thunderstruck01GT

this aint no spam but just sending out some help to those who need it, cuz it took me awhile before i figured out how to solve it, i bought ma 01 mustang used and the headlights were F***ed up with oxidation and scratches,(this is easier if you take out your headlight and hold it in your lap as you do this)take some 2000 grit sandpaper and start sanding away with moderate pressure and wipe the dust off the sandpaper every 20 seconds or so, after its relatively smooth (run your finger across it), smear a special solvent for headlight oxidation across the headlights and begin sanding again, itll take a really long time but sand and handbuff with a terry cloth and do over and over and over until your headlights look like new with a very mild tint, i used blue magic headlight oxidation remover, worked for me, there might be better stuff out there but idk, good luck fellas, THERE IS HOPE ha

SKAR

to speed up the process, you can also use 80 grit paper aka gravel

69 redruM

brake fluid will remove oxidation without sandpaper

thunderstruck01GT

well all valid points, but the thing about the 80 grit sandpaper is your prolly gunna just make more scratches than wut u started with i imagine, even my 2000 is a bit ruff on the plastic

ktm300

You could try some 1500 wet then step it up to 2000 wet, 3000 wet and then hit it with the buffer and extra cut rubbing compound.
hopefully school starts up again for the kids.[sm=shutup.gif]

945LSTANG

this has been posted before

example.....and i dont take credit for this (copy paste):


This isn't my write up but I have used it before and it works wonders. Here's the link to the original source so I can give credit where it is due.
http://www.3.8mustang.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114484&highlight=headlight+re storation


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When I purchased my 99 Mustang, the first thing I noticed was the awful hazed/fogged over headlights. I priced new headlights up and figured I could put money into more important things on the car. So after doing some research I decided to restore the headlights myself and live to tell how I did it
I will point out that this was my first time and some steps may not have been neccessary but they worked for me. Heres how I restored my headlights. This was done on my 1999 Silver Mustang with 6 years of sun/enviromental damage.

Heres the materials I used.



- 600 Grit Sandpaper WetorDry
- 1500 Grit Sandpaper WetorDry
- 2000 Grit Sandpaper WetorDry
- Turtle wax polishing compound "and scratch remover"
- Meguiar's Plastx Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish
- 2 Polishing/Buffer Pads with drill (or electric polisher if you have one)
- Clean rags
- Masking Tape
- Water (bottled)

Besides those items, you just need patience and time as it is a 2 hr job.
This is a 6 step process and I did "both" headlights during every step.
It can be messy because it is a "wet' sandpaper job. I got all my items from Canadian Tire so you may have to find a local shop that sells similiar items.

Step 1. "Tape Up"



Get any kind of masking tape, and tape all around the headlights with the hood up so you won't accidentally scratch the paint finish. You can go all the way and cover the bumper but I didn't bother.

Step 2. "Wet sand with 600 grit sandpaper"

Wet the sand paper (don't spare the water) and pure some water over the headlight and start sanding with a bit of force. Why i choose WET sanding is because its less abrasive and you can see results when the headlights are wet. I used side to side strokes instead of circles. Use lots of water, make sure the sandpaper is always wet. I spent probally 10 minutes per headlight. You will noticed that the headlights might of look worse then you started, but thats OK. because we want an EVEN sand, you will get a chalky paste as you sand. Once you get both headlights evenly sanded , proceed to step 3.

Heres a pic of step 2 sanding. (pretty cloudy looking)



Step 3. 'Wet sand at 1500 grit"

First thing is to wet the headlights and wipe of any "chalky paste" from the the first sanding. to be honest, I may of spent 10 minutes on each headlight during this step. Thats because the real time to be spent is the 2000 grit. I used 1500 to speed the process up. So wet the sandpaper and headlight and once again, do side to side strokes . Keep the sandpaper wet at all times. I used 2 pieces of sandpaper per headlight. Sand until you can start to see the inside of the headlight better and less cloudy. After sanding to this point. Once it drys it will turn to a milky color. Don't worry its normal at this point.

Step 4. "Wet sand at 2000 grit"

Once again, wet down the headlight , use a NEW clean rag and wipe the headlights clean. This is a very crucial and time consuming step. Approx 20 minutes per side. You may want to take a break first. You pretty much do the same side to side strokes with LOTS of water as you did in the last 2 steps. The difference here is, that you continue to sand until the headlights become almost new looking or at least close to your desired look (with water applied, it will still be cloudy dry). You know when you done when the lights look pretty clear when theres water on them. Look at the pic below to see when I finished step 4.



Step 5. "Rubbing Compound and Polish"

This is where the real magic happens. This is where your discouragement fades away like mine did. Even after the 2000 grit sanding drys theres still a cloudly look. Thats because theres millions of fine scratches that even the finest sandpaper can't get rid of. Thats where the "Turtlewax" polishing compound "and scratch remover" come in. This white paste will literlly remove the final scratches. I used a regular drill and buffering pad. If you have an actual polisher then use that. After wiping the headlights clean again , I put a bit of the paste on a rag and apply it in circular motions on the headlight until its completely covered with a thin layer of the paste. I then start buffering the headlight until you start seeing the amazing clearity come through. It will amaze you. You can spend as much time on this as you want. I spent 10 minutes on each headlight. Some things to take note is if you stay in one spot too long it can scratch from the paste itself (just takes longer to buffer it out) and keep cleaning of the buffering pad to get rid of little chunks of paste buildup. Once you have done this , you should see something like this



Step 6. "Final Polish"

This is the final step before tape removal and wipe down. You may not find it neccessary but I wanted to get a final "polish" done with PlastX by Meguiar. I heard wonders so i wanted to finish off with this. I changed the buffering pad (you probally could of cleaned the other but I had 2 anyways) . I followed the same steps as Step 5 (about 10 minutes each) and voila. Its finished. You then remove the tape and wipe down the bumper if you haven't covered it up. My end result was this



I did find my drivers side worse then the passengers. I have learned a few new things and I may sometime this summer spend another hour and do Steps 5 and 6 again to get even the tiniest scratches out. I will of course have a polisher.

medic33

hey, autozone has a kit for 15 bucks it took me about an hour and my headlights look as good as new it has all the (correct) sandpaper, solvent even a terry cloth i was impressed with the results. if you really want to be a mechanic you can remove them but i didn't and they came out just fine.


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