A Little Lens Restoration

[OCDinPDX]

UV damage is an unfortunate disadvantage to the otherwise more durable plastic headlight lenses of today. Sure they don't shatter like the old glass units did when hit by road stones but the sun has got it in for them. Cars that spend most, if not all of their lives outdoors suffer from this condition first. But even cars garaged from day one will eventually suffer from some sort of hazing or cloudiness.

Case in point: my mother's 2002 Lexus RX300 has been garaged since the day we brought it home and even in cloudy Oregon, the elements have taken their eight-year toll on the plastic headlight lenses. I had time to kill tonight so I went about bringing them back to their former clarity and hopefully improving night vision.

Process:
1000 and 1500 grit sandpaper soaked for 15 minutes in Griots Car Wash and water mixture
Makita 9227C
Lake Country Orange
Lake Country White
Menzerna SIP
Menzerna Super Finish
4-Star UPP

The whole process took about an hour for both lights but the result was worth it! Enjoy. :thumbsup:

Here we are in the before pictures. Like I said, not as bad as some cars that spend time in sunnier areas (i.e. Arizona and Florida) but still enough to be noticeable.





The majority of the UV damage is at the top of the lens which is the most exposed to sunlight. It is much more visible with the lights on.





The 1000-grit paper creates a very foggy lens. To compare the haziness that it gives, look at the turn signal and fog light lenses below as they were not sanded.



It is important to keep the surface lubricated during the sanding process. The bottle I am spraying contains a car wash soap and water mixture.



And....the AFTER PHOTOS!!!!







Thanks for looking!

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[Ronkh]

Looks like new.

[Mr. Clean]

2 sanding steps and 3 polish/sealing steps! Very detailed process.

[GearHead_1]

I've done this a great deal in the past and still do it on one car I own. That said, I've found that it looks wonderful for a while but does return to its previous state within 6-12 months, maybe not even that long. I believe that once the top layer has been sanded through the UV protection that is built into the lens is gone. You just have to stay on top of it.

[black bart]

Originally Posted by GearHead_1

I've done this a great deal in the past and still do it on one car I own. That said, I've found that it looks wonderful for a while but does return to its previous state within 6-12 months, maybe not even that long. I believe that once the top layer has been sanded through the UV protection that is built into the lens is gone. You just have to stay on top of it.

In my thread about headlight lens I mentioned that some cars seem to be more prone to lens clouding.
Some did not think so but how do you explain the 2002 Lexus lens becoming cloudy when my 18 year old Explorer did not.

I few weeks ago I used a small Mothers power ball and Plast-X and while they really did not need it they do look a little better.
I still say not all plastic lens are created equal.