EK Civic Headlight Restoration
Hey guys,
I noticed after quite a few months of daily exposure to the elements, the plastic headlights on my gf's EK Civic were pretty heavily oxidized and needed a bit of TLC. Apart from looking ugly, I noticed that the light projected at night was getting quite dim, especially in wet weather.
I've put this thread together, detailing the steps that I took to clear up the 'cloudiness' which often results as a result of prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. I also experienced this with my S15 and noticed that a lot of grey imports from Japan often have yellowing, cloudy and faded headlights. I hope that some of you will benefit from this or at least find it interesting....:)
First, here are a few shots of the headlights just after I washed down the car and hand dried it.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0982.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0984.jpg
This photo really highlights just how bad it can look from some angles...
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0985.jpg
Depending on how bad the condition of the lights are, you can choose to either use a light abrasive compound combined with hand application via a microfibre towel or suitable hand applicator or a stronger abrasive compound with a suitable polishing pad applied by machine. In this instance, I've chosen to restore the headlights with a Random Orbital machine and a mixture of pads and compounds to acheive the desired result.
My next step was to tape up the surrounds. I used a low-stick 3M masking tape (also known as 'blue tape' or 'painter's tape') to ensure that it would come off without leaving any sticky adhesive residue behind or worse, lifting any of the paintwork along with it.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0986.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0987.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0989.jpg
Next, I used what was left over of my Meguire's clay bar and some Dodo Juice - Born Slippy clay bar lubricant to effectively remove any surface contaminants on the headlights. You could already tell the difference once the contaminants were removed.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0990.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0991.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0994.jpg
Now that we had a clean surface to work with, it was time to bring out the machine! For this particular job I opted to use my Festool ETS 150/5 Random Orbital polisher.
To remove as much of the yellowy, cloudy oxidation as possible I chose to use a high cut 6" Festool wool pad in combination with some Menzerna Power Finish PO 203S.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0997.jpg
The result, as can be seen by the following photo was indredible...
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1001.jpg
To finish it off nicely, I used a 6" Festool Finishing Pad in combination with Menzerna Final Finish Hi Cut PO106FF just to give it a final finishing polish and glossy look.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1000.jpg
I was extremely happy with the results.
Before:
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0982.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_0985.jpg
After:
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1003.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1007.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1008.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1009.jpg
To ensure the longevity of this new crystal clear finish, I protected the headlights with a very thinly applied light coating of carnauba wax. Weapon of choice for this mini DIY project was Dodo Juice - Rainforest Rub applied lightly with a foam applicator, allowed to haze for 5-10 minutes, then carefully removed with a soft, plush microfibre cloth. Coz I'm anal, I applied a second very light coat 24 hours later just to ensure added protection and to help the water bead of it nicely in the wet.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1010.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1011.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1012.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1013.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1014.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...o/IMG_1015.jpg
All up, the job took me about 30-45 minutes, but standing back and looking at the finished results it was definately worth the effort put in. Along with the added protection, it will be quite a while till I'll have to revisit the headlights again.
I hope that you guys found this useful and if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.
Cheers,
Lionel.
