Yellowed headlights

[is200 Newbie]

The headlights on mine are just starting to yellow on the edges. Is this happening on the inside or the outside.

Is there any proven method of renewing them with a cleaning fluid - anyone tried anything that was successful?

[Brechin Slate]

Yep, done mine, lots of proprietary kits on the market.  Basically you light sand with plenty of lube then Polish and finally seal. They come up like new! I used the Turtle Wax kit but there are loads to choose from.

[is200 Newbie]

58 minutes ago, Brechin Slate said:

Yep, done mine, lots of proprietary kits on the market.  Basically you light sand with plenty of lube then Polish and finally seal. They come up like new! I used the Turtle Wax kit but there are loads to choose from.

Thanks Mike - i am passing Halfords on Friday so will see if they have any. Being turtle wax i expect they will....

[mk_lon]

Hi Is200 newbie, 

Mine is turning yellow too (bi xenon), I was told to use toothpaste then coat it with wax, haven't got round to do it yet.

[PCM]

Are all these solutions permanent?

I've read that they initially look great, but the results can be temporary?

[bobmc]

22 minutes ago, PCM said:

Are all these solutions permanent?

I've read that they initially look great, but the results can be temporary?

It would be unless a UV protectant clear coat is applied.

I've had mine done recently and currently they look OK - I wasn't impressed with the guy who did them. But he did apply a UV clear coat so I'm hoping they stay clear for a couple of years.

 

[normski2]

+1 to that.

My understanding is that the end process must be the use of a sealant/uv inhibitor or the yellowing will return all too rapidly.

Have a hunt over in the LS400/430 section. I'm sure some chaps were doing this recently with what looked like very good results from the photos shown.

[Linas.P]

12 hours ago, Brechin Slate said:

Yep, done mine, lots of proprietary kits on the market.  Basically you light sand with plenty of lube then Polish and finally seal. They come up like new! I used the Turtle Wax kit but there are loads to choose from.

I would NOT recommend any mainstream kits like "turtle wax" or "t-cut". The process is to get headlights refurbished is to get them wet sanded (so the yellow oxidation is removed), polished to make them shiny and then seal them. The problem with T-Cut an similar kits is that they are no abrasive enough to remove oxidation, but rather use chemicals combined with mild polish paste to "improve looks" the damage. Finally, they seal the job with some cheap silicone (not silicon) which last for like month or 2. So basically they are waste of time and money, gives temporary fake result... 

Get yourself some fine grit wet sanding paper (depending on how bad they are something 1000-3000 grit), proper "straight" polish compound was without sealants (like Gtechnic P1) and then seal it with either proper clearcoat or something like those nano-coatings (they last up 2 years).

[Brechin Slate]

The Turtle Wax kit contains all you need for wet sanding

[Linas.P]

50 minutes ago, Brechin Slate said:

The Turtle Wax kit contains all you need for wet sanding

That is good to know (though 2 little squares of sand papers doesn't seems sufficient for me)... how do they "permanently seal" the results? With 2 tiny wet wipes?

As well we need to look to the cost... I would say on average "kits" costs £15-20. Sanding paper costs £2, small bottle of polish costs £5 (sufficient for whole car 2-3 times), spray lacquer with UV protection maybe another £5 ( again you will need probably 10% of it for 3 layers), nono-sealants might be costly, but you case as well cover whole car from one bottle.