[tazz]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

It's called Plast-X and it's from Meguiar's. I have some and I've found it is not very effective for deeply UV damaged headlights (where the clearcoat has failed and either yellowed, or begun to wear off). The abrasive is just too mild to be effective. What I've done when I've polished headlight lenses for other people is wet sand with 600 grit wet-dry sandpaper, and go all the way up to 1500 grit. Then I take out my Hitachi rotary polisher and use Menzerna auto polish (P091L aka Intensive Polish) which is actually meant for polishing paint to polish out the haze. Keep in mind that without the protection of a clear coat layer, the lenses will weather and degrade much faster than when they were new. You can paint the lenses with clearcoat once they're restored, but the good stuff needs curing with a UV lamp.

There are other kits available in the auto parts store, some of which include a mechanical abrasive (Mother's, 3M, Permatex) and some which are purely chemical (the one you can buy at Napa, dunno what it is called but all you do is paint it on). I've found that my method produces the quickest and best results, but requires a rotary polisher, which most people don't have.

You could probably turn this into a business. Perhaps you should hit a few parking lots.
(Maybe you already have?)

[DavieJ89]

Originally Posted by AA702

There is something you can buy called Plastix from any auto parts stores. Its basically a plastic cleaner for headlights that are dulled. You can try that first and see what happends.

I had a bottle of that Plastix when I lived in Orlando, and sadly forgot to bring it with me when I moved out here. It was somewhat effective but after awhile my headlights only got worse

Nissan isn't exactly the best quality when it comes to plastics and auto glass (their windshields are horrible for showing streaks and fogging up SUPER easily) as yellow fogged headlights have been an issue since I bought the car two years ago

I had also used a headlight cleaning kit from Turtle Wax which was $10 at Auto Zone in Orlando, which was somewhat effective but by about 8 weeks later they were back to their normal yellow selves just like the Plastix

I think Im going to have somebody just clean them for me since the stuff I bought obviously didnt work and only made them worse. My car being in Florida its whole life and now being out here in Las Vegas, the sun has been pretty hard on it, so I imagine the clearcoat on the headlights is pretty damaged or worn

Thats just one more expense I have now

[AA702]

Yes it works for mild yellowing, but if its bad, you will have to wet sand it and use a buffer to polish it back. If that doesn't work, then its time to get some aftermarket headlights which will be much cheaper than the factory stock. I bought some for my F150 at 1/3 the price of the dealer. But the sun does do its damage to plastic out here.

[las vegas drunk]

As you know, I put on a HID retrofit on my car to combat the yellowed lights on my Escort. You have seen how bright they are. I looked it up and they are very cheap for your car.

Nissan Altima HID Xenon Converstion Kit 2002 2003 2004 - eBay (item 280464016552 end time Jan-07-11 01:46:14 PST)

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I keeping getting strange guys who want to charge me anywhere from $25-$80 to clean my headlights

When I went to the Palms job fair, a man in the parking lot urged me to stop and told me it was illegal to have yellow (mine are still pretty clear though) headlights, and he offered to charge $80 to clean them. I told him I didnt have it and tried to drive off. He RAN after me and said "Hey come back here"

I was able to lose him luckily as he was a pretty scary looking guy.

Is it really against the law in NV to have yellow headlights?

Mine are somewhat cloudy but they are still pretty clear, and not anywhere NEAR as yellow as some other cars I see on the road

$80? You can buy a pair of new headlights for that price.

[DavieJ89]

I know now I am only dreaming, but back when I purchased my car I was seriously considering buying these

Car Part Wholesale - Auto Parts and Accessories Catalog - Anzo Driver And Passenger Side Headlight - Chrome housing, Plastic lens, Projector, DOT, SAE approved, composite, direct fit, with bulbs

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by VLWH

$80? You can buy a pair of new headlights for that price.

No, you can't. The only thing you can buy that cheap are a pair of sealed-beam headlights at the auto parts store, and nothing decent built in the last 20 years uses those anymore. Prices for new headlight lenses for a 2003 Altima range from $100-$270/pair online, and that was for non-OEM parts. I'm sure the dealer would charge closer to $400 for both.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by las vegas drunk

As you know, I put on a HID retrofit on my car to combat the yellowed lights on my Escort. You have seen how bright they are. I looked it up and they are very cheap for your car.

Keep in mind that HID conversion kits are:

1) Not DOT approved, so they are illegal to use on public roads

2) The reflector for a halogen bulb is designed for a filament bulb, not the arc of an HID bulb. That's which is why all these sh*tty cars with aftermarket HIDs **** off oncoming drivers who are getting a big dose of glare in their eye.

3) You will lose your high beams if your car uses a single bulb with two filaments for high/low beams, since you can't modulate the output of an HID. You would need your high beams to be on a separate bulb, or a projector beam with a shade that actually blocks the light output - but then again, the reflector is the wrong shape for an HID since it was designed for a halogen bulb.

[gregoo]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I had a bottle of that Plastix when I lived in Orlando, and sadly forgot to bring it with me when I moved out here. It was somewhat effective but after awhile my headlights only got worse

Nissan isn't exactly the best quality when it comes to plastics and auto glass (their windshields are horrible for showing streaks and fogging up SUPER easily) as yellow fogged headlights have been an issue since I bought the car two years ago

I had also used a headlight cleaning kit from Turtle Wax which was $10 at Auto Zone in Orlando, which was somewhat effective but by about 8 weeks later they were back to their normal yellow selves just like the Plastix

I think Im going to have somebody just clean them for me since the stuff I bought obviously didnt work and only made them worse. My car being in Florida its whole life and now being out here in Las Vegas, the sun has been pretty hard on it, so I imagine the clearcoat on the headlights is pretty damaged or worn

Thats just one more expense I have now

Walmart will clean them for $39.95. It takes 1 hour and oh my God they look new. Mine was so bad. Also gives more light.

[Danknee]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

Keep in mind that HID conversion kits are:

1) Not DOT approved, so they are illegal to use on public roads

2) The reflector for a halogen bulb is designed for a filament bulb, not the arc of an HID bulb. That's which is why all these sh*tty cars with aftermarket HIDs **** off oncoming drivers who are getting a big dose of glare in their eye.

3) You will lose your high beams if your car uses a single bulb with two filaments for high/low beams, since you can't modulate the output of an HID. You would need your high beams to be on a separate bulb, or a projector beam with a shade that actually blocks the light output - but then again, the reflector is the wrong shape for an HID since it was designed for a halogen bulb.

+1

You are blinding everybody. Without a projector lens there is no cutoff on those HIDs. Check out an example here.