Cleaning headlights that don’t need repair

Coatingsarecrack

Coatingsarecrack

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Hey Mike,

My headlights are in good shape, no yellowing or major scratches. That being said i feel like their is dirt and roadfilm washing wont get off.

What would you suggest? My initial thoughts are to clay and then just a cleanser wax like p21s paintwork clenser.....

Thanks


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Try Meguiars PlastX by hand with either a foam or microfiber/terry applicator. It’s perfect for that.
 
in most cases, a simple cleaner wax does wonders...by that i do mean a slight abrasive wax ( MEQUIARS CLEANER WAX ).
 
I normally use whatever finishing polish I’m using on the paint to clean up the headlights. Don’t want to be aggressive and remove the factory UV coating. If that’s gone already then a full restore is in order and should be sprayed afterwards with new clear coat.
 
Light polish and seal them up or use an all in one. Won't hurt them. You're not going to remove the UV protection with a basic light polish.
 
Only light Polish i have on hand is essence. Seens kinda abrasive. Is their a particular brand of cleaner wax recommended?


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Coatingsarecrack said:
Only light Polish i have on hand is essence. Seens kinda abrasive. Is their a particular brand of cleaner wax recommended?
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Essence is perfect. Not too abrasive at all. I use it to polish out tail light all the time. You're just using it to clean up the road film/stains correct? Regardless of what you use if you're simply doing that, it's fine. The UV Coating is something that is far thicker than polish alone is going to remove. You'd have to sand it down to get past it.

You'll be good.
 
Coatingsarecrack said:
Only light Polish i have on hand is essence. Seens kinda abrasive. Is their a particular brand of cleaner wax recommended?


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It’s not that abrasive. Has a cut of 2 out of 10 from the CarPro line up. You would be fine. You could always just use Essence Plus on a foam finish pad and let the pad do any cut.
 
Thanks all. Will probably give essence a try and then finish up with that blackfire pro plex.


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Are you coating them car? If yes, then use Essence and coat with the same product you’re using on the paint. My lights all got cleaned up with Essence and have 2 coats of UK and a coat of Gliss. Beads just like the paint :)
 
BSoares said:
Are you coating them car? If yes, then use Essence and coat with the same product you’re using on the paint. My lights all got cleaned up with Essence and have 2 coats of UK and a coat of Gliss. Beads just like the paint :)
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I do have about 10 mils of Cquk3 left.... or for that matter a bunch of coating lites i gotta plow through... so Essence then coat?

Again my lights still have factory uv coat. You can ceramic coat over it?


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Coatingsarecrack said:
I do have about 10 mils of Cquk3 left.... or for that matter a bunch of coating lites i gotta plow through... so Essence then coat?

Again my lights still have factory uv coat. You can ceramic coat over it?

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Of course! Your paint has cc and you coat that. People coat PPF. Protect the protection. Not sure how long non-dedicated coatings last on headlights but it’s only going to help extend their life.
 
So i ordered p21s total paint cleanser to start least aggressive. Also want to test out on coated panel to see if it will remove contamination w/o hurting coating.

The meguiars plastx looks like it would be more aggressive so that or Essence will be plan B.

Will coat with CqUk3 or PBL surface coating once polished.

Thanks all,


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I didn’t mention but I use Coating Prep Polish (zero abrasives, cleaner) for newer headlights because I’m afraid of any abrasives compromising the manufacturer’s UV protection.
 
acuRAS82 said:
I didn’t mention but I use Coating Prep Polish (zero abrasives, cleaner) for newer headlights because I’m afraid of any abrasives compromising the manufacturer’s UV protection.
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That was my thought. What prep do you use? I have essence which does have some cut. Thats why that and meguiars plastx are plan B and the paint cleanser was plan A as it has no abrasives.


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Coatingsarecrack said:
That was my thought. What prep do you use? I have essence which does have some cut. Thats why that and meguiars plastx are plan B and the paint cleanser was plan A as it has no abrasives.
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I have PBL, M37 and DP Coating Prep Polishes. I have always used PBL or M37 prior to my headlight coatings or whatever coating lite I’m using. And I typically wipe it on by hand, lightly with a foam applicator. Using Essence with a no-cut-pad would be fine. But when you have non-abrasive prep polish, might as well use it first.
PlastX I only use on old headlights due to its abrasives, albeit light.
 
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