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Restoring headlights

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sinned4g63

Proven Member
320
86
May 1, 2017
Pasadena, Maryland
Purchaed a pair of used headlights for replacements but they are a bit foggy from the years and the seals ate dried and cracking. I wanted to sand and clearcoat them to make them look goo again but am still concerned about the seal. One is totally missing ut that will end up being a spare.
 

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Cerakote headlight restoration kit. Costs 25 bucks. Ceramic clear coat is the last step, works amazing.
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I was planning on just sanding it with different grits then I actually have protective clearcoat spray. Does that kit last indefinitely as well or would it eventually fade?
 
Depends what you use. When I removed the yellow corner on my 2g, it started getting moisture so I took it apart again and used black silicone which held up great. I’m sure there’s a specific glue you can use for it though
 
You can buy OE online for around 100 dollars. Gotta be careful which ones you get, some are crappy. The ceramic does last a long time and is UV protectant. People are starting to ceramic coat their entire car now, they even have a full car ceramic kit on the market from different manufacturers.

As for the leak inside the headlight you can put your headlight in the oven for a small amount of time (just enough to soften the glue) and carefully peel the lense off. Then you reseal it with an adhesive of your choice that is water and heat resistant.

If you are tight on money you can spend 25 on the ceramic kit and like 5-10 on some glue and fully seal and restore the headlight. If yours have flaws that cannot be remedied by this method I would get new ones if you have the money for it.

When I did the civic I noticed that there were hairline fractures in the plastic and it bugged me even though I was just testing the product on my finances new DD.

I have done the old way of sanding down and clear coating with a rattle can and i much prefer the cerakote method, it's super simple and quick and looks amazing. You can even ceramic coat your brand new headlights to keep them from fading.
 
I'll definitely look into one of those other kits then if they might work better. I got the headlight in today to get the fender on after doing the control arms (turns out the strut is good) and got everything lined up, just need to do the hood and find a bumper. But I can take it back out pretty easily on that side when the times comes.
 
Man.. I'm all for refurbing, but the OE replacements on amazon/anywhere online are like $80 shipped and are brand new.
I bought the entire front end off someone minus the bumper. Fenders, hood, core support, radiator (bonus), and the headlights. I only needed the passenger side because the driver side looks near new and $30 for the pair wasnt a deal I wanted to pass up for OEMs that need a little love.
 
Polishing is temporary it only last so long before you have to do it again. Also Polishing takes a mill or so off the surface each time you do it. While a clean, scuff and a good quality clear will add more mills to the surface of the headlight and last longer. Mine are going on 7 years and still look like the day they were cleared.
 
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