One of the simpler and more cost effective projects for my CLK that I've been able to accomplish since I bought it 2 months ago is restoring the faded headlights. I looked online and saw diy ways to accomplish it using regular wet sanding and rubbing compound. In Walmart the other day I saw a headlamp restore kit from Turtle Wax for $8 so I decided to spring for it, figuring by the time I went and bought sand paper and rubbing compound it would be about that much.

So I put it to the test and I love the results. A simple job that anyone can do. It didn't restore them to "new" but light years better!

 

FWIW. I did the wet paper thingie and got them in pretty good shape too however, I bought Aristocrat High Gloss Epoxy for about $10 + shipping. You can find it online. Mix a small amount and use a VERY fine paint brush(avoids small bubbles)to apply it and it's almost better than new.

 

Without even looking at the pictures, I'm sure that wet sanding and rubbing compound would do a much better job than Turtle Wax products (this goes for 3M too).

 

i used the 3m wet sanding kit..worked very well..the mcguiares was horrible tho, i would not recommend it

 

Hey dlberhns,

Do you have pictures to show :P i just wanna compare. Because I heard when you do the wet sand paper rubbing technique your scratching off some UV protective layer. And I also heard, some people use toothpaste, i.e youtube. I would appreciate it and have a good thxgiving. Thanks

 

hvn, I don't have any before an after pics but I can tell you that after, they look better than new with the epoxy clear coat. as far as a UV protective coating(?) if there was one there oem then why did the lense turn gray in the first place? after working down from coarse to fine paper I buffed them with rubbing compound and then put the epoxy. Tootpaste is abrasive, some more than others, most have sugar in them so I wouldn't go there.

 

The Turtlewax kit I used came with wet sanding pads, lubricant (probably just water), rubbing compound, and a sealer to throw on after all is said and done. I'm sure other off-the-shelf kits would have similar pieces. Just easier for me b/c it all came in one kit, and there's enough left to do it again on another car if needed

 

Must be some form of UV coating as my lights are perfect in the UK of A and 10 years old - we don't exactly get much sun here (quite a bit of rain usually) and certainly not as much as Pheonix

 

honestly, I think salting the streets in winter does more to deteriotate lenses than anything.

 

Yes you could be right and it doesn't do the bodywork much good either