I've got an 02' WRX wagon. It's got 53000K miles on it and running like a champ. However my headlights have a film on the covers. No matter how clean I try and get it, it still has a glossy look. Any remedys out there? O Yeah I also live in the mountains, could road salt be a factor?

 

I had the same problem show up on my 03 WRX last summer. The problem is oxidation at the surface of the clear plastic. I used Meguiar's Deep Crystal System Step 2 Polish, buffing well over the entire headlight cover. It removed ALL of the oxidation and did not mar the lens surface. Looked clean as crystal. I finished the job with carnauba wax.

Last week I purchased Meguiar's plastic polish & cleaner. Comes as two products in two small plastic bottles. I'd recommend using this product because unlike the polish above, it's designed specifically for things like headlight covers and boat windows. Haven't tried it yet, though.

 

Hey thanks a bunch.. I'll try it out. Thanks for your help.

 

I've tried the Mequires plastic cleaner but it doesn't seem to remove the oxidation... maybe I need to whack it with a buffing wheel or something...

 

Did you try the plastic polish, too? It's polish that you need to take off the top layer of oxidized plastic. When I used the Step 2 polish it took a lot of small circular passes before the hazed plastic came off. Took a while because I didn't let the polish dry and kept reapplying... maybe 45 minutes to do both headlight covers. What you are doing is polishing and resurfacing the plastic, like the military does when they buff out windscreens on aircraft.

 

Yeah, I believe I used the 1 step cleaner/polish (in white spray thing)... I only spent a minute on it, so that's probably the problem =)

 

I tried out the Meguiar's Clear Plastic Cleaner and the Clear Plastic Polish on the bug eyes last night. I haven't used these products before. I gave the headlight covers a good cleaning with a damp rag before starting. There was pittting present from the usual road debris, some areas of noticeable dulling on the surface and a little lack of gloss on all of the surface. They didn't look too bad for 50K miles because I cleaned these up with another Meguiar's paint polish last summer, when they were looking nasty.

The Meguiar's plastic polish and cleaner works. Like you said, the Clear Plastic Cleaner (white bottle) is used first, followed by the Clear Plastic Polish (blue bottle).

I applied the stuff repeatedly using cotton terrycloth rags. I took about 10 minutes per product on each light. The more you work this stuff, especially the Clear Plastic Cleaner, the better the result.

It didn't take out all of the pits left in the surface of the plastic, but the hazing or filmy look is gone. The bugeyes look very clear and shiny now. From four feet away they look like new.

 

Good to know. I'm make sure I get both the cleaner and polish, and will hit 'em again. Thanks!

 

Hey thanks you guy's! you did all the foot work, I'm going tonight to get the cleaner and polish. Thank you for all the input. Remember- your car goes faster when it's clean..

 

Well, I dug up some Mequires #17 plastic cleaner, and it did the trick. Even without using the polish (kragens doesn't carry either). They look like brand new from a couple feet away.

http://www.meguiars.com/store_meguia...M-17&store=meg