Removing headlight glazing?

Is it possible to polish out the glazing on the plastic headlight covers?
I'm buying a '99 V6 for my daughter (it's a suprise for her birthday this
Saturday). It looks brand new except that the headlights look like frosted
glass. This is the newer style body that has the clear plastic covers (not
fluted). If anyone has successfully done it can you please post what you
used and how long it took? Thanks!

Alan Chapman opined in :

> Is it possible to polish out the glazing on the plastic headlight covers?
> I'm buying a '99 V6 for my daughter (it's a suprise for her birthday this
> Saturday). It looks brand new except that the headlights look like frosted
> glass. This is the newer style body that has the clear plastic covers (not
> fluted). If anyone has successfully done it can you please post what you
> used and how long it took? Thanks!
>
>
>

do a google search on this group using glazing polishing and headlight as
terms

I use mapei unsanded tile grout (Lowes) in a paste and a sponge and it works
great ... thoguh evidently most dont agree with me because it's "too cheap,
thus couldnt possibly work".

Cuts the "frost" fast... if you see micro-scratching THEN use a polish.

Then a UV resistant plastic wax

I've used the 3m white polishing compound on a foam drill bonnet, and they
look like NEW!

Only problem is that they will revert back to "frosted" much sooner than
they originally did because there is no UV protection.

Haven't tried waxing them as BYM suggests, but is makes sense that it would
work.

Actually, though.. Mustang headlights are CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP on ebay.
There's lots of aftermarkets, and there's lots of OEM's from the folks
INSTALLING aftermarkets..


"Backyard Mechanic" > wrote in message
...
> Alan Chapman opined in :
>
> > Is it possible to polish out the glazing on the plastic headlight
covers?
> > I'm buying a '99 V6 for my daughter (it's a suprise for her birthday
this
> > Saturday). It looks brand new except that the headlights look like
frosted
> > glass. This is the newer style body that has the clear plastic covers
(not
> > fluted). If anyone has successfully done it can you please post what
you
> > used and how long it took? Thanks!
> >
> >
> >
>
> do a google search on this group using glazing polishing and headlight as
> terms
>
> I use mapei unsanded tile grout (Lowes) in a paste and a sponge and it
works
> great ... thoguh evidently most dont agree with me because it's "too
cheap,
> thus couldnt possibly work".
>
> Cuts the "frost" fast... if you see micro-scratching THEN use a polish.
>
> Then a UV resistant plastic wax

Alan Chapman wrote:
>
> Is it possible to polish out the glazing on the plastic headlight covers?
> I'm buying a '99 V6 for my daughter (it's a suprise for her birthday this
> Saturday). It looks brand new except that the headlights look like frosted
> glass. This is the newer style body that has the clear plastic covers (not
> fluted). If anyone has successfully done it can you please post what you
> used and how long it took? Thanks!
this is what i did to my 96 Ford Contour head lights....
open the hood and took duct tape and covered the bottom and sides of
the headlight lenses so you dont remove any paint from the fenders and
bumper... the i took a can of $1.79 Turtle Wax Polishing Compound and a
glass of water and two old face cloths... wet the cloths and ring them
out and then apply some of the polishing compound onto the rag.. rub
each lense for about 5 minutes each with the damp rags and the
plolishing compond on it... i then took the other wet rag and kept
wiping off the polishing compound.. i had some head mounted magnifiers
so i could see what was going on..(to see if it was doing anyting... and
yes it did.. the old hazy coat was coming off. it took some time but i
could tell where to work on the lenses... i then used a polishing bonnet
on an electric drill and worked on each lense for about 5 minutes each..
then lenses looked new.. but it does not last more than a few months and
then you have to start all over again... i think its the plastic gassing
off some chemicals that lets it get dull????? hope this helps.

Where'd ya get the foam drill bonnet... ? And the polishing compound? :P
Wal-mart?

-Mike

--
A happy kid behind the wheel of a 98 Mustang GT
Cold air intake
FRPP 3.73 gears
Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter
Full Boar turbo mufflers
Hi-speed fan switch
255/60R-15 rear tires
Subframe connectors


"Chief_Wiggum" > wrote in message
news:xf8pd.157933$G15.131340@fed1read03...
> I've used the 3m white polishing compound on a foam drill bonnet, and they
> look like NEW!
>
> Only problem is that they will revert back to "frosted" much sooner than
> they originally did because there is no UV protection.
>
> Haven't tried waxing them as BYM suggests, but is makes sense that it
would
> work.
>
> Actually, though.. Mustang headlights are CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP on ebay.
> There's lots of aftermarkets, and there's lots of OEM's from the folks
> INSTALLING aftermarkets..
>
>
> "Backyard Mechanic" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Alan Chapman opined in
:
> >
> > > Is it possible to polish out the glazing on the plastic headlight
> covers?
> > > I'm buying a '99 V6 for my daughter (it's a suprise for her birthday
> this
> > > Saturday). It looks brand new except that the headlights look like
> frosted
> > > glass. This is the newer style body that has the clear plastic covers
> (not
> > > fluted). If anyone has successfully done it can you please post what
> you
> > > used and how long it took? Thanks!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> > do a google search on this group using glazing polishing and headlight
as
> > terms
> >
> > I use mapei unsanded tile grout (Lowes) in a paste and a sponge and it
> works
> > great ... thoguh evidently most dont agree with me because it's "too
> cheap,
> > thus couldnt possibly work".
> >
> > Cuts the "frost" fast... if you see micro-scratching THEN use a polish.
> >
> > Then a UV resistant plastic wax
>
>

dbird > wrote in message >...
> Alan Chapman wrote:
> >
> > Is it possible to polish out the glazing on the plastic headlight covers?
> > I'm buying a '99 V6 for my daughter (it's a suprise for her birthday this
> > Saturday). It looks brand new except that the headlights look like frosted
> > glass. This is the newer style body that has the clear plastic covers (not
> > fluted). If anyone has successfully done it can you please post what you
> > used and how long it took? Thanks!
> this is what i did to my 96 Ford Contour head lights....
> open the hood and took duct tape and covered the bottom and sides of
> the headlight lenses so you dont remove any paint from the fenders and
> bumper... the i took a can of $1.79 Turtle Wax Polishing Compound and a
> glass of water and two old face cloths... wet the cloths and ring them
> out and then apply some of the polishing compound onto the rag.. rub
> each lense for about 5 minutes each with the damp rags and the
> plolishing compond on it... i then took the other wet rag and kept
> wiping off the polishing compound.. i had some head mounted magnifiers
> so i could see what was going on..(to see if it was doing anyting... and
> yes it did.. the old hazy coat was coming off. it took some time but i
> could tell where to work on the lenses... i then used a polishing bonnet
> on an electric drill and worked on each lense for about 5 minutes each..
> then lenses looked new.. but it does not last more than a few months and
> then you have to start all over again... i think its the plastic gassing
> off some chemicals that lets it get dull????? hope this helps.

wet sand them with a palm sander, you'll cut right through it. it
does need to be protected then.
Chip

at 24 Nov 2004, ] wrote in
. com:

> Where'd ya get the foam drill bonnet... ? And the polishing
> compound? :P Wal-mart?

Walmart carries the ploishing compound alright. Auto aisle, where the
waxes and polishes are. :-) Dunno about the bonnet, you may want to try
www.harborfreight.com


--
_ 1995 Mustang V6 Coupe (Bright Blue)
|_| Member Modern Mustangs of North America (MMNA)
http://mustang.fdns.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 14:18:24 GMT, "Alan Chapman" >
wrote:

>Is it possible to polish out the glazing on the plastic headlight covers?
>I'm buying a '99 V6 for my daughter (it's a suprise for her birthday this
>Saturday). It looks brand new except that the headlights look like frosted
>glass. This is the newer style body that has the clear plastic covers (not
>fluted). If anyone has successfully done it can you please post what you
>used and how long it took? Thanks!
>

I bought a pair of headlights for my 96 mustang from 1A auto for $70
for the pair. http://www.1aauto.com/
I found them on ebaymotors.com
Their prices are better if you can find it on ebaymotors rather than
their "regular" website. I didn't see any listed for your car other
than smoked lenses. You may call them and ask..

Thanks for all the replies. I tried elbow grease and the drill polisher
with rubbing compund and even grout (yes someone suggested grout) and
nothing worked. Was a lot of mess and trouble eventually leading nowhere.
I guess the 99 & up headlights don't take to this fix. Course if I had an
AC powered drill it might have helped. Looks like I'm going hunting for
headlights on ebay. Thanks for being helpful though.

Alan

Alan Chapman wrote:

> Thanks for all the replies. I tried elbow grease and the drill polisher
> with rubbing compund and even grout (yes someone suggested grout) and
> nothing worked. Was a lot of mess and trouble eventually leading nowhere.
> I guess the 99 & up headlights don't take to this fix. Course if I had an
> AC powered drill it might have helped. Looks like I'm going hunting for
> headlights on ebay. Thanks for being helpful though.
>
> Alan
>
>

My 89 didn't either. I polished the hell out of them and they
only looked marginally good and turned again really quick. I replaced
them.

--
YOU are the real piece of work in this post. I think you are
a couple of drumsticks short of a picnic there bud. - SVTKate