Foggy and oxidized headlights not only look bad, but can take away from the amount of light given, here are a couple ways to fix this all too common problem:
First We'll start with supplies reccomended.
Method 1 (AKA the Wet Sanding)
-Wet Sandpaper (Reccomended 450 Grain+)
-Polishing/Rubbing Compound
-Towel
Optional:
-Microfiber cloth
-Lower Grain Sandpaper follwed by higher grain sandpaper finish
-Simple Green or similar (amonia based) cleaning product
-Clear Coat (in a spray can)
Method 2:
-Nail Polish Remover
-Towel
-Simple Green or similar (amonia based) cleaning product
Optional:
-Polishing/Rubbing Compound
-Microfiber cloth
Method 1:
Step 1: Clean any loose residue off the leanses.
Step 2: Wet lenses and begin sanding lenses. (Use lower grain sandpaper if you have it) After sanding a bit, wipe off lens and get a fresh piece of sandpaper. Repeat this method until you have reached desired cleaness.
Step 3 (optional): Use higher grained sandpaper and repeat step 2 a few times (4-10 depending on stinginess)
Step 4: Wipe some Polishing/Rubbing on your towel or microfiber cloth. Rub back and forth until Polishing/Rubbing gets used up. Wipe on some more and repeat until lense is smooth and scratchless.
Step 5: You can use your cleaning product to get off any excess shavings/compound/whatever.
Step 6 (optional): You can now apply the clear coat, be careful not to spray your car.
Step 7: Your light should now be done.
Method 2:
Step 1: Clean any loose residue off the leanses.
Step 2: Poor some Nail Polish remover on your towel. Rub onto lense quickly until it get hard to wipe. Repeat until lense is clean.
Step 3 (optional): Wipe some Polishing/Rubbing on your towel or microfiber cloth. Rub back and forth until Polishing/Rubbing gets used up. Wipe on some more and repeat until lense is smooth and scratchless.
Step 4: Your light should be done. You can use your cleaning product to get off any excess shavings/compound/whatever.
This is the finished product. Method 2 was used for the right headlight, Method 1 on the left.
Conclusion: As you can see there is not much difference. I personally prefer the nail polish remover (Method 2) over the sandpaper method because you get the same results with a lot more ease.
The products and methods used can be interchanged. I actually used a little bit of nail polish remover on the left headlight, too after taking the pics although I didn't notice much difference.
If you have any questions or need some clarification feel free to post and I or another member will hopefully be able to give you an answer.
Enjoy
