Headlight Restoration

Headlight restoration polishes, kits and coatings for hazy, yellowed or scratched plastic headlight lenses. Weathered PMMA plastic lenses are machine polished with a headlight polish rather than a glass polish, then protected so the sun does not yellow them again. We carry Koch-Chemie's two-step Headlight Polish, the Mothers NuLens Headlight Renew Kit and CarPro DLight UV coating.

How to choose

• Heavily weathered or sanded lenses: Koch-Chemie Headlight Polish 1 is a heavy cut machine polish for weathered PMMA headlights that removes sanding scratches from P1000 grit, and Headlight Polish 2 follows it, removing P2000 sanding marks and leaving a high gloss with a sealing effect.
• Lighter haze with a drill: the Mothers NuLens kit uses Mothers' PowerBall 4 Lights, a foam ball for an electric drill that polishes out oxidation, scratches and discoloration.
• Protection afterwards: CarPro DLight is a UV blocking coating that CarPro says blocks UVA and UVB rays for up to 3 years, keeping headlights and plastics from yellowing, fading and cracking.

Good to know

• Mask the paint, rubber and trim around the lamp before machine polishing a headlight, and work on a clean, dry lens.
• A polished lens is bare plastic again, so seal or coat it once it is clear, or the haze comes back.
• Haze or condensation on the inside of the lamp will not polish out from the outside.

How do you restore cloudy headlights?

Clean the lens, mask the surrounding paint and machine polish it: a heavy cut headlight polish such as Koch-Chemie Headlight Polish 1 for deep haze or sanding marks, then a finishing polish such as Headlight Polish 2 for gloss. Finish with a UV coating such as CarPro DLight so the plastic does not yellow again.

Related: Masking Tapes, Mini & Nano Polishers, Glass Polishes, Plastic & Vinyl Protectants. Popular brands here: Koch-Chemie, CarPro, Mothers.