Leery of polishing headlights and tailights

WaxAddict

WaxAddict

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I have successfully RESTORED ugly headlights on a few cars, but I have never polished headlights that still look good but might have some light marring or swirls. I'm worried that by doing so, I'll remove the factory protective coating (assuming there is one), and then I'll be stuck in an endless loop of polishing because I've opened up the plastic to the elements. Is my concern valid?

If I want to take this plunge, what are the recommendations for pads, polish, and speed?

I'd rather not buy polish, as I have so many already. I have a light chemical polish: Poorboy's Professional, and a few light abrasives like Menzerna 4000. I also have a few pre-wax cleaners and AIO's.

Any advice is appreciated. Again, this is for heads and tails that still look clear, but have minor issues.
 
I'd rather not touch headlights that have light marring, but you can always give it a quick once over with something mild like Optimum Hyper Polish, and then coat it. But if coating is not what you want to do, I wouldn't touch it until the original coating fails. Just my 2 cents.
 
I always polish the taillights with my AIO light polish/wax... removes some of the swirlmarks on them and improves clarity by a lot. I don't see them having a 'coating' that I am removing.
 
I came here to say this. As detailers we cannot apply the same level of protection that a factory can. If you polish off the protective uv coating. You will be in a annual ritual of polishing and revealing them. I'm there with 2 of my vehicles. Both needed it bad before I started.

ihaveacamaro said:
I'd rather not touch headlights that have light marring, but you can always give it a quick once over with something mild like Optimum Hyper Polish, and then coat it. But if coating is not what you want to do, I wouldn't touch it until the original coating fails. Just my 2 cents.
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I would suggest a coating for greater durability. Something like opti lens (best), gloss coat, CQuartz , or any other coating with uv protection.

Tpr1634 said:
I use a light polish like Wolfgang or Blackfire AIO no issues.
I either put 845 or a sealant on.
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I ALWAYS wax (non-abrasive sealant) my headlights whenever I wax the car, but I sometimes I will use a cleaner wax to help clear away any built up crud that washing doesn't remove.
 
As old Ben Franklin said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I've used Plexus on my lenses since new and a quick spray/wipe every 2-3 months has kept them looking perfectly clear for years.
 
Megs (and others) has a headlight restore kit that I believe has their headlight protectant (also sold separately). If when polished, this "should" protect into the future.?
 

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MiVor said:
Megs (and others) has a headlight restore kit that I believe has their headlight protectant (also sold separately). If when polished, this "should" protect into the future.?
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It'll do it's job for a while but will need to be reapplied every so often.
 
I only LSP my headlights, but I polish/LSP the other exterior lights as needed just like the paint. Noting that my vehicles don't get all that marred up (but are sometimes bought in terribly marred condition), I've never had a problem from polishing those other lights even on vehicles I keep for a long, long time (decades).
 
Thanks for the replies all. I think I will continue to hold off on headlights until cloudiness starts, but I'll go ahead and polish tails. I'm thinking AIO.
 
WaxAddict said:
.. I will continue to hold off on headlights until cloudiness starts, but I'll go ahead and polish tails. I'm thinking AIO.
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The headlights might never *get* cloudy...mine never have (IMO because they're always LSPed). If your AIO is nonabrasive (e.g., KAIO) it'll help with oxidation and general appearance, just not any marring (well, gee...obviously, I suppose). FWIW, I don't like using ZAIO on plastics, and I REALLY don't like how M205 acts on them.
 
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