I took the advice of a few people here and refinished my headlights.   This was one of the easiest jobs I have ever done for our Subaru and as the before and after pics show was well worth it.  Sanding the headlights and clear coating took about about 1/2 hour each.  Just follow the You Tube videos and just can't go wrong. 

 

Mark

Nice job!  What grades of sandpaper did you start and end with?

It really does make a huge difference to have clean clear lenses.

 

I normally finish mine with 3m trizact 3000 grit. Produces a very fine surface that can be polished by hand. Makes a very smooth finish if you use a buffer or polish wheel on a drill.

Report back in 90 days to see how the finish holds up.

Any protectant as a final finish?

 

O.

I started out with 400 grit.  Then followed with 800, 1200, 1500, 2000 grit wet dry paper.  After a good washing and letting them dry,  a wiping with denatured alcohol followed by 5 coats of Rustoluem Gloss clear with UV resistance.  The next day I sanded again with 2000 grit, wiped with alcohol and shot another coat of clear on them.  The finish that I put on them is not absolutly perfect, but is MUCH better than what I started with.

I was so pleased with them I did the headlights on my Chevy truck at the same time.  If it warms up on Tuesday I may do the lights for the snowplow also. 

You can make that surface finish look like glass if you wet sand and then polish it with a fine finishing compound. With 5 coats of clear on there you won't have to worry about sanding through. Wait about a week to be sure the clear is totally cured before using a buffer on it.