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Headlamp plastic restoration

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Old Jan 20th, 2018, 12:58   #1
nrobinson
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Default Headlamp plastic restoration

Hi

My Headlamps (2004 XC90) are a bit cloudy. I was going to have a go at restoring the plastic using some Meguiars PlastRX.

Has anyone done this before and can offer any tips. Might start with just with the PlastRX and a soft cloth before resorting to fine grade wet and dry.

I read somewhere that removing scratches and restoring the finish is only half the job and they actually have some form of special coating applied to them. Can anyone confirm.

Rgds

Nick
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Old Jan 20th, 2018, 15:54   #2
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Done a load of headlamps but not the XC90 yet. Used wet & dry then Farecla G3 and G10 then polish with a slight cutting compound and they came up like new
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Old Jan 20th, 2018, 16:01   #3
Delta66
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I tried the toothpaste tip, didn't work at all. Very fine grit, light pressure wet sanding, finished off with a polish did, but it was not perfect.
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Old Jan 20th, 2018, 18:39   #4
john langrick
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Hi, I bought a kit for mine, it included 1,000 2,000 and 4000 grit emery paper
. but most importantly a clear lacquer to spray over them. Without this final coating I guess the new finish will be short lived.

I am not sure what the make up is of this final item, but all the rest of components are readily available. It could well be the same stuff you spray after using touch up paint? Perhaps someone could advise?

Hope this helps

John l
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Old Jan 21st, 2018, 00:03   #5
gmonag
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You can use metal polish or a series of abrasive papers.

The most important thing is to seal the surface afterwards otherwise it will be just as bad in a month.
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Old Jan 21st, 2018, 11:00   #6
harvomark
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My lights just failed the MOT due to deterioration, brought a Turtle wax headlight restorer kit of Amazon for £10.25 now completely clear.
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Old Jan 21st, 2018, 12:48   #7
OriginalTDave
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nrobinson View Post
Hi

My Headlamps (2004 XC90) are a bit cloudy. I was going to have a go at restoring the plastic using some Meguiars PlastRX.

Has anyone done this before and can offer any tips. Might start with just with the PlastRX and a soft cloth before resorting to fine grade wet and dry.

I read somewhere that removing scratches and restoring the finish is only half the job and they actually have some form of special coating applied to them. Can anyone confirm.

Rgds

Nick

I have used the PlastRX on cleaning up Suzuki Grand Vitara headlights, it worked very well, but you need a reasonable amount of clean micro cloths to work with and also a fair bit of elbow work... Also found the PlastRX excellent at cleaning up the mega soft black external plastic trim used by RangeRover, it brings it back to a micro scratch free finish, but that is another story...
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