What do you do about Headlights that are Old Yellow and Ugly?

Sand them down then use a headlight repair kit with IV sealer

 

What would I do?

I would use the search feature, either in PriusChat or the internet as a whole.

My neighbor who has a gen2 with brand spanking new sparkly looking lens most likely went to the dealer and paid for such, though I never actually asked.

I've read about all kinds of techniques, and even tried a couple.

The one that impressed me with speed and ease of use was using Nevr-Dull. Did it make the lenses perfect again, no. Did it take more then a minute, no. Did I clean the residue off after cleaning, yes. Did it cause any damage to the plastic, maybe.

The thread linked below isn't even 24 hrs old, there could be a gem hiding in there, or in many other threads on PriusChat

New Prius owner. | PriusChat

 

I used Meguiar's Heavy Duty Headlight Restoration Kit. Took about 20 mins per headlight. The driver side was after, and the passenger side was before.

 

1. Remove them - lot's of instructionals out there, it's not terribly hard.

2. Lightly wet sand them with 1500 grit to remove old protective coating (clearcoat/yellow stuff)

3. Wet sand with 2000, sand with 2500 if you want too, but not necessary.

4. Dry well and use paint prep to clean the plastic.

5. Spray a quality clear coat and let it harden overnight.

6. It will look really good at that point, but there may be imperfections/runs/dust in the clear coat. You can stop there if you want, but...You can also wet sand with 2000 or 2500 to clean it up.

7. If you wet sanded the clear coat it will need to be polished. They will look really good at this point.

 

Not if you use a quality clear coat.

 

2004 model headlights after sand and clearcoat, before additional sanding and polishing.

 

It doesn't restore them to crystal clear if they're really bad but I just use something like this from time to time to keep mine looking ok before they get that bad.

Meguiar's Two-Step Headlight Restoration Kit | 1800834 | Pep Boys

It's really not any different than washing and waxing a section of the car so I just do it as part of a car cleaning when I think it needs it.

 

I used the 3M system on my '07 Yaris and they came out perfect. Headlight Restoration Products for Auto Care | 3M United States

 

Uses the sandpaper method. I suggest clean with isopropyl alcohol before you spray, 3 coats and allow 5-10 minutes between coats then leave over night. Use 2x spray, it has UV protection and anti-yellowing written right on the can. And you don’t need to remove at all. Use painters tape on outside edge when sanding and use garbage bags to cover car for any potential overspray when spraying.