Cheap way to clean plastic lenses?

[Deleted member 46822]

Ha! got you all to think not this question again:can:

Its a lens question but not lasers It's about the plastic headlight lenses on cars and the yellowing issue's.
Yes i'm a car guy but all of my rides have always had the glass lenses so I never had the need to try cleaning them. My friends car has this issue though and instead of paying $20 to $30 for a polishing kit or what not, i'm wondering if anyone has tried any home made remedy's like toothpaste or baking soda?

 

[Radim]

I would not try toth paste - some abrasive particles might be added there. Not sure about polish, but there are protection foils available for sport cars to protect them from stone hits AFAIK. Maybe this could help.

And I remember there is some polish based on nanotechnologies filling small scratches. Unfortunately I do not remember name of it.

 

[Encap]

Novus plastic polishes do a good job--just takes a little time and elbow grease.
Novus #3 followed up by Novus #2---actually the whole job can be done with #2 but #3 is faster.
Excellent products originally designed for polishing scratches out of polycarbonate fighter jet cockpit domes leaving an excellent optical quality surface.
#2 works great as a general plastic and gloss lacquer polish as well takes out all the micro scratches---leaves no residue.
Is not a wax of any kind--does not fill in scratch valleys to make a fake perfect finish just polishes out all the scratches so finish is perfect without any need for a wax of any kind.

See https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=novus+plastic+polish&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=241918805978&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11695879629843145890&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003497&hvtargid=kwd-300652012683&ref=pd_sl_4b5hhi1jci_e

 

[Richie89]

Ooooooh GSS what kind of car do you have

 

[Deleted member 46822]

Ooooooh GSS what kind of car do you have

It's actually for my friends Dodge Stratus and night time driving is hard for her and dangerous on top of that..
Richie, i'm old "55" and still kinda old school:shhh: and my daily drive is 2000 Buick Lesabre but since 1985ish I have a 1970 Buick GS 455 in a garage on stands.
Not a show car by any means, needs a trunk replacement and a front fender but otherwise solid, straight and clean.
Were you thinking being so young, maby a new 6.1 Charger, Boss Stang or ZL1 Camaro?

Encap, at $5 a bottle I just might go with the #2 and see from there:undecided:

 

[lasersbee]

Yeah... if you don't want to spend the $$ to
have someone polish the lenses then I'd go
with a good rubbing/polishing compound and
do it by hand rubbing the lenses.
The finer the compound the longer it will take
but the finish will be much smoother.

Jerry

 

[Deleted member 46822]

Yup, its going to take a little elbow grease no doubt..
I just don't believe "as seen on TV" adds products that you just wipe a cloth and done

 

[lasersbee]

"As seen on TV" products only work on TV...

Jerry

 

[paul1598419]

Why don't you get the new man boosting, award winning GNC product powered by testofen. It's as good as anything else you can buy on TV. I wonder why they use a black guy to promote that crap? Is that their target audience?

 

[Encap]

Encap, at $5 a bottle I just might go with the #2 and see from there:undecided:

If you are only going to get one Novus #2 is the one to get. You only use a little at a time on soft cloth not too wet--when it goes dry add more. Takes a little experimenting to use effectively

 

[paul1598419]

You know you can't use anything that takes scratches out of polycarbonate on a real lens, as it changes the way the lens refracts light. I wanted to try to use some on a pair of glasses when I was much younger. The ophthalmologist said you can't do it. Changes the prescription of the lenses. If you find yourself with scratches on an acrylic lens, it's better to replace it than try to repair it.

 

[CynicalBrad]

The little 3m lens polishing and restoration kit works wonders and IIRC cost ~$15

Found it on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-39164-Headlight-Restoration-Medium/dp/B012OE50BI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518320573&sr=8-1&keywords=3m+39164

Takes a few hours with some elbow grease but you could easily do a few sets of headlights with the contents of this little kit, just follow the directions to the "T" and you can get them from hazy to polished.
They also have a more expensive one that you throw in a drill chuck but you have to be careful to not burn the lenses.

 

[Deleted member 46822]

Why don't you get the new man boosting, award winning GNC product powered by testofen. It's as good as anything else you can buy on TV. I wonder why they use a black guy to promote that crap? Is that their target audience?

I'm curious to know what "Award Winning" even means? Do they have a "boner" award? I would love to try this GNC product on the car lenses, who knows the car might even get some more pep
Yes though, to many TV adds targeting ethnic groups, pretty disturbing. Cheap down payment car insurance for example showing to many minority's.

On this lens subject, very good idea's everyone and Cynical I didn't think of over heating and melting the lens if using a drill buffer.
Didn't end up ordering on ebay but i'm going with a Turtle Wax kit that go's for $10 or $11 and the majority of review's seem to like it.

 

[paul1598419]

The Award is from GNC, so big surprise there. Of course these crap products and services target minorities as they have a better chance of selling to people who have diminished incomes. I always get a kick out of Allstate's add for people getting a check back at the end of the premium period for not having an accident. Of course they are over charging their customers for accidents they haven't had yet and only refund the difference after six months if you don't have a claim. I prefer not to pay for an accident I haven't had yet.