Very nice results. I wonder if it will work on the material the Windristrictor is made from.

 

FP, I would think so. They are both made of acrylic plastic I would assume.

Just my Dos Centavos !

 

Just did my headlights last night and they look great. I did use an orbital polisher though to work the Plast X and that took alot less time and elbow grease. Thanks GDrag.

 

FP,

the material in automotive headlights is generally "polycarbonate" or Lexan. Softer than acrylic, but much more resilient and tougher to crack. Hard as heck to polish. Wet sanding then polishing is pretty much the only way I know to fix it.

Wind restrictors and the like is "cast acrylic" or Lucite. Harder (more brittle), but easier to polish. With this material, you can wet sand and fine polish, or even use a cotton "Buffing Kit" such as what Sears carries, and use gradually finer grades of polishing compounds (Emory, Trioli, Rouge etc.) just like jewelry. Just be careful not to get it too hot though, it will melt.

 

I have found that Brasso or similar works just fine. I have used chrome polish as well, my advice is to try them in a small area first. Fogging inside the light is a problem I have had in the past, I try to ignore it.

 

Thanks, who makes Plastx?

 

Meguiar's.

In fact, we just introduced a headlight restoration kit that comes with a bottle of PlastX, a wool buffing pad that fits any electric drill, and a microfiber towel. Right now it's only available at Checker/Shucks/Kragen stores but will be in wide release in a couple of months.

 

Thanks, I'll be looking for it, please let us know when and where we can buy it.

 

Like I said, right now it's at Checker/Shucks/Kragen and on our website (www.meguiarsdirect.com) but in another month or so it'll be in Wal-Mart, Target, PepBoys, Autozone, etc.

 

I will try this first! Good tip! I have an 80,000 extended warranty, top level, from Chrysler. I have yet to use it except for a valve on the transmission that was responsible for moving the fluid. If they dealer says no go, then I will definately be doing that which is described here.

 

plastx - Great stuff!

 

i Don't Know If This Is 100% True, But I Have Heard That The Acrylic Headlamp Covers Get ''hazy'' Due To The Ultraviolet Wavelength In Sunlight...

 

Ok, the local Walmart just got the PlastX. I got a bottle to try. My question to Mike is how abrasive is this stuff on paint. Should I mask off the area's around the headlight covers to protect my paint? My car is pretty new and I wasn't planning on using a buffer. I am going to use this stuff when I wash and wax the car.

 

If you are going to use a buffer you might want to cover the area but to be honest I didn't and all was fine. If you are doing it by hand you should be ok. I don't think I've ever taped off the area around the headlights and I've done them for myself and other forum members. Mike In Orange could tell you how abrasive it is. What I have found is that the haze and etching eventually comes back but you just whip out the buffer and the plastx and 5 minutes later you are good as new.

 

If you're going to work it by hand then there's no need to mask anything off except maybe just to keep the stuff off the rubber weather stripping. You certainly won't damage the paint with it. If you're using a buffer then masking is probably a good idea - if you're using a rotary buffer then it's almost mandatory.

Yes, the yellowing will keep coming back. Almost all of these modern headlight lenses have a protective coating that wears off over time, and once that happens the plastic will start to deteriortate. You can restore it easy enough, but you are then forever in a maintenance mode. Meguiar's just recently introduced a headlight restoration kit that includes a bottle of PlastX, a wool buffing pad that can be attached to any drill (cordless is fine but usually they don't have the power of a corded drill) and a microfiber towel. Pad and towel are reuseable, of course.

 

Hey Mike, happy New Year! Been a while, our last discussion was on polishing the swirls etc with a rotary buffer as opposed to the Porter etc. I did have really good results with the NAPA cpmpounds and the waffle pads at about 3000 RPM. Having said that, and on plastics now, have you had any experience with JANVIL products? I have used the 3 part kit with some wet paper up to 3000 grit with good success.
Like to get your thoughts in comparison to your new product. Also using BLUE MAGIC Lens Restorer as a protectorant. Thanks,

John P

 

John, I've never used any Janvil products so I can't make any direct comparisons. I have used different Meguiar's compounds designed for paint and they've worked well on headlights. Whether wet sanding or not, using a rotary buffer or D/A, I've gotten good results with all sorts of different products.

You have to keep in mind that from the perspective of the average consumer, they don't want to go to a specialty store (auto body paint supply, for example) and spend $30 on a bottle of compound that needs to be machine applied just to take the haze out of their headlights. Hell, the general public wants something that you apply like a wax and let it just sit there to magically remove the haze. Of course, that ain't gonna happen. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat, or polish a headlight, and Meguiar's headlight restoration kit makes it really easy. But if you like wetsanding and buffing, go for it. So much of it is technique and following directions - use ANY product wrong and you won't get results. Period.


And I just have to ask - you ran a rotary buffer at 3,000 rpm on your Crossfire!!!! Yikes, you are a brave soul!! My car sat on a dealer lot for almost two years and was a mess when I got it, and the D/A really wasn't doing much on this very hard paint. I got rid of everything using my rotary and a wool pad with M105 Ultra Cut Compound, but never ran higher than 1200 rpm.

 

All plastic is damaged by sunlight, they can add chemicals to help but all plastic will eventually deteriorate, break or crack. Given enough years it will just turn to dust, we will not be around to see that though.
To protect the plastic as much as possible keep it out of the sun and heat. That's one, probably the only benefit of living in the North as far as our plastic parts are concerned, less sun and heat.

 

Mike, this in reply in 2 parts. First re: the headlights. I have a 98 Intrepid and the lenses were really scuzzy. I arm wrestl;ed them 'till they got 1/2 way decent, then had a bumper cruncher with a pickup and had to have hood and headights replaced. Two Headlights with labor close to $1000. Don't know why people so afraid to spend 30 or 40 bucks for the "goodstuff"
Second: I mispoke when I said I buffed at 3000RPM. I have an ATD 10511 7" Shop olisher with variable speed 1000 to 3000 RPM. I used lower speeds prob about 1500 or less. Was verrrrrry careful. I used two 3M Compounds. Perfect it 3000, Swirl Mark remover, PN 06064 and Perfect It II, Rubbibg Compound, no silicone, PN 05973. Not Cheap but you don't take a bath in it.
After that I went with Liquid Clay Bar Ice by hand and finally Meguiar's NX Tech Wax 2.0. I'll give it about 6 months and then give it a light rub and polish.
Horror story, I faithfully park in Garage when not in use. Christmas eve day, *&^$) &&^ Rat nested on engine block and chewed though a many wire harness. Took 3 weeks at dealer to repair including pulling the engine. $50 deductible paid off, bill was $1808. I now sprinkle a few drops of 100% Peppermint Oil, (not the cooking extract) in the engine bay. Supposed to keep them away. Nothing trapped in 5 weeks. XX

John P

 

Never thought of using sandpaper but, one day when shopping for replacement lamps at PepBoys I found this stuff. The packaging states 5 minutes ... no way, it took about an hour to do both lenses. Mainly because I was too nevous to go quickly. I had my doubts when I started but, I am very pleased with the results. Another part that caught my eye on this stuff was that it was similar to products used to polish optics. So I figured what the heck ..... I'm glad I did it and I wanted to share my story.

Sorry I didn't do before and after pics ... I never think of that until after the fact. I am attaching pics of the product box.

adoni