jaykaylay Neutral Newbie January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 Hi big bros here, just gotten a COE car which headlights are yellowish and would like to restore to it's former glory. I would like to know where best to go for headlights restoration. If possible preferably in the west! Thank you so much! ↡ Advertisement 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arogab Turbocharged January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 Bro, I donno how serious is it. Probably you can try DIY with toothpaste if not serious or you may even use Autosol to polish it 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volvobrick Supersonic January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 Some kits are available including the most important sealer to protect against UV after polishing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
awhtc 6th Gear January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 There are a few in Carousell who can help to polish. I have not tried the service as I bought a set of new headlights to replace them on my COE car (planning to change them either this or next year). You have to repolish every few years to maintain if you polish them. A trick I learn now is not to use a dirty cloth to wash the headlights as the transparent plastic on the headlight is quite soft. Once scratched, the headlights will turn yellow quite fast. The rear lights are made of glass, hence they are more durable. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optramagnum 6th Gear January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 Other than clear coating, you can consider installing PPF to protect the headlights. It should outlast your COE.. And it can defend against small stones and turning yellowish.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartbreakid 6th Gear January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 For my example, I tried methods like toothpaste, headlight polish and UV protection paste using a polishing machine. The after polishing condition only last for a few months before the "cloudiness" of the lense came back. The yellowish condition was unable to be reconditioned because the material already aged. In the end, I bought a set of lens online and replace it. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobayashiGT Internal Moderator January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 2 hours ago, jaykaylay said: Hi big bros here, just gotten a COE car which headlights are yellowish and would like to restore to it's former glory. I would like to know where best to go for headlights restoration. If possible preferably in the west! Thank you so much! You can consider this mobile groomer. https://www.facebook.com/Gusto.ap Their world is attention to detail. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watwheels Supersonic January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 Autobacs sell the restoration kit. You go there enquire whether you could pay them to do it for you when you buy the kit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beregond Supersonic January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 The turtle brand head light restorer with coating is good Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comage 5th Gear January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 I done such restoration work myself on my COE car. You can outsource it but I have yet to see any detailer do a good job of it. It takes at least a couple of hours and almost half a day's work to perform a good job of it. You could in theory do it yourself without any power tools, but I suppose many will tell you not to waste such time on such trivial things. Things you need to know: 1. Toothpaste does not work - not at least without a post-treatment coating applied like UV protective clear coat. 2. You need to sand the headlights as pre-prep work - with different sandpaper grits - this is the part that takes up the bulk of the time. 3. If the plastic is already yellowed - you will not be able to restore it to "100% former glory". Don't believe those fb posts where it goes from yellow to perfect clarity - those involve cracking the headlights open and prepping the headlight casing from the inside. The moment you do that, you need to redo the waterproofing of the casing - easily another half-day job. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volvobrick Supersonic January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 If it is a popular model, maybe can just buy the lens cover, heat the headlights in an oven before popping open the lens cover and gluing in the new one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaykaylay Neutral Newbie January 19, 2022 Author Share January 19, 2022 So is headlight restoration by those car washing shops better or changing the whole lens by itself? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comage 5th Gear January 19, 2022 Share January 19, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, jaykaylay said: So is headlight restoration by those car washing shops better or changing the whole lens by itself? If you are only left with these 2 choices, better to change the whole headlight casing. If you dabble with the half-baked method of just swapping out the lens cover, you're going to have to deal with moisture problems later down the road unless you re-seal the lens casing. I restored once with normal acrylic clear coat paint (no UV protection), which lasted me 2+years before it went blurry again. Back then I was using sandpaper with various grits of 300, 1000/1500, then 2000/3000. So I re-did the restoration after 2.5years. This time round I used ceramic coating to seal in the lens after sanding. Still looks good after 6 months and counting... Edited January 19, 2022 by Comage 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobayashiGT Internal Moderator January 20, 2022 Share January 20, 2022 12 hours ago, jaykaylay said: So is headlight restoration by those car washing shops better or changing the whole lens by itself? Depends. if your headlight is only yellowish or cloudy due to oxidation, then grooming shop can help you polish away. They have polisher and also grooming shop grade abrasive paste that can work more easier. If your headlight have waterproofing issues, got water inside the headlight, then I will suggest you to change the whole headlight. headlight module replacement is not cheap. especially your car have HID DRL and all. halogen one is still alright. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mkl22 Twincharged January 20, 2022 Share January 20, 2022 10 hours ago, Comage said: If you are only left with these 2 choices, better to change the whole headlight casing. If you dabble with the half-baked method of just swapping out the lens cover, you're going to have to deal with moisture problems later down the road unless you re-seal the lens casing. I restored once with normal acrylic clear coat paint (no UV protection), which lasted me 2+years before it went blurry again. Back then I was using sandpaper with various grits of 300, 1000/1500, then 2000/3000. So I re-did the restoration after 2.5years. This time round I used ceramic coating to seal in the lens after sanding. Still looks good after 6 months and counting... what ceremic coat did you use? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comage 5th Gear January 20, 2022 Share January 20, 2022 (edited) 10 hours ago, Mkl22 said: what ceremic coat did you use? I just used the cheapest one on Lazada - a certain blue bottle 30ml brand with 9H grade (just search in Lazada "ceramic coating 9H" and you'll find it - I don't want to put the link up in case someone here accuses me of being an advertiser). Think I bought it for 1 bottle for $10 - then I realised they're all knockoff OEMs of each other with prices going down as low as $2/bottle. I wouldn't be too concerned about the brand since they all come from China and they're a dime-a-dozen in terms of quality. My first attempt at doing my own coating messed up really bad - I had streak marks all over the door panel as the Singapore weather was too warm and humid and the coating "flashes" really fast before I had finished applying 1 x door panel. But hey, even after 2 years, I still have the ugly streak-marks on my door so I know the coating lasts! Been trying to find time to compound out the ceramic coating and restore the paint job - but so far have only had time to remove the streaks on a couple of panels. Then I saw in a headlights restoration YouTube video that such coatings offer (simple) UV protection - and can be used in place of UV clear coat. So far, so good after 6 months. I'd post the images of my headlights before and after just to show that I'm not bulls**tting, but given that MCF folks here are so eagle-eyed and can probably identify my father/mother with just a headlight lens image, I guess I'll refrain from doing so... Edited January 20, 2022 by Comage 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaykaylay Neutral Newbie January 21, 2022 Author Share January 21, 2022 I went to a detailer and did the headlight restoration for $120, 2 hrs job. Was quite satisfied with it, will upload the before/after soon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic January 21, 2022 Share January 21, 2022 (edited) I did it own my own. Buy water proof abrasive paper, grit 400, 600, 800, 1500 and 2000 each. Cut them to smaller size. Spray paint lacquer clear coat (Good ones not MIC brand). Thrash bag to protect the car frontpaint work. 1. Use water proof paper 400 + water to remove the initial layer of the headlight till rather smooth. Best is use straight stroke as the initial layer of plastic will be very rough due to usage. Headlight plastic cover will be very dull and cloudy. 2. Continue with the remaining water proof paper 600 and so on so forth until the headlight plastic is really smooth. 3. When using 800-2000 grit paper, try to use circular motions to make the surface as even and smooth as possible. 4. Cover the headlight with the plastic thrasbag and cut according to the headlights shape and use masking tape to cover all expose cars paintwork around the headlight. 5. Make sure the headlight is free from water dust and water. 6. Spray the headlight with the clear coat. You will need to spray 3 layers of clear coat minimum. PS* I used a MIC spray paint and it dried like maps on the headlight....but its ok as it is very light and can only be noticed if you take a very close look. Thats why i suggested to buy a good spraypaint brand. It looks kinda new....better than the rough yellowish surface it once was. Total damage was less than $20 for both headlights and it gave ne a good exercise while using the abrasive papers. Edited January 21, 2022 by Evillusion ↡ Advertisement 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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