I have a question about Hazy/pitted Headlights for the experts...

I had bad haze on the headlights, especially bad at the top. I used the restoration kit and now they look like new...can not see any haze now...perfectly clear.

That is...they look like brand new during the day. But at night, with the headlights on...I see a haze or pitting in a circular type pattern where the light is focused. Its like a bull's eye...a 1 inch clear circle with a speckly, pitting like pattern in a 3" or so circle pattern.

I am assuming this is on the inside of the lens. I do not feel any pitting on the outside...its smooth to the touch.

Do others have this same problem? Any idea how to get rid of this?

The light through this area of the plastic lens illuminates these imperfections and highlights them.

Any ideas or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Yes I have noticed this with my headlights on. When off they sparkle but on you can still see a bit of haze and etching when the lights are on. I think what we are doing just polishes the surface which reflects outside light so we are seeing an improvement. Maybe we are not going deep enough? I don't know what deep enough is? When the lights are on at night the reflection is coming the other way. My guess is the etching and haze are imbedded in the plastic. The only fix I know of is replacement and I have even seen a few of those haze and etch. My only suggestion is keep them buffed and cleaned. I do mine every time I wax which is monthly.

 

I do the same. I actually have not noticed what the "view" is like with the lights on, but with them off the lenses sparkle. Every week I use a Meguiars UV Paste wax on them. That combined with always trying to at least have the front portion of the car out of the sun as much as possible has kept them looking pretty nice.

 

I had mine replaced a while ago, and there was, from the git-go, a "halo" where the light entered/exited the polycarbonate. Lexan is not as clear as air and will diffract some amount of light. Hence the halo. If there are "sparkles" inside the halo, those would be pitting. Even if you can't feel them, an imperfection as small as 1 Angstrom is visible. The only way to be rid of them is to remove the surrounding polycarbonate down to the level of the bottom of the imperfection.

Just like swirl marks in paint.