I am a bit OCD about my cars and I noticed that my driver's side is looking worn. I have done the usual sanding/polishing/ceramic treating but I cannot seem to find any headlights other than used ones. Relevant suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

 

Most aftermarket ones (especially 02-03 HId headlights) are garbage. Your best bet is to refinish your current OEMs and get a good UV protectent on it. I don't think some ceramic coatings have UV protection. You should google around to see what detailers are using.

 

polishing doesn't last. here's a good how to. I've had good results with 600 grit and a good quality clear coat.



https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...RoCuLUQAvD_BwE

 

I would think this clear coat would be better with UV protection. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...4068?rrec=true

 

as best I can tell, oem replacement headlamp assemblies are *very* spendy. Spendy enough that I'd sooner get really good at polishing. I use soapy water with ~3000grit wet/dry then polish with Novus Heavy Scratch remover and then Novus Fine Scratch remover.

 

because they include all the HID components as a package. cant get just a bare headlamp

edit: apparently you can now. for less than 200 bucks cheaper. though likely obsolete.

 

the whole lamp is priced at ~2300$, the lense body itself is priced at ~1200$ [amayama]



and roughly $100 to $200 for used examples [car-part dot com]

I'm not it the south with the hot southern sun, but it seemed me most of the "oxidation" is abrasion and dirt.

 

my cost from nissan is 1033 and 1217. retail is 1377 and 1623 for full assy.

 

Check around on ebay for used ones in good shape. New is going to be pretty expensive.

 

Thanks for the video. Had no real idea they were 'painting' headlights now instead of just constantly polishing them or replacing with a new headlight assembly. Good stuff.

 

How bad are they? I polished my cousins old lights. I had him clear coat them after.

 

looks great ! what polish? i still use Meguairs plastix as preventative maintenance on my current car. and always used it on the maxima every couple of washes.

 

Various grits of sandpaper, probably 400 working up to trizact 3000, then rubbing compound.

 

damn nice! the legit way to do it.

 

Yes, Aftermarket lights don't put the light down the same way! Either the OE ballast were some real beast or the Optics were just superior! The aftermarket don't put light down the same way! Another suggestion is to have a clear protective film be applied by a shop that does wrap because they know how to make it flat on curved shapes etc....GL

 

That Paint Society video was great! I’ve done that same process but never got quite the same results! First of all I didn’t use the Eastwood 2 part UV clear coat in a can. Nor did I use that initial cleaner to remove the yellowed UV coating and contaminants. To me most of the damage is UV and aerodynamic sandblasting! Maybe I’m wrong? I did purchase aftermarket 2002-2003 HID Headlights from ROCKAUTO by TYC. They look beautiful like the OEM’s but the HID system is no where close to the performance of those Japanese OEM Nissan built products. The light coverage area wise is less and light depth, intensity and fullness aren’t anywhere close to that of the Nissan OEM units! I actually swapped over the Nissan Glare domes over to the TYC and noticed some improvement but there’s still more to be desired! So I actually found some salvage yard OEM and found a paint shop that’s gonna paint them for me for with UV rated clear coat for a reasonable price then once completed. They get wrapped with Laminate-X protective film to prevent the sandblasting effect most headlights experience on the norm. I’ll post pictures once done! I love 4 bulb headlights my 74 Celica was like that as well!

 

my car came with aftermarket headlamps so I'll never know how good the OEM ones are. no complaints here, no problem seeing at night. my main issue is driving from work in the morning with the sun hitting my windshield.

 

This is how they looked finding them in the salvage yard! Actually not that bad!

Here’s the same headlights after clear coating them…

After clear coating

Outside light after clear coating…

 

Any particular cleat coat to use? I assume one designed for UV protection.

 

I’m not sure what brand the paint shop used but yes it was UV rated…He was spraying a front facia or hood.

 

You can get 2K clear in a can. It's 2 part with a button on the bottom to mix the hardener.

 

Yes the you tube video on this thread used Eastwood 2 part UV rated clear…