- My model of MX-5 is: __mk3
- I’m based near: __Birmingham
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Cleaning Headlamps
What is the best way to clean these headlamps Thanx
Get one of the headlamp restoration kits off ebay. Use the one that requires a power drill (much easier to use) and follow the instructions carefully and they work really well.
Before
After
This is similar to the kit i used
5 Likes
As above. I find the best way is start with something like 1000grit wet and dry and work your way up to 2000+. Then just use a cutting compound on a drill pad then finish with a good polish. You get great results.
Before:
After:
7 Likes
3 Likes
I must be missing a trick here. I bought holts restoration kit with similar attachments etc Made absolutely no difference in fact after putting sealant on it looks worse. I’ve only done one. I’ll try better on the other one. Grades go from 800 to 3000. Any advice welcome. Thanks
For cleaning MX-5 headlamps, try using a headlight restoration kit. They usually come with sanding pads and polishing compounds that can really make a difference.
1 Like
I’m obviously doing something wrong
This is going to sound daft…Colgate Whitening Toothpaste.
I never believed this, but I have just bought a replacement NC2 and the lights needed doing. I had some of this toothpaste and someone had mentioned it at a club event, so I tried it. To my suprise it works and easy too.
1 Like
Ive tried toothpaste on my previous EP3 and it does a good job. However it only lasts 3 or 4 months. Since then I’ve used t-cut headlight restoration kit which does a better job and lasts much longer.
I’ve only used good old fashion elbow grease so would imagine kits using a pad attached to a drill would be even better.
T-cut kit…
1 Like
I have used Mothers ‘Mag and Aluminium’ polish to good effect. It was my favourite metal polish when I still had motorcycles as the shine lasted for months. Tried it on the son-in-law’s people mover headlights and they came up a treat despite being heavily fogged. Requires a little bit of elbow grease but I prefer that to risking overheating damage with a power tool.
If you are sufficiently OCD to polish the aircon plumbing it is really good for that too!!!
5 Likes
2 Likes
It took an age for your headlights to get so cloudy. You need to remove the damaged plastic with abrasive paper, then using finer abrasive paper to remove the scratches you created to remove the damaged plastic.
Now they look gorgeous and you are very pleased with yourself. Now you need a spray-on coating that will stop all your hard work being undermined!
On my car they are quite yellowed; but the illumination up the road is very good so it’s low down the to-do list.
1 Like
Where do you get it from??
You can get packs with grades of wet&dry from 200 to 3000 for a few quid. That gives you the clear lense; it’s not rocket science. The trick is to keep that clarity.
There are sprays or plastic type coverings, some dedicated to your actual headlight shape are availiable
1 Like
Toothpaste does work but not long lasting they will start to fog again etc i also tried a car polish again works well to start with but over time they lose the clean shine but trail and error 
1 Like
Nothing is long lasting unless you cover your nice bright headlamp with UV Protection.
There a two separate processes here. One is restoring the cover to a nice transparency. The other is keeping it there. They require two different methods and shouldn’t be confused.
First, either by hand or machine you need to get rid of the foggy, damaged layer. If it’s bad, ie: a bit yellow looking, you may need something as brutal as 400 grit, wet&dry so you can’t see through it but it’s not yellow anymore. It will look whitish. Then you spend an age working through finer and finer grades of wet&dry until finally your lens cover looks factory fresh and crystal clear.
You will pleased but exhausted and may not realise you need to cover this with something that stops the whole thing happening again.
If it’s one of the numerous kits on offer. Any liquid needs to be renewed every few months; this is easily forgotten. Better is the dedicated plastic material which is so expensive it’s probably effective.
That’s my take🙂
1 Like
I’ve tried them all, including tooth paste on my NBFL, the best was a combination of fine sand papers and the Auto Glym kit, but turn the sander rpm to 2/3000rpm, that really makes a huge difference.
1 Like
Bicarbonate of soda, washing up liquid, and vegetable glycerin. Applied with a cloth disk on a drill bit attachment. Great hand cleaner too!
1 Like
Once cleaned would a plastic film like this help to stop it going cloudy again?
I personally don’t bother with the extra layer of protection be it spray on or stuck on, other than a polish and wax. The way I see it, it took years to get that way, a couple of hours to restore and now 5 mins every now and then to use a little polish and wax to keep them pristine.
3 Likes