In the half done picture that's how the window plastic looked with washing and scrubbing. Brutal!

 

Looks good.

 

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How to polish your headlights
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Have you taken a close look at your headlights lately? They are probably faded and hazy like mine unless you have been lucky enough to keep your car in the garage. The sun really takes a toll on the plastic of the headlights and driving lights. Fortunately, you can fix the problem for about $30 and a few hours of wet sanding. The alternative is spend $100 per light for new ones from Dodge. I think you can see by these pics just how much of a change you can make. You can do this one of two ways: Either on the car or off. Since it was about 105 with the Heat index today, mine came off. I ended up taking the whole light assembly out hoping to keep the light in alignment. NOTE: After driving tonight, A. the alignment is ok, B. the lights are noticeably brighter. This is not a fix all for the lights. Mine hazed back up after about a year. For me it is still more cost and time effective than buying new lights though.

Guess which one has been renewed? I told you it made a big difference. Best thing is it works on any plastic light cover. A little note, the clear one is not perfect either, it still has a 'little' haze that I couldn't get out. This method is not an end-all way to keep the lights clear. I have had to reuse just the plastic compound once every 6 months or so. I usually put a coat of wax on top.

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Tools (only if you are removing the lights): 10 mm socket and driver or 10 mm wrench, philips head screwdriver
Supplies: 600, 800, 1500, 2000 grit sand paper, 3M rubbing compound (fine cut), 3M finish restorer
- you can also use Meguire's clear plastic cleaner and clear plastic polish - thanks for the info Adam95sportcoupe

[ul][*]First, clean the lenses and driving lights[*]Click here if you are going to do this on the car[*]Next, remove the driving lights. They are held in with two phillips head screws. The bulb itself rotates and pulls out. Lay it aside.[*]Before I removed the light assembly, I marked the top two 10 mm bolts with a sharpie marker. I circled the bolts and made some alignment marks on the frame. This was my assurance of keeping the light aligned - don't know if it worked yet.[*]Now remove the bulbs, reach behind the light and turn the plastic bolt thing what ever way it turns (sorry, didn't write down any of this as I was doing it) You should then be able to remove the bulb from the light and set it aside.[*]The assembly is held in with 6 10 mm bolts. One is facing back under the fender behind the light - a toughie to explain. Best way to get to it is reach up behind the front fascia and in front of the evap canister on the pass side, behind the horn on the driver side.[*]Five and six are in the top, two and three are in the frame just in front of the radiator, and four on is holding the small piece of painted plastic just above the bumper

Bolt locations[*]Next, take the black rubber gasket off the lights. It is held on by some clips built into the light and buy some adhesive it seems. Just be careful with it and it should come off fine. Try not to stretch it.[*]Now its time to polish[*]If you are doing this on the car, get a water hose. You will be wet sanding the lenses. Also, BE CAREFUL not to scratch your paint - you will be using sandpaper here![*]Start with the 800 or 600 grit (I used 600 because after starting with the 800 and finishing, it still needed help on some of the haze)[*]Keep water flowing on it and use small circular motions. Cover the entire area paying special attention to areas that are really ugly looking.[*]Be sure to cover the whole area.[*]Go up in grit using the 1500 and the 2000. You should have a very smooth, very hazy lens.[*]Don't worry about the haze, it comes off in just a second.[*]Take out your 3M rubbing compound (or the plastic cleaner). Apply some to a cotton rag and buff it into the lens. You should see an immediate improvement. I repeated this twice just to be sure. If you still notice some hazing you can start the process over with 600 grit, hammering on those badly scorched spots. I actually did one light twice.[*]Now apply the 3M finish restorer (or the plastic polish) Apply it in the same way, buff and remove.[*]Installing is opposite of removal. One thing to note: slide the light assembly in on the radiator side first. Next, just under the number one bolt, you have to maneuver the light to align a peg into a hole. That is the only real trick.[*]You now, hopefully, have clean and renewed lights and driving lights

Driving lights, they look brand new after the polish.

Close up of both lights, see any difference? Trust me, you can see it on the road too.[/ul]
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Here are some lens I have done.

[IMG]local://upfiles/7941/F33E73FF51DC4EA38007EC1A7C7EC07A.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/7941/A0E853EF02914FEEA8384ACB30EC051A.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/7941/20B796AE3EFC434CB89D513353033800.jpg[/IMG]

 

looks good

 

Toothpaste also works pretty good, i used it myself.

 

Good to know. Now a dumb question, sorry - how do I get the headlight covers off my 1994 Dodge Dakota? Thanks for suggestions - just bought it for my son, and nighttime driving is tough, given the dull covers.

 

what kind of covers? are they tinted covers? if so it may just snap on or velcro.
if your talking about the headlight itself it dont come apart

 

i think there is enough ideas to clean the outside of your headlights...... NOW for the INSIDE..... stake the headlight out.... fill the headlight 1/4 the way with water.. add a bunch of ice cubes... and a good helping of salt... SHAKE VIGOROUSLY.... the water helps wash the crud off the salt acts as an abrasive and the ice cubes agitate the salt to remove the crud..