Headlight Restoration using Mothers Mag Polish - Pass or Fail
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- Опубликовано: 21 янв 2018
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So I recently decided to try using Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish to restore the headlights on my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 after watching several successful videos on RUclips.
*Spoiler Alert* it was a colossal failure.
Links to products referenced in the video
Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish - a.co/h4CcRW7
Drill adapter and 3 inch pads - a.co/1iZrOwb
3 inch backing plate for DA polisher - a.co/fxV3Dn8 
Авто/Мото
I don't use power tools when I do this. I wear rubber gloves to apply the Mothers wheel polish. I rub it back and forth in various patterns by hand. I can tell by feel where the plastic headlight needs more work. When the plastic headlight feels smooth and I think that I'm done, I remove the wheel polish with a soft paper towel. I use a micro fibre cloth for the final buffing. It usually takes me 5 minutes per headlight. With power tools you risk overheating the plastic and you have no feel as to when the plastic is getting smooth. The Mothers wheel polish is an excellent product when used correctly.
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All these videos for removing the Haze from your headlights, make it seem likes some voodoo ritual. Mother's or even better Simichrome is all you need. Follow up with a qualiy carnauba wax and you're good to go.
How long do they last?
What he said. Then top with Cerakote.
@@Tasrif-UlAnwarmy question too.
I have a 2006 Stratus..I did this today..I used the soft applicator that I used with Ice polish..I could not see the light bulbs in the headlights due to the discoloration of my headlight lense..
I used no sandpaper just applied the mothers and used the Ice applicator in a circular motion...and a soft cloth to take it all off..I didn't tape off anything..and used the circular motion for about 15 minutes..it looks like new headlights..I am a 65 yr disabled female and it looks fantastic!...I can see the light bulbs plain and clear..no machine buffing all by myself...I don't do production numbers...
Good luck with yours!..
Good to know and I'm gonna try this. I am 68 retired female with my 2010 (great) Lexus and it seems every month the lenses get yellowed n cloudy.
I've been using it for at least 8 years now. Works extremely well, and I've recommended it to friend with older cars who have severely weather damaged head light lenses. It works more efficiently than products marketed just for that purpose.
I agree.
I swear by Mother's MAP for the plastic windows on 50's sewing machines that are gross and yellowed. After MMAP they don't look more than a day or two old and made of glass instead of the 50+ years old plastic they actually are, it's pretty impressive.
after you use MMP, do you put the clear coat UV on it? @@rottnlove
Hi,how long between till have to polish headlight again with mothers mag and do you need to use a protectant after using mothers?
Been cleaning headlights as part of my mobile detailing business for 7 years. One thing I have learned is that no two plastics are the same when it comes to headlight lenses. Results can very.
@@sandybarbee8401 Ever heard of typos? lol
@@webventuresEver heard of proofreading?
@@aaronm.1998 I don't bother for social media. I really don't care. Haven't you got anything better to do with your time? Given that the rest of my comment was just fine, were you not able pass it off as just a flying fingers typo?
Peace out.
@@webventuresstop crying, and Just proofread bro.
@@aaronm.1998 whi dont yew get a lyfe? and I aint yer bro. yew disresketyul littl bouy
Try not to be negative in the comments, but half measures equal half results. The video I watched there were no drills involved or buffing pads. He spread it with a rag and then let it set up for a little while then wiped it and then buffed it with the same rag. Also, not a more aggressive pad and less aggressive. You get aggressive with your elbow grease. A buffing pad can scratch the hell out of anything. I learned this when I thought I would use a buffing pad to wax my car. I worked one spot too long and ground down to the undercoat. Drills and buffing pads out…. Rag with elbow grease in…. But thank you for the work you put in on bringing this to us.
Funny story . . .our daughter's 2004 Honda Civic (almost 20 yrs old) has been left outside its entire life so it's been exposed to high heat, extreme cold and rain, sleet, snow - you name it. The poor headlight lens buckets looked . . .well super horrible! So I told her that had to be taken care of and I volunteered. Funny side bar - like almost ALL people she was just CERTAIN that there was a leak or something and that crud was on the inside. So . . .I bought the Mother's lens restore kit since I use all of their other car care products and have always been pleased. Followed the directions and it worked well enough. A year later it was all back so I looked on RUclips and found the Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish clips, so I tried that - since I already had a tub sitting on the shelf. That worked well enough also. A few months later - yup, it was back even worse than ever. I decided enough was enough and went to RockAuto and bought a full set for under $125 and slapped those puppies on in a jiffy! That was 3 seasons ago and ALL is well!!
Boooo you. Use some freaking elbow grease man. My 06 magnum had yellowing all over the headlights, got some mothers mag polish and pretty much totally cleared them up with about 5 mins of muscle on each headlight.
Did it last? Or did the yellowing return after a month
@@minutemaniii7062 it shouldn't come back that quick if you put some clear coat on after doing this, or even use some car wax or something with UV protection.
I Agee...I purchased the Mother's today and my headlight nearly looking New and I added a Wax on them Maguires.
I knew things were gonna go bad when it took 30 second to open the drill attachments…with a open razor in arms reach😂😂😂
@@minutemaniii7062 it's Still Lasting in this Texas Sunshine but I keep up on the Maintenance also....
Odd. Worked well for me. Used a large orbital with a soft pad, lots of product, and went from very light touch to aggressive (to the point of loud buzzing from the polisher) within one minute. Very pleased. Makes the whole car look nice with clear lenses.
It does work. May I suggest perhaps a harder polishing pad? I was shocked how well the mag polish works. I had my doubts too.
Worked pretty good on my wifes car. I went over it for about 5 minutes per light then followed by some Meguiars #2 polish. Turned out good. I also added a coat of turtle wax.
And there ya go. After a cleaning and such the wax - ANY wax on top is the key!
I don’t remember which videos I watched to try this. It really works!!! Thanks! My neighbors say thanks too.
You have to sand the bottom oxidated part before using mothers polish. It worked on my car.
Well, those headlights looked pretty good considering the age of the truck. I have had my 09 Camry headlights "professionally done" a few times, but never really thrilled with the results or how long the restoration lasted. I always hesistated to do this myself cuz I sure don't trust myself using sand paper (no matter how fine) on the plastic headlights. My headlights were worse than yours, was intrigued by the mothers hype because it said no sanding was needed. So, finally grew a pair, and tried it myself. I didn't use an electric polisher, just applied it with an old towel, and cleaned it off with microfiber clothes. Gotta say I am thrilled with the results, the headlights look much better than I had expected. I did do two applications, but really didn't get much improvement with the second one. For once, I lucked out... Don't know how long they will stay clean though.
If you don't coat the lenses with a UV protectant, they will go cloudy soon. There are UV treatment options available, from simple spray on coats that can last up to one year most of the time, to actual specially created plastic sheets that go on like a screen protector.
Worked for me...difference in your vid and others....1. Polisher at 1700 rpm w/ cutting pad. Mentions you may have to do several times and APPLY more product each time. You wiped off and never reapplied. 2 start slower and slowly go faster to work product in and you won’t sling as much. 3. Your vid was as long it took me to do both of mine...2003 Audi TT. 4. I used about 1/3 product. And no 5 is not 5000 rpm.
As u mentioned the video was already long enough so i didn't want to include all the times I reappled. When i changed frm the drill to my da polisher i replied and again when i changed from the flat orange pad to the ridged orange pad i reapplied i think i just need a more aggressive cutting pad or to bite the bullet and wet sand them
Tried it Saturday and it worked very well
You need to use a compound (such as Meguiar's ultimate compound) not a polish to get rid of the bulk of the oxidation. You might even have to use a 1000 grit sandpaper (wet sand) before the compound if the oxidation is really bad. The polish should be used to get the plastic lenses really crystal clear. Meguair's Ultimate Polish or Plast-X can be used for that final stage. Then clean the lens with Windex or another glass cleaner to get rid of all of the residue then spray the lenses with a coat of UV-resistant clear coat paint or something like Meguair's spray on headlight sealant. If you don't use the clearcoat the lenses with start to fog up again in a few months from UV exposure.
Did the same truck with a high rpm buffer with great results. Used Mother’s of course!
All you need is a micro fiber cloth and apply mothers with it . Buff it on in a circular motion. Then with another clean microfiber cloth you just buff and wipe it clean. You don't need any abrasive pads. It works great if you do it right.
I just ordered some Mothers polish hoping it would eliminate the sanding that I would normally do when I restore a headlight! But it looks like the sanding process can not be skipped! Thanks!
In at least my case it would seem so. Of course it could very well be that after the Mothers didn't appear to be giving me the desired results and I went full on compound with no polishing after the fact that maybe some of what I was seeing at the end was the compounding defects. Based on the fact that I have seen numerous videos where it appears to actually work its very possible that in your case you might be successful.
Worked amazing on my 1997 Buick LeSabre. I applied it with a napkin for maybe 2 minutes, and then just wiped it off with a towel. They look brand new
I have a 2002 that had never been done
I wet sanded with 1000 and then used the aluminum. so far the best method I've found. I've tried alot of things including headlight restore kits
Yea my original intent was to not have to worry about the wet sanding and all of that and from watching other videos and even comments here it seems like the Mothers by itself works for some. In my particular case it seems I'm going to have to do more than just the polish.
I just bought this product to clean my head light, great product.. it did fix my head light lenses. Thx for the review !!
Wowzers, it took the yellow off right away!!! Great video thank you!
It all depends upon how much lens damage is done. I used mothers on a 2006 Mercedes and it was a 90% improvement in only a few minutes
Worked for me on my 2003 F150. My lights were yellow. I used windex (sprayed onto a towel not on the light) to clean the lights off first then I used mother’s with a foam pad. I did mine by hand. Took about 15 minutes for each light. I did them back in August of 2017 and as of February 2018, are starting g to turn yellow again. Just waiting for a nice warm day to clean again.
Yea a lot of people commenting have had good results with the Mothers so I"m assuming mine situation must be an anomaly.
My headlights are the older style though, not the style your truck has.
Yeah I’ve used a few different methods with headlight restoration and over the years I found the cerakote headlight restoration kit to be the best so far.
I think the real trick to this restoration stuff is after the cleaning of the light housing is getting a coating on those lenses that simulate them being wet. A lot of the dullest lenses look clear when they are wet. We need a good 'dry' water in a bottle.
Funny story- I tried 6 different products and methods to clean up my Ram 1500 headlights. By hand, buffing drill, lots of swearing. All with mixed results. After many hours and frustration - just for shits & giggles I checked the price for new headlights. Turns out the Ram 1500 has headlight "Covers". A measly $30 bucks per side. My wife & I had quite the laugh. My new headlight covers are lookin' awful sharp and clear.
The lower portion of the lights appear to be "sanblasted" by the design of the bumper and how it funnels air into the lower side of the lights. If the plastic had degraded there may be no method of restoration.
The videos I've watched they used a buffing pad, not an abrasive pad. I did mine 2 weeks ago using Cerakote Ceramic and they're much improved but not as much as I hoped for. I'm trying to decide if I should try Mother's but I'm concerned about the outcome because of the newly applied ceramic finish. Has anybody had the same experience and moved on to another method that worked better?
I just spent 1/2 hour rejuvenating my
2006 Hyundai Elantra headlights.
I used some professional grade cut and polish.
Forget the power tools and synthetic buffing pads and rags.
Use 2 old clean cotton tea towels. One for wax on.
One for wax off.
Use your rag and fingers for even pressure.
I was happy with my method.
Elbow grease, like wax on, wax off Karate kid style😊.
Also cotton, is a naturally absorbing fibre
With your persistence, it looks a whole lot better. 👍
I just bought a tub of the Mothers to use on my 2015 Tacoma after seeing another RUclips video showing it worked well. I’ll do it by hand like the other guy did.
One thing I would like is a shot of the lights turned on at night on these videos. I used the step up in sanding and final polish method, and the results look great, but turn on the lights, and fine scratches are visible.
I watched the same videos you did and gave it a go with Mothers. It takes a bit longer than some videos say, but the results were outstanding for me. Maybe not perfect, but for half an hours work to go from crusty old yellow to almost crystal clear was very satisfying.
Good to know . I'm going to give it a try .
I agree. Just did mine . Even though it’s not 100% but I’m satisfied with the results
I think the Maguires Aluminum Polish is just that, a very fine polishing compound. You probably would have been better to use something like 3M Cutting compound first to get the hazy, damaged material off first, and then a final polish with the Maguires. Actually should have something in-between to get the deeper scratches out after the first pass. Also, get a light cutting foam disc. This really isn't rocket science, however people trying to do it in one pass will not have great results.
Agree - the 3M cutting compound does do it, just be careful!
I used gkass etching compound on a pair of polycarbobate glasses that were serioysly scratched, and they c a me out like new, except for the scratch cover that didn't work anyway. I wonder if it would work on headlight covers...
Does tmeperature affeect this process? I noticed you did it outside while there was still snow on the ground!
Ok , so after watching your video I went on eBay and bought a jar of this. I have a 2002 Camry and the headlights were yellow. I put a full coat on with a pair of gloves and waited for 10 minutes. I went into it with a dry rag and I can't believe the crap that came off. All you have to one application they look 90% better! So I figured I put another coat on. They're so clean you can see the scratches on the lenses. So when I was done I was walking away and noticed on the bottom I have fog lights light's. Yeah I noticed I work 12 hours a day and sometimes I forget s***. Anyway they're white you can't see through them whatsoever like dark clouds. I put this on wiped it off the towel was literally black. I put a second coat on and they're like glass. I wish I had done a video of this but I really didn't think it was going to work. Now the thing is I don't know how long it's going to last and that's always been an issue with cleaning plastic headlights. I'll let you know when a month or two maybe three we'll see
Got the same results using a Ryobi cordless drill. Maybe not enough power. Will also check out the 3m compound pad suggested.
The proper way: 1000 grit wet sand across, 3000 grit wet sand up & down, then polish with Mag polish or Magiur’s plastic polish.
No. You going backwards with the mag polish. It's gritty
Get 3m lens and plastic restorer
And Stop until the water is clear, if you leave clear coat on it, it will oxidized within 6 months again even if you coat it or or put clear coat on it.
Thank you for your honest work and opinion, good work.
Worked well on my car’s plastic headlights!
Mothers worked great for me. I have an 2006 Ram in Arizona so my lights felt like sandpaper at the start with. I had to use 500 grit, then 2000, then 3000 and finished with Mothers and a 3" "WOOL PAD" Not foam pad. I should have done my lights when they were just cloudy. I waited years past that so I had to wet sand them from 500-3000 grit first. A wool pad (eBay) and Mothers works great and only took 3-5 minutes. Key word here is WOOL not foam; and a cordless drill on high and you MUST keep the drill moving not to melt plastic. Mothers is under $4.00 at Walmart. Thank you for the video. I was going to try foam but not now. I use the wool pad on my Ram, Honda, and a Ford worked awesome. Thanks.
Yea i was looking at other videos and they used mothers only and foam pads so I decided to go that route. The whole intent was to use the least amount of effort and be successful. Of course at this point it would appear based on the experience sandpaper and more aggressive pad is unavoidable. Might even just replace the lights all together.
Here is the eBay item I used. Search for item number: 272750677509 $3.69 + $1.89 shipping. Let me know how this works out for you. In the drop-down choose the 3".
11 Pcs 3/4/5/6/7" Buffing Sponge Polishing Pad Kit Set For Car Polisher Buffer
Thanks for the info. Seems to be starting to warm up here maybe I will pick up this kit and try again with the more aggressive cutting pad.
Every case is different, it will sometimes six and maybe more passes on each lens. It does not appear that you are using enough material on the lens and get a real cutting pad. I detail cars and yes there will sometimes be stubborn spots that require more aggressive buffing.
There is a clear coating on the lamps originally. If you break through it, you will see a different color not unlike delamination on clear coat paint. I did my wife's headlights with Mother's Alum wheel cleaner and the first time around they looked a lot better. But, I thought if I went over them again it will be even better. Not so, the second time around I broke through the factory coating and now they look worse than the first time around with the wheel cleaner.
Next time use Mother's 1st. It clears off majority of the oxydization and has saved me on a few sets of headlights the sanding and clear coating n light sanding or compounding n polishing process...
I find Mothers works well by hand on moderately weathered headlamp covers.
The original video used the Mothers polish and another cream along with a high speed polisher. I’m thinking about trying this soon
The rough area on the bottom part is what's left of the factory UV protection. You need to take that off first, with a 1000 sandpaper, and then the metal polish will finish the job! When you start sanding, the area you need to remove becomes very visible, so it's easy to see when you are done, and can move on to the liquid polish.
I used mothers aluminum polish. Polish on polish off. Took 5mins. Excellent results.
i used this polish on my yaris headlights and it only took 5mins to do both and apply sealant to finish off. The stuff works. Headlights look brand new. i used my DA polisher and lake country microfibre pad.
Yea I've seen a lot of videos on RUclips where it was successful. Have no idea why it wasn't in my case.
Hi what color Lake Country pads did you use? I have the orange ones, and what speed on the DA? I have a Porter Cable XP 7424
I’ve found that too much compound acts like a lubricant. Small amounts on the pad only would work better. Have found this when polishing my Airstream trailer.
Yea I did load the pad up pretty heavily hence all the sling.
Mine was so yellow i only used paper towel to apply on my headlights, im very pleased with the result.
I have used this many times. But I first use standard turtle wax rubbing compound, clean, then use the mothers, clean, then I seal it with a good quality spray wax! :)
This was user error not the Mothers polish.
***For best results:
#1. Don't sand or use those dumb pads.
#2. Wash with soap then dry.
#3. Use Mother's Mag\Alu wheel polish with a pad and start working it in with slight pressure. (let the polish do the work)...
.... Repeat polish for more shine. That simple!.. Don't get fooled into sanding unless you actually know what you are doing.
I had recently seen another video of using this product to restore headlights and I literally went out and bought the mother's Meg & aluminum polish. It does look better than it did but it took like 3 applications.
Starts at 7:01 and at 8:23 sounds more like pitting and abrasion than oxidation and UV damage, which is usually yellow discoloration.
Does this work on scratches visible on headlight?
There's only one way the right way!! The lower part of the lens is oxidation an as got tobe removed before any polishing, A product short cut for you!! 3m restoration kit 3 stage method first dry sanding for p500-p800 spray tap water on lens before useing p3000 trizact pad, When the lens becomes milky evenly across the lens spray any glass cleaner spray wipe lens with a micro fibre cloth and dry before buffing with a headlight polish, when your happy with clarity and shine again wipe lens with micro fibre cloth, Don't use the crappy clearcoat wipes, Use Maguires clearcoat with added UV protection!! One coat drys in 5min's job done!! There's lots of demonstrations on utube you can't go wrong!!!🤔😲👍👍
Does anyone know of a UV clearcoat that is polish based? I am not talking about wax sealants they don't last. Wet clearcoat application or spray clearcoat is my failure point. I have had to re-sand and start over when I orange peel the final step. Any ideas?
Omg...when it's this rough and damaged you need to SAND FIRST. 400grit the 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and you can go up to 2000 grit. Then you have a smoth surface..... Polish!!!
You cant polish a rough surface. It's that simple.
It really does work. Least for me it did. Look brand spanking new since first day I bought the car. It took all the yellow haze off n now my lights at night r slamming!!
Mothers Mag & Aluminium worked for all of our cars, Porsche 996, Toyota Matrix, and VW Passat. I used vinegar to clean the lenses using a cordless drill and a wool cutting pad to apply the Mothers. Took 5 minutes for each headlight.
I see you mentioned using a wool cutting pad I only used the foam. Once it gets warmer here I think I'm going to try again using a wool pad and see if I have any better luck.
Worked for my Scion xB.
coolwrld302 Wool cutting pads are for more aggressive buffing badly oxidized paint. Our 3 car's headlights were yellowish since the the Porsche headlamps are facing upward, I didn't expect them to look factory new, but I'd say 8 out of 10 from being a 4.
I used this on my son's old 2007 Pontiac, and it was a big difference.
I used some sand paper first to remove that chalky part than used the mother’s mag and aluminum cleaner and it turned out great
Sand paper and water
The bottom part of your headlights need some good wet sanding, then use the polish in order to get that bottom part totally back to clear.
Good morning, I was in a glass business for 50 years and I learned if you're going to polish plastic use plastic polish! Sand the lens with 2000 grit wet or dry then use McGuire's plastic polish that will do the best job. When you get tired of polishing plastic just replace the headlights.
Medium Rubbing compound also works as does a paste of Baking Soda and water.
I also was able to stop biting my nails. It can be done. Try spraying that fog strip on the blue vehicle with Clear Coat.
What it sounds like is that maybe that hays is on the inside of the lens. I have a 2008 Subaru Tribeca it was in an accident I just picked up a front fender and headlight housings from the junkyard. I'm going through what you're going through right now trying to figure out what's right and I'm at the point where I maybe I'm going to pay someone to detail it
Used it on my 03 cat eye & it turned out ok but do need to spend a little more time on them , overall I’d say it works but every head light is going to differ on how damaged it is , 👍👍from me
I used mothers on my headlight lens and most of the problem was gone, but it took about 40 min of rubbing and 3/4 of the container. I hope other people have better results in a shorter time.
Get a new battery adapter for your drill to run new modern and new batteries and also change the brushes on it they are like 4 bucks. Great vid bro!! 😊
My '04 Ram had the same problem. The surface gets rough, not just discolored. I would think you would need to sand it smooth then use Mother's on it. But instead of doing any of that, I just bought new headlights off of Amazon for $80 to my door. They look identical. I've had them for over two years and they still look new. I am going to use the Mother's method on my '01 Maxima, should work good because they are actually better than some of the headlights shown in other videos. Good video, a little long winded though.
Thanks for the feedback. I definitely went back and forth as to whether or not I should cut it down a little more. I try to keep them like 15 minutes or less. But I really wanted to put in the final follow-up about the fact that even Meguiars and full on heavy duty compound didn't work either so that it is probably more about the damage to the lights and less about the Mothers not working.
On a side note thanks for the tip on checking Amazon for new lights. I'm just a little loath to change the whole assembly as its a bit of a pain but might end up being my only option.
Here's the link to what I bought. There are so many on Amazon. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R5D66M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Mother's has worked great on my vehicles but where you can actually feel the difference, you have to wet sand and then finish with mother's and a wax like Zymol.
Should I apply UV protectant spray afterwards?
It works fine bro...I use it all the time and I use a real buffing pad AND real buffer...and apply some pressure..and I promise it will work. The shiny parts comes through!
Really buffing pad . 6" and apply pressure
There are 2 things going on here:
1- the other videos are being done with a rotary buffer with roughly a 7-11" pad on them. You're trying to do the same with a roughly 3" pad, and both tools are probably turning at the same rpm. Since the majority of the cutting is done by the outside edge of the pad you're getting roughly 1/3 to 1/4 the surface cutting speed, which means that just based on cutting action you'd have to go almost 4x as long. Some part of the cutting is also done by getting the part warm and softening its surface, which without the speed you'll never get. A note about that- if you get plastic too warm it starts "smearing" and getting worse.
2- I have a 2004 Cummins Ram with the same headlights. I haven't tried doing this to them but mine are worse than yours (yours look like they might be replacements). The lower surfaces of those headlights look like they deteriorate to the point that they sort of loose chunks or are cracked, and they'll never look right till you cut through all that (assuming there is enough plastic there to do it). Since you need to cut through it, what I would likely try is either sanding and probably start with something fairly course, maybe 400 or 600 grit, step that up to 800, 1000, 1500... (probably anything over 1000 will be good enough but higher is better) and then hit it with the mothers to polish out the sanded surface. If you wanted to take some of the elbow greases out of that you might try using a fine scotch brite pad on a velcro backing pad in the drill or buffer, but you'll have to be VERY careful to make sure that the velcro doesn't come through and that you have enough give in the surface of the pad that it doesn't wear grooves in to the plastic lens.
Thanks this is the most detailed explanation of why it probably didn't work yet. Really hadn't considered all the stuff u pointed ut regarding the area of the pads that actually do the cutting etc... They are the original factory lenses. At this point I might just replace them.
The reason I was wondering if yours are aftermarket is that they appear to have weathered differently than mine and the other factory ones that I've seen. I'm pretty sure that mine does have the same pitting on the lower part of the lens, but my whole lens is yellowed to the point of almost not being transparent, so bad that the pitting on the lower part isn't even noticeable. I don't believe mine is just a surface condition , they look yellowed the whole way through, so I haven't bothered trying to fix them since they are likely unfixable, and I haven't replaced them because I have 55w bulbs in my driving lights in my bumpers and they are honestly brighter than the headlights, making the yellowed headlight lenses not a big deal besides appearance, and at this point my paint is worse ;-)
Maybe I need to sit down and make a video of trying to clean mine up. ;-)
Generally I don't have the patience/time to deal with all the setup, editing, uploading to make a video anyone really wants to watch :-/
Mark Pikas Thank you. I had the same issues and your insight was very helpful!
the problem is simply the pad being used! here's one doing it with a dewalt drill and what seems like a 3" pad with great results ruclips.net/video/x9SD-loynfc/видео.html
Legend!
Just use UPVC Solvent , put some on a white cotton cloth, old pillow case , rub on headlight and the yellow comes easily off the headlights ! it’s available for about £4.00 ( 5 US Dollars) I use this in my work when cleaning up guttering/ downpipes , UPVC doors etc , if you have stained doors or windows due to heavy smokers in your rental property this will wipe it off easily. The foggy look on headlights can be removed with Mers polish , similar to T- Cut , auto polish , I haven’t tried T- Cut but it should give the same results . Always use the Mers polish after you have removed the yellowing not before.
The UPVC Solvent won't hurt the lens?
I used it and made my headlights clear. Then I applied wax, then I sprayed clear coat and they look brand new, easy work, the whole process took 30 minutes
Nope!
1 - Bought Mother’s Mag Polish
2 - Bought a 4” polish pad for drill from HF
3 - Attached to my Dewalt 18v cordless Drill
4 - wiped mother’s on headlight
5- buffed
6 - repeated twice
LOOKS LIKE NEW!!! And my light where JACKED! Looked worse thank yours.
Did my Wife’s car, Sisters car, Bro In-Laws Truck,
Told my neighbor,lent him my stuff.
5 cars, all brand new looking headlights.
You didn’t even apply more product. Did clean them first?
What about mr clean magic eraser? Any advice
Works well when applied with a chunk of magic eraser. 2-3 applications with an alcohol clean between each application with a fresh cloth works best.
I have to second Ethericwings and give a B.S. for Mothers Mag wheel polish getting the job done. I tried both a Mothers Head light kit complete with 3 pads (800, 1500, 3000, and a buffer) and the Mothers Mag wheel polish and no good results. My lights were not even as bad as the ones in this video. Cudos to the Man giving an honest try. I'm about to try again for the 4th time hope someone can benefit from my waste of time.
Yea I thought about doing a round two but in the end I will probably just buy 2 new light assemblies and be done with it. Since the truck is a work truck and not even close to being a daily for me this was more about trying it out to see if it actually worked.
The peaks and valleys of the orange pad is for reducing sling if I'm not mistaken
I think the lights look much better even with the roughness. I take it a step further by cleaning it really good with rubbing alcohol to get the any little bits of plastic out of the grooves. Then give it about 2-3 coats of UV-resistant clear coat. Then the light pattern will be about as good as possible.
Tell me the brand name of a UV polish please!!
Worked for me. I got a buffing wheel for my drill. Lol. Took an 18yo headlight from yellow to clear in 10 mins
Wet sanding is a must for a crystal clear results.
that also happens to me uthen I used a way stronger machine and it work fantastic
Looks like the areas you are having a problem with is where the clear coat has reached total failure. The mothers is going to have more abrasive than say m110 or m105 so your compound isn't the issue. I just skip the polishing and sand then spray down new clear coat. The drill is a rotary action and with a 3in pad is plenty powerful. You got good results and probably as far as you can go via rotary or DA.
Thank u for the honest and constructive feedback.
Is that clear coat that will not come clear?
Yeah I had high hopes too to use on my 03 ram plow truck. I got same results
I have used the Mother's Polish once, Applied and removed by hand; no power tools used. It did a fair job, but I made tusing Turtle Wax afterward, and that not only dulled the result somewhat, but it wasn't long before the yellow returned to the lens.
You have to start out with a decent headlight 2012 tundra polished both with mothers and my arm they look great
I have done around 25 sets of headlights using the mothers and have yet to fail. you need a larger pad and a larger buffer motor.
Do you think Meguairs microfiber cutting discs would be okay, or medium polishing pads?
That rough stuff has to be wet sanded out with fine 1000 grit and or higher then do that paste polish stuff after!
chrysler oem headlights are made with a very cheap plastic and the clear coat they used is very uneven and thicker in certain areas of the headlight and must be given more attention and elbow grease. GOOD LUCK.
mine was extremely yellow...but the Mothers on a grinder pad....cleared it right up...my difficulty was in applying the 303 protectorant...
I tried it at least twice on our 2002 CR V and while it helped in the less cloudy areas it did not get the major cloudy areas clear. I only applied it with soft, clean microfiber towels and polished very diligently by hand. I was disappointed in the results and would say you need an electric polisher to get proper results. It failed for me.
Dont know why it didn’t work for you. Your lights must have been really bad. I used this on my truck(07) headlights which were completely fogged. Didnt use sand paper just the polish and a mini mothers power ball. People thought i bought new lights. Took 5mins at the most to do both lights.
Just wondering as it might have just been the video but looks like your reflectors are cracked on the inside. Maybe left over fogging is on the inside?
Didn't notice the reflectors being damaged will have to take a look. I was really hoping that it would take like 5 minutes like you mentioned. I guess maybe the lights are just to far gone to be able to get away without doing a full on wet sanding etc... Of course with as cheap as lights have gotten for the truck might just replace them.
Im not totally sure about the cracked reflectors but either way i think it might be best to buy new housings as you said.
I used mothers on my tail lights but AFTER I used 250-500-1000-2000-3000 grit sandpaper first and it worked great. I'm thinking about using it on iphone screen