Yellow plastic headlights

big2bird

Charter Member, Founder Bird-Run, Cruise-In Bird-R
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
5,719
Location
Anaheim, Ca.
We have had discussions on this before. Replacement, polishing, clear coat, and so on.
I went to autozonethe other day to buy some plastic polish for some gauges on my scope.
The kid at the counter suggests I buy the Turtlewax kit instead for headlights, as it works better. I inform him this is not my chore.
He tells me in a hushed voice the Turtlewax kit DOES work better, but that , ready?, brake fluid does too.
I thank him and return to base.
SO, my neighbor the, "cheap ass", has yeller headlights, and I suggest to him we try it. He agrees, and we give one a shot. Ya know what? Although not as good as new, it cleared up 80% or so.
If you have a "beater" you don't wish to waste time on, try it. It surprised me.:)
 
Have to ask Turtle Vette if that actually works......


which is why I hesitate to use any more modern bulbs in my shark, those glass lights will never fog up....it was THE major consideration when doing the mod....

:clap:
 
I have been fighting these yellow lenses for years and bought pretty much every plastic polish that's available. they all work. Some are good, some are better. The sad part is that none of this last very long, give it a few weeks and the lenses turn yellow again.
Eventually, after four years or so I got tired of it and sanded the lenses with 600 grit wet and then clearcoated them with 2K urethane clear - lenses were clear and looked like new... lasted over two years until I sold the car, probably still good today...

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Toothpaste and a toothbrush cleans mustang headlights up real good.

That's good to know, wife's Escort has fogged up plastic, not yellow, just cloudy...good old FLORIDA sun wipes those plastics out pretty good, thing that's weird is the RED dont seem to be affected, but I see the yellows dieing from it also.....

:crutches:
 
The brake fluid will probably cause the lenses to develop a bunch of tiny cracks in a couple of weeks. They use it here all the time and charge people to get their lights clear, you can always tell who has had it done after a month or 2 when they get the white cracks all through em.
 
I had a workman at my house who drove an import with very clouded headlight lenses. He said it was his daughters car and needed to have a few things repaired. The clouded lenses were going to cost him $100 to have polished. I asked if he would like to try some rubbing compound I had in the garage first. He agreed, and while he finished some repair work I hand polished one lense to about 95 percent clarity in about five minutes. He had bug damage on his hood, so I tried a little on the paint. He was amazed at the result, so I put more than enough compound in a plastic container for him to take home and finish the job. Be careful if you use a machine, heat might distort a large clear lense.

I have successfully used tooth paste, to polish dull red taillight lenses to look bright as new. Just use a clean rag, dampened with water and start rubbing with a little toothpaste. Cheap dollar store stuff works fine, it has the same abrasive quality as the high priced stuff and extra floride won't do your lense any good. When the paste becomes thick and dry, add a little water and continue, or buff off and evaluate your result. Continue if a film still remains, or until satisfied. This doesn't take long and really makes those lenses pop.
 
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