Hey there,

I went out to my Maxima today and noticed a crack in the drivers-side headlight. The crack is about 3/4" long and I know if I don't do something quick water will get into it and fog it up.

I plan on replacing the headlights with some nicer-looking ones in a few months anyways, but for now I wanted to ask...does anybody know of a way of repairing the crack that doesn't look too bad? I could just put some tape or something over it but I don't know how well that'll hold up for a few months and it doesn't exactly look too great...I don't want to one fogged-up headlight and one clear until I have the money for new headlights.

I've heard of that 3M film but have never used it...so that may be a possibility. Any thoughts?

 

i would just put some tape over it until you get your new ones

 

see through silicone, thats how they repair cracked / stone-chipped windshields

the trick is to buff it somehow after its applied and dried up

 

Ah yes, good idea...I can just try and buff it by hand as best I can after it's dried up. I think I'll try that. Thanks

 

I would suggest several different grades of sand paper from very coarse say 1000 to very fine say 300 in 4-5 steps like 1000 .. 800...600...400...300 but i may be wrong, never done this, i think some guys do this to old headlights the get "muddy" from thousands tiny little stone chips, you can look up the stickies or search for headlight renovation

maybe even call up a glass / windshield place and consult with them, just ask what they think and pretend like u want their service, find out what they will do for how much and then to the same thing yourself...

Also these link may be helpful to you as well:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=443410
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=493450

Enjoy!

 

I believe the 97-99 headlights have plastic lenses so I'm not sure if it's a good idea to try and sand it.

Don't they make some sort of protection film for headlights? That might work.

 

i thought the 95 - 96 were plastic and 97-99 were glass

i KNOW the headlights are different on those years just dont remember which one is which. the 97-99 are obviously clear and the 95-96 are "muddy"

can anyone confirm / deny this ?

 

95-96 are glass
97-99 are plastic

 

so plastic ones should not be sanded ? didnt know that , but it is possible then to get the glass ones looking new again ?

 

Who said you couldn't wetsand plastic?

 

This guy in post # 6 of this very thread , i thought u saw it --->

 

you can really clear up the headlights by sanding and a few other tricks, I think these were performed on plastic headlights..here an org member did them http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=439760


and here's a nice write up I stole


Materials you will need:

- 400 Grit Sanpaper
- 800 Grit Sanpaper
- 1000 Grit Sanpaper
- 1500 Grit Sanpaper
- 2000 Grit Sanpaper
- Meguairs Plastx
- Meguairs Fine Cut Cleaner
- Meguairs NXT Wax
- Sanding block
- Bucket of Water
- Microfiber Towels
- Buffer (orbital or highspeed if you have it, if not use microfiber towels)

**Make sure to apply tape around the hood, fender, bumper and etc, whereever its possible to accidently scratch the paint.

When you first start using the 400grit sandpaper, the headlight is going to look like crap, but don't worry...it will clear up as you progress.

- Dip the sandpaper in the bucket of water and start sanding. Make sure the surface is always wet.

-For each grit, sand until the surface is completely smooth and apply even pressure. (ie. sanding block) I took about 7-10mins for each grit, before going to the next grit, I would apply Meguair's Plast-X.

(would really help if you had a high speed polisher but if not it will just take longer by hand.)

- Apply 3 coats of Meguiar's Plast-X with an applicator, wipe off with the microfiber towels

- Now use the Meguiar's Fine Cut Cleaner to remove the fine scratches, use as many coats until you're happy with the results. Wipe off with microfiber towel.

- Apply 2 coats of Meguiar's NXT Wax, to provide the long lasting protection on the headlights. Wipe off with microfiber towel.

**I would recommend applying Meguiar's Plast-X once a month to prevent the headlights from hazing.

Before:


After:




Before:


Left (after) Right (Before)

 

After:

 

Nice.

Didn't know you could do that to plastic. Seems like A lot of time and energy involved though.

 

i say well worth it if it lasts a long time

the scratches dont come back do they ? its basically a brand new headlight

 

Not if you polish it correctly. I think I will use this method on my headlights and fogs next time I detail.

 

I wet sanded and polished the headlights on our SVX and they came out looking light new. It took out all of the pitting and also removed the yellowing from the lights.

 

yea...you are wrong. 1000 would be the very fine, while 300 would be much more coarse. so youde want to start with 300...and work your way up.

 

most of the time the sand paper is not needed. just use some rubbing compound and a buffer. takes minutes to do.