I wet sanded my friend's corolla today.
The thing i used:
800, 1000, and 2500 grit sandpaper
3M rubbing compound
Meguiar's Plastx
and a bucket of water.

here is before.


i started with 800 grit, then 1000 grit and 2500 grit sand paper.


I used those sandpaper for about 12 minutes for each grit. Make sure to keep the headlight wet.
Here is what it looks like after the 2500 grit



and applying 3M's rubbing compound.


i cleaned the headligh with Invisible Glass, and apply Meguiar's Plastx (plastic cleaner and polish)
Here is the finish product.



if you having trouble find those 2500 grit sandpaper, you can use 2000 grit.
I got those 2500 from Crystal View Headlight Restorer Kit($18.50) that i used on my friend's 99 Altima.
Since the sandpaper are reusable, i just ask my friend to buy the Meguiar's Plastx.
These Corolla headlight wasn't as bad as my buddy's Altima. Altima took me about 1hr. and this Corolla took me about 45 minutes.

here is a link to Crystal View Headlight Restorer Kit. My buddy's Altima headlight look exactly like that car. LOL He need highbeam to read street signs.

 

good ish ive been wanting to do this to my dads headlights on his dodge dakota but wasnt quite sure if this technique was going to work...

will try tomorrow

 

HID's would of solved the problem..

they came out looking great, good job man

 

thank you for the kind words.
If you look at the front bumpers from 'before' and 'after'
Those white power are oxidized plastic from the headlight that i sanded off.

 

woa thats a lot of oxidation lol... when you applied the plastix did u do it by hand, or did you use some kind of power tool?

 

i applied the Plastx by hand

 

Good job. results look great!

 

New here. Plz explain what an HID is.????
Thanks.

 

It was a joke. HIDs are High Intensity Discharge lamps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-in...discharge_lamp

 

Great job! That was a huge improvement.

 

Wow, Old thread. Does the OP even post here still?

I'm wondering how long the Plastx holds up before the headlights start yellowing again. I did the same thing to my headlights but used clear coat before polishing them. 8 months later and they've started to yellow again. I just purchased a UV protectant clear coat and was wondering if I should just go with PlastX.

 

i am still around. PlastX doesn't last long. I re-sand the headlight in about 6 six months.

 

i just did this to my tC which needed some care. came out really really good. i was not expecting results like this...

 

They make something else for that too. I can't think of the name right now though.

 

nice job Yanki01, i am going to get the Meguiar's restoration kit too.