Crystal View Headlight Restorer

[blake918]

The headlight lenses on my '99 LS were getting a little hazy. Jim (1990LS400) recommended that I try the Crystal View headlight kit on my car since he had great results using the kit on his car. I picked the kit up at Advance Auto today for $20. The tips that Jim gave me were basically to follow exactly what the directions tell you and mask off any painted areas so that you don't accidentally sand them too. I heeded Jim's advice and did exactly what the directions told me, and it worked even better than I had hoped! I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be sanding the headlights. My headlights almost look like brand new except for a spot on my passenger's side headlight, but I think that spot is burnt in on the inside. I did my fog lights too, and they improved drastically. Unfortunately, it was raining, so I couldn't pull the car out from under the covering to get better light for the pics. The pics.....

This what the kit comes with:

Driver's side headlight

Before:

After:

Passenger's side headlight

Before:

After:

[blake918]

Continued....

Fog lights

Before:

After:

[djspawn00]

I've gotten similar results from the meguiars platicx stuff but you're lights were not too bad to begin with at all... looks like that stuff can probably work wonders on worse looking headlights.

[BillyShaft]

wow!

That is quite the difference!

Thanks for the post, I will check into this myself when the time comes.

[blake918]

I've gotten similar results from the meguiars platicx stuff but you're lights were not too bad to begin with at all... looks like that stuff can probably work wonders on worse looking headlights.

I never tried any plastic polishes, but I did try SSR3 and a 3m rubbing compound, and they did almost nothing. I think the wet sanding is what made all the difference.

wow!

That is quite the difference!

Thanks for the post, I will check into this myself when the time comes.

Thanks for the compliments! I couldn't believe the difference! B)

A couple pictures with the headlights (looks like I need to get whiter high beams and fogs) on...

[smooth1]

Oh yeah, that looks much better! that last night shot I think really shows the clarity the best. Looks just like new.

[blake918]

Oh yeah, that looks much better! that last night shot I think really shows the clarity the best. Looks just like new.

Thanks! I certainly thought it was $20 well spent!

This is the first time I've washed the car since polishing the lights, and they are still looking great....

[cduluk]

did you use an orbital/machine or do it all by hand? The outcome looks pretty damn nice!

I usually just wet-sand with 800 to 1000 to 1500grit sandpaper and machine polish with 3M scratch remover and it does the trick. I could never imagine doing it all by hand, that would take forever!

[blake918]

did you use an orbital/machine or do it all by hand? The outcome looks pretty damn nice!

I usually just wet-sand with 800 to 1000 to 1500grit sandpaper and machine polish with 3M scratch remover and it does the trick. I could never imagine doing it all by hand, that would take forever!

Thanks! I did it by hand. It really didn't take long at all. Here's the break down for each light: less than 4 minutes of wet-sanding, 1 minute of polishing with rubbing compound, and then 1 minute applying the sealer coats.

[cduluk]

oh you cleared the headlight? You probably could have avoided the polishing step all together, the clear would have filled the little scratches from the sandpaper.

Let me know how the clear sealant stuff holds up, i might get some for my headlights <_< Did you spray it on with a spraycan?

[1990LS400]

oh you cleared the headlight? You probably could have avoided the polishing step all together, the clear would have filled the little scratches from the sandpaper.

Let me know how the clear sealant stuff holds up, i might get some for my headlights <_< Did you spray it on with a spraycan?

I don't know why anyone would want to ignore the Crystal View kit instructions and skip the polishing step -- unless one has an aversion to following instructions.

I suspect that the clear finish coat will hold up at least as well as the original clear coat on the headlights. The clear finish is obviously petroleum based and is applied in two steps with an applicator that comes with the Crystal View kit.

There doesn't seem to be any deterioration in the finish since I used the Crystal View kit four months ago. Attached is a photo of what one of the headlights looked like after I used the Crystal View kit. My headlights looked at least as bad as Blake's but I forgot to take "before" pics.

[cduluk]

There's no "special" UV coating or anything on the surface of the headlight plastic from the factory... The surface is just harder because it cures faster because it's on the surface.

After a while, the new surface you've exposed by wet-sanding and polishing will become hard and act just as it did before.

[1990LS400]

There's no "special" UV coating or anything on the surface of the headlight plastic from the factory... The surface is just harder because it cures faster because it's on the surface.

After a while, the new surface you've exposed by wet-sanding and polishing will become hard and act just as it did before.

Perhaps your RX is different that the LS -- I don't know. The headlights on an LS with plastic lenses look like they come from the factory with a clear coating on the lens surface. Crystal View does not work like Meguiars PlastX. Lenses polished with Meguiars PlastX will indeed fog up again after a few months and require polishing again with PlastX. The Crystal View clear coat is not just a sealant but is an actual clear vanish like substance and is applied in two coats.

[SW03ES]

The headlights definately have a UV coating from the factory...