on one thing that happens, after you sand or buff down the plastic lenses... on alot of cars the lens is molded with a fairly soft plastic, then coated with a harder UV barrier palstic. when you grind this off they will yellow much faster, unless you keep them up with some kind of plastic wax.. check your local parts store for those i recommend meguiars or 3m:)

[Tontagator]

thanks so much that fixed it all up i was thinkin about gettin some new headlights

[blacklabel036]

Thanks this saved me a fortune!

[ganymedeIV4]

wow i wouldn't suggest using sand paper on your head lamps.

Jewelers rouge or any real polishing compound works great.

3M just put it in a fancy bottle.

[strumtillyudie]

i wouldn't act surprised. many companies have already put out lens cleaning kits with extremely fine sand paper. you're basically taking off the top layer of plastic, in this case the top layer is a nasty film that turns yellow

[manoman0]

very smooth sandpaper can be helpful to get slight scratches out of a lens, but it needs to be polished after that....

[snakesonaplane2]

to get the best results it's better to sand with 500, 800 then 300 grit sandpaper, wetsanding with the 3000 then using a polish and buffing it on; that turned my Fox Mustang lights looking like brand new clear lenses

[miumiumiaomi]

this is like life saving~~`I was just about to buy a new cover and found out that they won sell it w/ lens.....

[juancarpio89]

HEY to REstore your headlights with house products watch my toturial in my channel thanks guys

[howswift]

Very useful tip. I saved a lot of money with this video.

Thank you.

[preachprophet]

good job thanx.much cheaoer than 3m

[bigjayzway]

This is what I always use. It works better than those fancy restoration GIMMICK packs, and lasts longer too!

[Slashfreak]

yeah i used toothpaste it worked fine

[hartattack940]

O.O looks almost brand new!! haha i need to try this on my headlamps haha

[Boodieman72]

Use something like Meguairs Plastx

[juliogonza]

i Use Off

[spnlthaxton]

opps i meant 93 not 83

[spnlthaxton]

how long will you have to repeat this process i have a 83 ranger and i did the same thing u did almostbut i didnt use a rubbing compound i just used was and a drill with a buff ball i think i gonna go and re do mine if i dont decide to get fancy aftermarket lense

[sleeperawaken36]

I'd say 2 or 3 times, but this is not a professional fix, but a nice simple fix for those who are not looking for perfect results, but just better visibility so they can see better at night :) It does work pretty good, for what it is though. Since you have a setup with a drill and a buffer ball, you might try first doing what I did, then going a 2nd round with the buffer ball with some rubbing compound. Haven't tried that, but I'm guess that might give you a better overall result :)

[acespade77]

will this work for my car it looks like the on the inside of my headlight that its like condensation or something but i cant tell and i have on clear lense and one like urs i think

[chrisawaite]

great tip i could have used this back in the day one thing is that what you use to drive to your gigs