I have the dark smoked headlights from AM and they are getting all ugly from the sun. I tried the headlight restore polish with a buffer and still no dice. People are saying to use a high grain sandpaper and polish it like acrylic. Will that mess us the dark smoke tint at all?

 

I think Mothers and Meguairs make a polish for headlights that bring them back to life. Try a goole search for either one.
Good luck!

 

I would... hesitate to sand smoked plastic. Unless the smoking, if you will, was done while the clear plastic was mixed then molded, it's likely it's a surface type application, and doing any strong abrasive on it will simply ruin it.

However, if it does, keep sanding until you get rid of the smoke, then polish them up, then resmoke them.

Or buy new ones. But that's the whole point of this thread, I'm guessing, not doing that.

 

Haha thanks. I have meguires polish. Didn't do a thing. I got some advise and was told to try a rubbing compound instead of sandpaper.

 

A compund with diminishing abrasives could work

 

Turtle Wax makes a headlight restorer that comes with small abrasive pads as well as the solution. I used it on my wife's car and it does a really good job.



The pads have different abrasive qualities, varying from rough to remove oxidation to a low abrasive polishing pad. It takes about 15-20 minutes to do each headlight but it works really well. It's cheap too, only costing about $10.

 

My SS/SC Cobalt's headlights were really bad when I bought it... tried the restoring kits route... Worked for a bit then looked even worse. I eventually bought some new Black Housing OEM looking ones off eBay.

I'm big into making sure my headlights look clean. Reason being... IMO, there are a few things that always stand out to people... Headlights/Taillights, Tires & Wheels, and Windows. By keeping all of those clean and shiny, your car will always look "nice".

 

I've done quit a few resto's on head lights. I start with 400 grit black wet sand paper and work my way up to 2000 grit black wet sand paper. Sand the yellow off with the 400 grit Then sand the surface smooth using the 600, 1000, 1500 and 2000.
After the wet sanding. Use a polisher and polishing compound on them. They turn out like new.

 

This. I'm going to try this when my wife's headlights start to turn.
I wonder what sort of protective coating would be useful after doing that (^^^) procedure.

 

I used the Turtle wax kit on my DD headlight had a little oxidation. After a little polishing, I saw a major difference.

 

I don't think you can see the oxidation. But I'm just afraid to take off any of the tinting. I hope it's on the inside.

 

I used the 3m kit and then clear coated then and they still look good!