Most automotive headlight lenses made within the last 20 years are made of polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate is a clear, hard polymer which is very popular among designers because it can be molded into virtually any shape.Unfortunately, polycarbonate, like most plastics, can degrade over time due to UV radiation from the Sun and become yellow and foggy. This is obviously an undesirable condition because it becomes a safety hazard due to diminished road illumination.The solution is to restore those headlight lenses back to clear status.
This, of course, requires some work. The easiest method of restoration is to use an all-in-one (AIO) cleaner. Klasse, Zaino, and Poorboys all make AIO cleaners and may do the trick if the lenses are not too badly clouded. All of these products are applied in a similar way – typically you apply a small amount of product to a foam applicator and work the product across the lens until a fresh, clean plastic surface appears.
If using an AIO cleaner fails to yield success, you can try a more aggressive plastic polish such as Meguiar’s PlastX, 3M Plastic Cleaner, Mothers Plastic Polish, and others. These products are polishes that contain ultra-fine abrasives. The restoration method is to “polish off” the top film-like layer of the lens with circular motions. You can do this by hand or by using an orbital buffer…using a buffer will provide the best results and is the easiest process.
If your lenses are good and cloudy, you may want to remove the top surface layer with some fine-grit wet/dry sandpaper. Here’s the procedure: Fill a bucket with water and soak the sandpaper in the bucket for about 15 minutes prior to starting. Then take the sandpaper and sand the lens surface from side-to-side applying light to medium pressure. Work away at the surface for 15-20 mins. After this, you will need to polish the lens with a buffer to remove the sanding marks. It’s best not to polish the lens by hand as it will take too long, use an orbital buffer. When you are finished polishing, wipe with a towel to assess progress…you will most likely have to polish a second time, or even a third time.
Source: Urse Dodge Chrysler Jeep
