OT Headlights on Intrepid

[Tom N MS]

Got new headlights on my car as a result of a fender bender. Now that they are crystal clear is there anything I can coat them with to keep them pretty and clear...I know they sell those $40+ kits to redo old headlights so they claim that the coating put on new ones will not last..Or what about just a coat of good Mother's car wax while I am waxing the rest of the car....Thanks
Note: I ruined the others myself when I put a strong cleaner on them back during love bug season a couple of years ago.

 

[Mark Pearce]

Tom,
Just a mild soap to clean them is fine. Any headlight will get faded and scratched up with time. I have a 2000 Dodge Caravan and my lights were so faded and scratched I was going to buy new ones. Yep was gonna buy new ones till I found out it was gonna be like three hunnerd bucks. So I went and bought a buffing wheel that my drill could spin. I used 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper and sanded the headlight surface in one direction only, side to side. After I felt good about my sanded lights I buffed em with a product called Kit Scratchout. Kit Scratchout cost a few bucks at walley world so I bought two bottles. Only had to use one bottle and I buffed both my headlights to look like new again. I suppose if you used Kit Scracthout on em every six months or so you will be good for our lifetime.

Mark.......

 

[Tom N MS]

Thanks. Mine were really bad. I had tried some restoration and they would look better for only a few days. I had found replacement headlights on flebay for about $210.00(for the pair). In the meantime a woman driver ran out in front of me the other day so they got replaced.Of course she had no inshance so most likely my ins. will go up.

 

[bradk]

I've found that a good car wax works well.Works on car paint/clearcoat which is essentially plastic.

 

[Tom N MS]

Thanks. Didn't want to do anything that would be the wrong thing to do and cause them to cloud prematurely.

 

[Hobo,NC]

What engine ya got in yer caravan,,, I have a 2000 3.0 luv it Sept I have to werk on it every now and again,,, ran a 90 caravan 300K,,, kept it a year 2 long,,, it got into my pocket book rite strong the last year we drove it

Well you know them dag burn dealers,,, the gal I got the 2000 caravan took it to the dealer,,, they skeered her so bad bout all the werk it needed she brought a new'n,,, she was skeered to drive the wore out caravan off the lot,,, I got it rite cheap,,,I paid 2500 less than the pay off on her loan,,,Well yes I felt sorta bad about it BUT she was the one that did not look after her investment not me,,,, $400 later i got it back in top condition,,, spent a day cleaning it,,, rite many happy meals had been ate in it,,, 2 this day I have to fight it from make'in a turn into the drive thru at Mcdonalds,,, damm thang has been trained

 

[Davy Fireball]

i saw on tv (you know one of those car fix it shows on SUNDAY)they said if you rub tooth paste on it that that would polish it. never tried it

 

[geneIA]

My 91 caravan had headlights so bad it was hard to see at night. We live out in the boonies where dodging deer is a daily accurence. I went to ebay and ordered a set of HID conversion kits for about $80.00. I installed them in about 15 minutes and I cant believe how bright my lights are now. You can see the ditches on both sides like daylight and deer are much easier to spot. I would recommend these bulbs to anyone. I got 4300k bright white bulbs.

 

[Tom N MS]

Might work especially on those that are not too bad.
Thanks

 

[Tom N MS]

Thanks for the info. Mine were the worst I have ever seen but was my fault..Like a dummy, I listened to someone who said you could put crisco oil on the front of your car to keep the love bugs from sticking. Well I always overdo everything I do. I coated it good then had to leave my car all day in a parking lot in 100 degree weather.. That mess cooked on it and I thought I had ruined the car..I scrubbed inch by inch on the front of that car and thought I was removing the clear coat as I went. Next time I will just smear some car wax and let it look weird but at least I know it works and won't hurt anything.

 

[Barry in ON]

At my shop we polish the headlights with a foam buffing pad on a buffer and a fine liquid rubbing compound. After we wet sand with 1000 grit paper. They look better than new but we have found nothing that we can use to keep them that way forever.
Barry

 

[Tom N MS]

Thanks. I normally wax them like I do the rest of the car, so that's probably as good as I can do. Thanks again.