Did MY headlights with Toothpaste, It Works !!

[bobbob]

I found a guy named Chrisfix on youtube.com. He takes a lot of time to test products such as Fuel Injector cleaner and waxes. I tried
toothpaste using his method on my 03 Nissan Altima. The lights were very cloudy. The toothpaste did an amazing job. I finished with
a coat of Collinite and my lights are Bright!

 

[JC1]

Yes it does work. What brand of toothpaste did you use?

 

[JeepWJ19]

Glad it worked for you. It did not work on my last pair of headlights on my jeep.

The only way that worked with me was water sanding with 1500 and 2000 grit sand paper then buffing it and putting a 3M lens protector on it.

Tried all the 'home' and OTC remedies and none of that junk worked.

 

[nwjones18]

Glad It worked for you and I don't see any reason it wouldn't. I imagine polishing compound would do a similar job. I personally just get the $20 3M kit and use my drill every time. Simple and effective.

 

[TmanP]

Glad that it worked for you! Chrisfix is great, I just found him a couple months ago.

 

[dlayman]

Getting them clean isn't generally the problem. Keeping them that way can be. Many techniques will work to clean them with a little work. But if you don't seal them properly they'll be yellow again in a few months. Hopefully the Collinite works. When you use an abrasive on them, whatever original sealant was still on them is now gone and needs to be replaced ASAP. Even when well sealed you likely will be repeating the job at some point. Frankly, I don't know why this needs to even be a problem. Surely the lenses can be formulated with a material that isn't going to yellow and fog with age, and it can probably be done quite cheaply, many inexpensive UV inhibitors are available. In some ways I think the old sealed beam glass headlights were superior.

A local detail shop charges 25 per light to clean and seal them with lifetime warranty if / when they cloud again, which if you keep the car long enough they probably will.

 

[TmanP]

Just saw at Sams Club that they do the same thing for $30- with a 5 year warranty! If at any point you're not happy they'll redo them for free.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: dlayman
Getting them clean isn't generally the problem. Keeping them that way can be. Many techniques will work to clean them with a little work. But if you don't seal them properly they'll be yellow again in a few months. Hopefully the Collinite works. When you use an abrasive on them, whatever original sealant was still on them is now gone and needs to be replaced ASAP. Even when well sealed you likely will be repeating the job at some point. Frankly, I don't know why this needs to even be a problem. Surely the lenses can be formulated with a material that isn't going to yellow and fog with age, and it can probably be done quite cheaply, many inexpensive UV inhibitors are available. In some ways I think the old sealed beam glass headlights were superior.

A local detail shop charges 25 per light to clean and seal them with lifetime warranty if / when they cloud again, which if you keep the car long enough they probably will.

Yes, seems to come back quicker. I clear-coat them. Helps for a few more years.

 

[crazyoildude]

i used polishing compound and that worked also but problem is a couple of months later it looked bad again.. There must be a way to keep them looking good but i don't know..I know the body shops have something that works well but not for a long time either

 

[Donald]

I ended up with aftermarket headlight assemblies from EBAY for cheap. After polishing a few times.

 

[4WD]

Same thing on my son's 300 - he did them twice and they'd fade back.
Surprised him with a new set - $100 and easy work - car looked new again ...

 

[nwjones18]

After I sanded/polished the lights on my STS I applied an adhesion promoter and Krylon clear coat for plastics. Then wet-sanded the paint until it was perfect. Year later and they still look great.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
i used polishing compound and that worked also but problem is a couple of months later it looked bad again.. There must be a way to keep them looking good but i don't know..I know the body shops have something that works well but not for a long time either

Trav did a write up on it, you have to spray a clearcoat over them once you get them good and clear again.

 

[JustinH]

I use a dual action buffer and some 3m or mothers compound, and a waffle pad.

All the yellow plastic comes right off and the lamp looks crystal clear in about 60 seconds per side.

Tape the body off around the lamp so you don't buff the paint.

Did this with excellent results on a matrix, and sealed with some mothers car wax.

 

[Malo83]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
I use a dual action buffer and some 3m or mothers compound, and a waffle pad.

All the yellow plastic comes right off and the lamp looks crystal clear in about 60 seconds per side.

Tape the body off around the lamp so you don't buff the paint.

Did this with excellent results on a matrix, and sealed with some mothers car wax.


Wax is key, keep them waxed and you won't have this problem, I wax all my vehicle lights monthly and they still look new.