Thanks Gus, but that sounds exactly like the Rain_X stuff I used, and I thought it made it worse. Thats why initially I was asking if these lenses are made with a "protective" layer. Its almost like that was what was being removed. So aggravating.

http://www.rainx.com/products/Plasti...Headlight.aspx

Rain-X® Headlight Restoration Kit


Over time, headlight lenses become oxidized rendering them hazy and yellow. This causes headlights to shine less brightly, which is dangerous for the driver and others on the road. The new Rain-X® Headlight Restoration Kit provides a deep clean to yellowy and hazed headlights with the use of a specially designed polish and sealant


Application

• First, three grades of sandpaper are used in sequence with a spray lubricant to remove the yellowy haze
• Second, a fine Rain-X polish is used to remove scratches and minor imperfections
• Third, a sealant is applied as the final step to leave you with ultimate visibility

 

I am unable to speak on the RainX product but I can say my experience with Turtle wax was positive so far. My first try was with Blue Magic was less than satisfactory the lenses discolored and fogged again. Well this is what I like about forums, you can agree to disagree and find products that DO work.

 

I heard that using spray lacquer on the headlights will prevent the yellowing. Any comment on that??

 

No, mine are brand new. That's why I'm asking. If they work I figured I'd just periodically peel them off and replace them.

Bob S.

 

Well if they are brand new, it wouldnt HURT to put those on,a nd you definately wont have to worry about pitting. Those "clear bra" companies have headlight kits.

Put it this way, if mine were brand new, I would buy some and slap them on, but only from a reputable company, not an Ebay special.

 

I never buy my bras off the internet!

 

DONT DO IT!!!!! run away!! laquer is incompatible with most headlamp lenses.

What I did to mine was sanded with 400 Grit, and used a polyurathane clearcoat and they came out crystal clear

sorry for the poor quality pic (dirty iphone)

 

Good to know! The local dealership suggested that they could do it and that the sealer was lacquer. I was not sure about it so I did not go with it. I guess my gut feeling paid off.

 

INTERESTING, I think I will call my dealer tomorrow to inquire. Just to see what they say. I'll let you know.

 

I should clarify it was a GMC dealership (the place I get the my state inspection) and it was the service manager that I was talking to. Sorry!

 

About a month ago I tried another solution from McGuier, Lens Restoration kit. The results weren't bad but didn't last long.

After about a year or more searching I have found something that I used last night with incredible results!

I found the key, The Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit has a final stage compound that UV clear coats the lens!!!!

I got the kit on Amazon.com for $19.99. The kit contains everything you need. Follow the instructions, many stages, i.e. three sanding stages, rinsing, etc, but it is easy and produces results.
I just did this last night so I can't comment on the longivity, but the reviews for this product have been outstanding and many!

Beats replacing discolored and scratched headlight assemblies.



Before and after:

 

Please keep us updated with lens restoration. I'd like to know how long that would last.

 

since I have my black housing now, and no car. I will be doing a full write up on how to fix them once and for all hopefully this weekend.

 

hi
1, i just did wet sand 2000 grit ,
this will make it turn matt and hard to seee thru and u will see yellowness and scratches 500% better , just sand till its all matt and no scratches and no yellowness , dont bother about deep scratches adn stone marks , they are there to stay but wont be visible when u r done , too deep to sand out !!!

2, machine polish 3m compound equal to 1200 grit
this will make it look like mild foggy ,
do this till u dont see any sand paper marks , it will look like deep swirls and little shiny when u are done

3. then did 3m 2500 grit machine polish ,
this will make it shine and u will see 80% shine back with lots of swirls

4. then did 3m 3000 grit ulrtrafine polish
this will make no notable difference in shine but will make swirls less

5. then did 3m swirl remover polish
this will remove swirls and gloss will be back ,

6 .then did 3m wax polish
this will improve gloss about 20% and uv protection for limited amount

:P
came out perfect high gloss , mirror like shine ,
i wud recommend just keep gud care of headlights after this and use car cover or use good quality head light bra ( no expirience on headlights but we have used 3m bras with great results over time ) they do tend to tun yellow after 4 years in sunny states and after 1.5 - 2 years in snowy states where salt is used ,
but not bad for saving 500$ headlight ,

i think its just that top layer of plastic goes bad , i didnt see any layers on top , as it wud show layer difference when u sand it , its basically polished plastic from factory and u just have to polish it again , mine were so bad they looked yellow from 30 ft away in any kind of light and now they look new

a little bit of dust goes inside the headlight too so they still look 10% less then new ,
u can see in the pics , there is foggyness in the polished headlight on the top where parking bulb is , its actually dust on inside ,
its gone on left side when i opened it up for tab repair and cleaned it and waxed it , its perfect now , the right one is gonna be done when i get time , all these kits are just ultrafine polishes and wax , they just polish it to shine and then wax fills up all swirls that are left , i tried 3m headlight kit its gud but this procedure work wonders, i work at body shop and we always tend to polish these the way i did and the result is always ear to ear smile ,
just skip the compound if its not deeply scratched ,

i gud polisher will charge around 50-70$ for this will will be worth it and if there isnt much damage to ur headlight , it will put ear to ear smile on your face ,
and since there is no temporary layer on plastic to make it shine , this procedure will make it last at long as new headlight will under the same conditions
start at 2500 grit polish if there is just yellowness

just my few cents :P
cheers

 

Looks good! Sounds like the same process. The Sylvania kit does a 400, 1000, and then 2000 grit sand paper process.
But what I like about their process is they have a presoak chemical, used twice, then at the end a UV Laquer. That final stage made all the difference. I haven't found that in any other kit. The Laquar was thick and went on perfectly. If it stands the test of time and the elements it's more than worth $19.99!!!!!

The lens assemblies look brand new.

 

I own a body shop, and this is exactly what we do, except after the sanding, we put clear coat (same stuff which goes on body panels) on them, and that lasts a long time, and you don't have to keep buffing it periodically.

 

Thats what I do with the clear. Only I wet sand with 400 then spray the clear.

 

I ordered the lense restoration kit for my 05 S type Jag from the TV and what a waste of money. They made it look so easy on TV with some lady doing it but she
must have been a weight lifter in real life because I put extra elbow grease into it and still the results after 3 applications were unsatisfactory. I will try the Turtle Wax and see how it works..anything will be an improvement. Thx for the tip.

 

3M FTW

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/e...ics-wow-42119/

After your done with that slap some sealant on there:

BlueMagic

After you are done with the 3M product, the factory top layer of protection IS taken off so you need a sealant.