Honda Accord headlight plastic film removal?

[Farmer17]

My daughter just graduated with a BS in Nursing and for her graduation present I'm fixing up her 2010 black Honda Accord with 197K miles. The car is really in great shape but needs new leather seats and the headliner fixed on the inside. The outside will be professionally buffed to get scratches out but the headlights have some type of thin clear coat coating on them that is flaking off and they look terrible. One of the headlights was replaced due to a fender bender 4 years ago but it looks as bad as the other 12 year old headlight. I knocked some of it off with the carwash pressure wand but the rest cannot be removed even with a finger nail. I think the headlights will look perfect with the remaining film removed, anyone have any experience doing this?

 

[Dave.357]

Buy 2 new aftermarket ones from parts geek.
When coating is gone you can not keep
Them from looking frosted. JME

 

[ACORN]

I know detailers that hit the lights with the buffer and spray some clear over them.
3M makes a polish for headlight lenses that have discolored. I don’t know about how it’d work if there’s a coating on them.

 

[SMSgt]

I've tried most of the headlight refinishers, commercial and YouTube specials, and I have found all of them temporary fixes at best. New headlight assemblies are the best bet.

 

[Truckman]

I've tried most of the headlight refinishers, commercial and YouTube specials, and I have found all of them temporary fixes at best. New headlight assemblies are the best bet.

Very true...I use the buffing cones I bought to polish my aluminum wheels and Flitz with my DeWalt drill to get the haze off the covers on my mighty Dodge/Cummins, but it comes back again...There is no permanent fix unless you don't mind buying new headlight housings frequently......Ben

 

[Rustyt1953]

I have a question. I have never tried it but does the toothpaste treatment work?

 

[SMSgt]

I have a question. I have never tried it but does the toothpaste treatment work?

Yes it will and it leaves your headlights minty fresh. But again, within 2-3 weeks they start to haze over again.

 

[SMSgt]

Very true...I use the buffing cones I bought to polish my aluminum wheels and Flitz with my DeWalt drill to get the haze off the covers on my mighty Dodge/Cummins, but it comes back again...There is no permanent fix unless you don't mind buying new headlight housings frequently......Ben

Transparent peel-off headlight covers like NASCAR windshields.

 

[cndrdk]

Several years ago I wet sanded mine with 2000 grip paper until clear. then I took some UV protective clear spray paint and painted them. Still look like new,

 

[CB3]

Good headlights are as important as good brakes, IMO. I have messed with having film put over them when new and replacing it, which works pretty well.

But trying to resurrect damaged headlight lenses is an exercise in futility, including almost all polishing. Just replace them.

I put Clearbra on my new 2015 Silverado pickup headlights. At four years they were cloudy. I replaced the Cleabra. They were still cloudy. Found out they degrade from the inside of the lens. $750 to replace the pair. A necessary expense. Driving at night on Interstate 15 at (legal) 80 mph takes good lights.

 

[Funflyer]

Several years ago I wet sanded mine with 2000 grip paper until clear. then I took some UV protective clear spray paint and painted them. Still look like new,

That's exactly what I did with my 05 and 01 Toyota's. These were from when I did the 05 and they still looked new three years later when I sold the car. The 01 sits outside and they looked new for about five years before the Arizona sun got to them. I sprayed them with urethane clear using my HVLP gun. For those that don't paint or have a spray gun, auto paint supply stores sell urethane clear in a spray can that you release the hardener in right before use so it's basically the same stuff professionals use to paint cars with.

 

[SMSgt]

In FL at least, it's not only the sun that destroys headlight assemblies, it's the fine sand and grit sandblasting them every time you drive.

 

[robvious]

toothpaste does work... but I have found glass stove top cleaner works great.. paint tape the adjacent painted bodywork and use my dual orbital polisher for about a minute... the quick glaze of turtle wax.. looks amazing for quite a while...

 

[vonn]

Sanding off old dead plastic with progressively finer grits then buffing with fine rubbing compound works but is labor intensive. Have been using a3M system for years.

 

[LVSteve]

Application of a UV resistant coating after polishing is the key.