I have a 98SE with just shy of 235,000 miles on her. So far I have had just a factory recall fix and a radiator that exploded due to age.

Now, knocking on wood and thanking God for what has not happened, a realize that at this age and miles, some basic things should be replaced simply due to age.

One of those things is the headlamps. Not the bulbs mind you-those get replaced. I am talking the damn plastic covers that seem to fade year after year. Why those are plastic and the fog lights are glass I will never understand.

So decent sources that won't break the bank? "Cleaning" them is a waste of money-those restoration creams and buffs just didn't work. So it really should be a replacement.

 

Try wet sanding the lights. 800 grit, followes by 1000, 1500, and 2000 in that order. Spend about 5 minutes on each grit, making sure to keep the sandpaper wet the entire time. Also be sure to sand only one direction (eg: horizontal) per grit, switching with each next grit. On the 2000 grit youll want to do small circular motions rather than back and forth.

Finish up with one of those buffing creme kits and you headlights will look better than they did when they were brand new garanteed.

However, you WILL need to seal the headlights against UV damage. IIRC a 1:1 mixture of spar urethane and mineral spirits mixed liberally does that trick just apply very lightly to avoid streaking/droplets and keep rubbing it in til its conpletely clear.

And there you have it.