Film on headlight plastic

Any recommendations for removing the film from plastic headlights. My garage recommended T-Cut but it doesn't seem to make much difference. Googling gets me to kits which seem to use some serious abrasives and I'm a bit scared to try that route. Any products/tricks that you know of ?

Reply to
Jim S
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3M make a kit for this, but it's not that cheap (cheaper than new headlights though)

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Reply to
Chris Bartram

I complained at the garage which supplied the car - they made a major improvement at no charge during a service. As I see it, they have not used a suitable material to make them in the first place.

Reply to
polygonum

Kind of reminds me of a long long time ago when cycle lamps were just a bulb in a box with a battery and the windows used to go yellow in the sun almost overnight. Many people just used bits of old transparent packaging cut to fit! It worries me that after all this time things are still substantially the same in this area. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Which T-Cut did you use? The original designed for solid colours is probably the best. Or any metal polish like Brasso.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I found Brasso useless for this purpose. Simply did not cut into the plastic enough to make any difference other than removing the remaining dirt from the surface.

Reply to
polygonum

It's a fine abrasive. Obviously, the 'film' on the lens goes quite deep, so probably easiest to start with a coarser abrasive to shift the layer then graduate to finer and finer. Just as you'd do with car paint. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

If it is just on the surface - try wetting a finger tip, running that across the surface and if it then seems to clear, then - Try Brasso, tooth paste or metal polish.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

It was a tube of 'scratch remover' - not the can of runny stuff I have used in the past. The garage suggested T-cut in preference to Brasso as something to do with its ammonia content.

Reply to
Jim S

Well they would do, wouldn't they? :-)

Reply to
Frank Erskine

I've tried the toothpaste method and the rough side of a foam pan scrub. Limited success.

Reply to
Mr Pounder

Not enough. Tried them all. They all seem to start doing something but do not, IME, cut deeply enough to polish out the damage in a finite time.

Reply to
polygonum

Then you need to start with a coarser abrasive. As I said, it's just like polishing up new car paint.

Something like 1000 grade wet or dry used wet would be a good starting point. If that is also too fine move to a grade coarser.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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