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How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Mindscape100
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How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by Mindscape100 » Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:59 pm

At the request of other fellow forum members I have created a How To guide to help those who had similar issues as me with their head lights being fogged up. I thought Id try it as a last resort before going out and spending some cash on new lights.

Anyway, this is how I did mine:

Equipment:

3M ultrafine wet/dry sand paper
Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction Compound
Meguiars DA Microfiber Cutting Pad
FinishKare 2685-Wax
Megs DA polisher
Lots of soapy water (I used a spray bottle to apply) - made up with zymol on this occasion
3M blue tape

1: 1st I washed the headlights with lots of soapy water and the wiped clean.
2: I then taped the surrounding area with the 3M tape to make sure if I did slip with the sandpaper it would not affect the panel
3: I the used the spray bottle to spray the headlights with soapy water before lightly sanding the headlights. It important here to make sure the suface is kept very wet at all times. Continue to spray the lights and continue sanding until your happy you have sanded the complete light surface.
4: Once happy, wash the headlight again as there will be a large amount of residue- now dry with a microfibre towel (at this point you will think god what have I done-as the light will look worse than ever).
5: Now I used the megs DA with the microfibre pad and the polishing compound but you could use any medium grade polish here, its just what I used when I first got the car. Apply the polish to the pad and go for it- Just keep going over the headlight until you notice the hazy apperance begins to fade will take approx 5-10 mins max.
6: When happy wash the headlight again and wipe with the towel- if it looks good (which it should) then just add a coat of your favorite wax. If not repeat step 5.

Heres my results:

Before-

Image

After-

Image

Appologies if the guide is a bit rough and ready but its my first one.

Hope it helps someone.

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andysat
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by andysat » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:02 pm

I could do with doing something to mine but tbh i dont fancy rubbing them with sandpaper :cry:
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Mindscape100
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by Mindscape100 » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:04 pm

andysat wrote:I could do with doing something to mine but tbh i dont fancy rubbing them with sandpaper :cry:
Honestly its not as scary as it sounds... especially with the fine grade wet/dry sand papers. The key is to follow with the polish compound.

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andysat
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by andysat » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:10 pm

Thanks-could this be done by hand?
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Mindscape100
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by Mindscape100 » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:18 pm

andysat wrote:Thanks-could this be done by hand?
No reason why not- would just take a little longer thats all.

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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by andysat » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:19 pm

Thanks -i may give it a go in the future :)
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paddy wright
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by paddy wright » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:09 pm

tooth paste works well by hand, takes a long time then suddenly comes good!
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Mindscape100
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by Mindscape100 » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:21 pm

paddy wright wrote:tooth paste works well by hand, takes a long time then suddenly comes good!
And makes the lights smell minty fresh :wink:

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RickyBobby
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by RickyBobby » Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:43 pm

Think i might give this a go at the weekend, are my headlights actually suitable to try this?

Image

Image

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deka
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by deka » Wed Sep 05, 2012 9:30 am

brill result :thumbsup:

what grade of paper did you use
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boblez
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by boblez » Wed Sep 05, 2012 10:16 am

Did mine on Monday, perfectly clear now and didnt use sandpaper! I used this instead:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Autosol-Solvo ... 43ab7427c0
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by Rufus59 » Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:32 pm

What grade of wet/dry was used? Will any polish do a good job?

Looks awesome, one of mine is in desperate need of doing.
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andysat
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by andysat » Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:08 pm

boblez wrote:Did mine on Monday, perfectly clear now and didnt use sandpaper! I used this instead:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Autosol-Solvo ... 43ab7427c0
Was it just a case of wipe on, rub in, wipe off?
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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by 59custom » Wed Sep 12, 2012 5:41 pm

As i have just done my headlights i thought i would add to this
with pics and what i used to do it with,

Easy to follow instructions in kit and don't worry about rubbing the life out
of the lights like i did they don't scratch like i thought they would ( see pic )
before
Image

after
Image

kit from Ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Turtlewax-hea ... _500wt_842
2.0 sport Phoenix yellow

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Re: How To : Refresh cloudy/fogged headlights

Post by benben » Tue Nov 05, 2013 5:20 am

All posts suggest the lights are fogged on the outside. Is there no possibility that this is from the inside? The reason I am asking is because i don't want to buy all these equipment to find out the problem was on the inside and all efforts have gone to waste. :headbang:
03 2.5i E85
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