How To Remove Deep Scratches From Headlights – Most headlight lenses are made of polycarbonate, commonly known as Lexan. This type of plastic is susceptible to damage from UV radiation from the sun. The lenses may become yellow or cloudy. They are also softer than glass, so they can be scratched or scratched.

It takes a little time and effort, but these headlight lenses can be restored to near-factory-new quality by sanding and polishing. In this video, plastic repair experts will show you how to restore a deeply scratched headlight to like-new condition.

How To Remove Deep Scratches From Headlights

How To Remove Deep Scratches From Headlights

Note: This is a list of products that can be used to make this repair. This list does not include sanders, sanders, or other common tools you will need. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call technical support at 800-633-3047.

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Plastic headlight lenses can become dangerously cloudy after years of exposure to UV radiation from the sun. Did you know that you can restore factory appearance, even to headlight lenses as fogged and scratched as this one? Plastic repair experts will show you how in this video.

Most headlight lenses are made of polycarbonate, commonly known as Lexan. This type of plastic is susceptible to damage from UV radiation from the sun. The lenses may become yellow or cloudy. They are also softer than glass, so they can be scratched or scratched, like this one.

It takes a little time and effort, but these headlight lenses can be restored to near-factory-new quality by sanding and polishing. The process is easier if you can remove the light from the car, but you can also polish the lenses with the lights in place if you mask off the edges of the light first. Before sanding the lens, be sure to clean it with a plastic cleaner such as 1000 Super Prep. Window cleaner or isopropyl alcohol are also good substitutes if you don’t have a professional cleaner.

If there are deep scratches in the lens, like this one, use 80-grit sandpaper to start. If the lens isn’t scratched, just cloudy, start with 180-grit sandpaper.

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Sand the entire lens with 80-grit sandpaper with a double-action sander. If you don’t have a power sander, you can do it by hand. It will just take a little longer.

Most people balk at the idea of ​​using coarse 80-grit sandpaper on a clear plastic headlight lens. It is important to first remove any surface imperfections on the lens with the coarse sandpaper, then remove the rough sand scratches with finer and finer sandpaper as you finish the job.

Continue sanding with the coarse sandpaper until all nicks and scratches are gone. The lens should look equally scratched all over.

How To Remove Deep Scratches From Headlights

Once you’re done with the coarse grit, move on to the next finer grit. In our case, we went to 150 grit next. It is important not to sand too fine between steps. You can use 120 grit, 150 or 180 grit here. You don’t want to go straight from 80 grit to 400 grit, for example. 400 grit is too fine to remove 80 scratches quickly. It is very important to be able to remove any sand scratches from the previous step using the next finer grade.

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After 150 grit, our next best grit paper was 320 grit. You can also go to 220 or 240 grit. Again, make sure to remove any sanding scratches from the previous grit before moving on to the next finer grade.

Grits finer than 320 are usually wet sanding types of sandpaper. The water helps flush out the plastic particles that can tend to clog the sandpaper, so wet sanding keeps the paper clean and sharp. In this case, we had wet sandpaper of about 320 grit, so we used a sanding block to further refine the finish.

After 320 grit, we went to 400 grit wet sanding. After each stage of sanding, dry the lens with an eraser and look carefully at the surface. If you see deeper sand scratches from the previous step, go back and remove them now. It is very important to remove any scratches from the sand from the previous grit before moving on to the next finer grade.

We continued this process by sanding with six-hundred, eight-hundred, thousand, fifteen-hundred, and finally two-thousand grit blocks. At each step we drained the water and carefully inspected the lens to make sure we were removing the sand scratches from the previous stage with the current sandpaper. By the time you get to twelve thousand grits of sandpaper, the lens will start to look clearer than scratched. Again, this process is not difficult, it just takes time and a little effort.

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When you’re done sanding with the 2,000 grit, apply a coarse polishing compound and polish by machine or by hand. If using a machine, especially a rotary polisher, be careful not to overheat and burn the plastic. This is a dual action polisher, which is safer than a rotary polisher. If you don’t have a machine, you can do it by hand with a cloth towel.

If you have a finer grade of polish, use it next. As you can see, the process of refinishing the headlight lens is simply rubbing the plastic with progressively finer and finer grades of sandpaper or polishing compound until you achieve the desired result. When you’re done, you should have a look that’s very close to the new original. You can see the contrast where we started and where we ended. The only difference between these two photos is some effort and the correct sequence and use of the abrasives.

To protect the lens from further UV damage, some companies sell clear coats that you can spray over the polished lens. Despite this, the lens may fog up again in the future, but now you know what to do to make it clear again.

How To Remove Deep Scratches From Headlights

While there are no products to sell you to polish your headlights, we wanted to share our expertise with you, especially since this process can improve your safety when driving at night. has been a leader in automotive plastic repair and refinishing since 1981. View products at .Hi guys, I’m new to this forum and bought a 2019 CX-5 AWD GT. I am very happy with that car!

Is It Possible To Repair These Deep Scratches On My Headlight?

I have a question regarding the details. The driver’s headlight has a scratch that feels rough to the touch. I was wondering if you knew of a way to fix that or buy a new headlight. I’m sure people will be more than fine with that scratch, but I really want to fix it before putting a protective film on it to prevent oxidation

I realize that new headlights are very expensive. I’m not sure if the GT model has adaptive headlights that might need some dealer setup. You should get a quote from your dealer.

Yes, GT trim and above have the most expensive adaptive lights + signature light + LED.

You can try polishing, but that will likely destroy the clear coat on top of the plastic. Or just live with it if it doesn’t distort the light beam.

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Cz5gt said: yes GT trim and above have the most expensive lights, the adjustable + signature light + led. You can try polishing, but that will likely destroy the clear coat on top of the plastic. Or just live with it if it doesn’t distort the light Click to expand… I thought the GT, GTR and Sg had the high end light units.

Hall. said: I understand that new headlights are very expensive. I’m not sure if the GT model has adaptive headlights that might need some dealer setup. You should get a quote from your dealer. Click to expand… This is correct. When you remove the AFS headlight, the dealer must recalibrate it with the steering wheel angle sensor to point in the correct direction as the steering wheel is turned. So says my body shop.

It is possible to fix it, but it will take some work. Lots of sanding, then wet sanding, then polishing and finally sealant. Depending on how deep the scratches are, you may not be able to remove them completely, but you will be able to greatly minimize their appearance.

How To Remove Deep Scratches From Headlights

Start by masking off the area to avoid accidentally sanding the areas you don’t want to sand. Start with a low-grit sandpaper to smooth out the scratches, then gradually move to higher grits. I would first try 400 or 600 grit, sand horizontally (left to right). Then 800 grit, sanding vertically (up and down). Then I would try wet sanding with 1200 grit, then 2400 grit, again alternating directions. Rinse and dry the sanded part after each step. After that I would apply a good plastic polish. I recommend Novus or Meguiar’s PlastX – I used PlastX to finish an acrylic aquarium and

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