Headlights / driving lights

[therieldeal]

Like most I'm sure, the headlights on my 89 are REALLY yellowed. I cant see shit!

I'm curious if its worth the $60-70 or so to buy a brand new pair of headlights on ebay... or if I should just get some $20 aftermarket driving lights to tie in with my high beams. I'm adding some yellow fog lights to tie in with my low beams regardless.

[daniel3507]

try using Mothers Chrome Polish on the headlights. I had yellow headlights and tried it and they look like new now.

[therieldeal]

I've tried that tactic before on escort headlights with very limited success. I suppose that is the cheapest option though... maybe it's a different plastic that will work a bit better. I'll give it a shot.

[rangerbum]

I actually used some Black Magic engine detailer or whatever funky name they got. It worked pretty good. I think that what really matters is the effort you put into it. I rubbed the living crap out of my lights. I guess my suggestion is to be a little bit abrasive in your scrubbing!

[fastpakr]

I don't remember what polish I've used in the past, but I did have good success with getting rid of the yellowing on several different cars that way. Clean them up - no reason to replace.

For what it's worth, HID has gotten a LOT cheaper over the last year. If you want to look at increased light output, check out www.ddmtuning.com. They have a great reputation and are a fraction of the price this stuff cost not long ago. You can save the $60 from replacing the headlights and put it towards that.

[therieldeal]

not really interested in HID... just need to see where the heck i'm going lol! with brand new lights on the escort it was an incredible difference, i'll see how well i can do with the polishing.

[4x4junkie]

If the lights are reeeaaallly hazed over, it might take a bit of time to polish them to where they're crystal-clear, but it can be done.

This is the stuff I use:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/wcsstore/jcwhitney/images/imagecache/I_279604_SW_1.jpg (http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10101/s-10101/p-100000353593/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000353593/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000353593)

[therieldeal]

i have a bottle of that stuff! somewhere...

i bought it to try and buff out the scratched screen on my ipod. i'll give that a shot.

[Wicked_Sludge]

two words: wet. sanding.

the headlights on my red escort were BAD. bad enough i drove around with the high beams on all the time and noone ever flashed me. removed the lights from the car (so you can really put your wrist into it) and spent a few hours wet sanding them, then polished them with regular car wax....the difference was night and day. a power buffer for whatever polishing compound you use is a must.

[caveman_joey]

Hey yall i'm just a newbie but i tried the mothers plastic polish on my yellowed headlights and it helped for a bit then i tried a tip i saw on the TV. Use just plain ole dollar store tooth paste and a terry towel or terry buffer pad on a drill and it works just as good as the specialty stuff. Hope this helps any cheap skates like me out there.

[daniel3507]

two words: wet. sanding.

the headlights on my red escort were BAD. bad enough i drove around with the high beams on all the time and noone ever flashed me. removed the lights from the car (so you can really put your wrist into it) and spent a few hours wet sanding them, then polished them with regular car wax....the difference was night and day. a power buffer for whatever polishing compound you use is a must.

wet sanding actually works really well. me and my buddy did it to the headlights and his camaro ss. they were pretty messed up but after wet sanding and polishing it looked better. they have kits out there to do it if you dont feel comfortable just going at it

[RobbieD]

Use just plain ole dollar store tooth paste and a terry towel or terry buffer pad on a drill and it works just as good as the specialty stuff. Hope this helps any cheap skates like me out there.

That's how I do mine, and it works great.