Headlight Lens Scratch Remover / Cover Up

[alschneider]

Greetings:

I did a search on this forum for headlight lens and found a lot about cleaning and polishing, but I could not find reference to a product that removed small fine scratches from a clear headlight lens.

I was replacing a bulb in my wifes car and scratched the lens during install. Not a deep scratch, but noticeable. I am hoping to get it taken care of before she notices.

Any pointers or recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you.

[TOGWT]

Removing Oxidation or scratches from Vehicle headlights, Brake lights (polycarbonate) –

Most vehicles now have a protective, transparent, plastic lens covering the headlights to protect expensive lamps (headlight assemblies range from 500-$700+) from flying stones and road debris. They discolour over time, becoming opaque and cloudy; these lenses can severely restrict the amount of light reaching the road.

The lens has a silicone-based coating applied to its outer surface, some manufacturers apply two different types of coatings to the outer surface of the lens, these coatings are mainly for UVR protection, but are also for impact and abrasion resistance, once the coating (s) fail the lens surface will occlude (clouding or yellowing)

While most of the cloudiness is on the surface, severely discoloured lens cannot be brought back to optical clarity. If you live in a southern state, this discoloration can become noticeable in as little as two-years

Application Methodology:

•Use a solvent type cleaner (Klasse All-In-One) if this does not remove the oxidation use a plastic polish

• Meguiar’s PlastX contains a microscopic diminishing abrasive, which requires a little pressure when applying it to enable these abrasives to remove the discoloured plastic and expose new plastic. Or Renovo Plastic Cleaner

•Plastic Cleaners can be used to clean and condition Perspex as well as flexible plastic but is not suitable for use on glass.

•Prior to application of a plastic polish ensure that the window is clean and free from dust particles by washing with a soft cloth and warm water.

•It is not advisable to use cleaning detergents on plastic.

•Shake the bottle thoroughly. Plastic polish can be hand or machine applied

•Using a random orbital buffer with a 3.5-inch backing plate and a 4-inch (LC White) polshing pad or a terry cloth applicator

•Place a small dab (about ½-inch diameter) of plastic polish on the foam pad or applicator.

•Place the pad on the lens surface and turn on the machine (speed #4)

•Polish the lens repeatedly in a left-to-right and an up and down pattern.

•Continue polishing until all the polish is gone

•Wipe the lens with a damp Microfiber towel

•Inspect the lens, repeat the polishing process 2-3 times as necessary

•Plastic polish will not remove clarity defects that are within the plastic but it will remove external/surface scratching and oxidation (yellowing)

JonM