Guys,

i know its not an rx7 but i just got the wife a new mazda 3. she loves it by the way. not a member of any other forums so ill ask here....

it has clear plastic headlight lenses and clear rear tail lights,

What is the preferred care for them? i dont want them to turn yellow/cloudy to soon, the florida sun is a monster.

Anyone make any clear covers like i have on my phone?? suggestions?

Thanks

 

I detailed cars for a few months - so I have some experience with this.

Sun fading is extremely annoying and I had it on my 92 Chevy pickup's headlights. Honestly, I do not know that there is much you can do as far as prevention - just making them clear again. I believe that even using some clear plastic like is on phone covers wouldn't protect the lights from getting that yellowy, sandy texture that they get. This is my opinion, I have not tested this hypothesis but if you want to get some iPad screen protectors and trim them to fit to see if it would work go for it! I'd try some rock guards that they sell for FB circular headlights from blackdragon - but for another car due to the Mazda 3's headlight shape. (I'm pretty sure you're not an FB owner, I don't notice your username from the 1st Gen area of the forum, it was just for an example).

We resurfaced headlights and tail lights (headlights are much more common) where I worked and it is a pretty simple process. It's a kit and you wetsand the light with a coarser grain to a finer one, I believe 3 or 4 grades (like 800 to 1200 to 1600 to 2000), which gets the sandy-texture smoothed out and ready for a polish. As I remember, there was a cleaner followed by a finishing compound that you buff onto the light with a drill bit buffer tool.

I wouldn't pay anyone else to do the service for you if you're a DIY kinda guy, as most of us seem to be on the forum here. You can pick these kits up for a small amount of money and figure them out because they come with directions!!

They came out amazing after this process - clear as new. Just googling "headlight restoration" should come out with some pictures showing this.

I hope this helps, I wanted to give you any help I could offer. Good luck!

 

thanks for the info man!

 

It ussually takes at least 15 years till lights get really bad so I bet doing this every 5-6 years you could keep them perfectly clear

 

Hey. If you want you can check out the link on mothers.com, they have a video "how to" online. If your not comfortable with wet sanding your plastic headlight housings just do what I do on my mazda 3.

Whenever I do an exterior detail on any car. I always use cutting compound on the plastic headlights. I apply it by hand, I then remove it by hand. Then I use a medium carnauba wax, apply by hand then buff off. Then a light polish. Again, apply by hand, buff off. When I got my mazda 3 it had a bunch of little chips and nicks in them. But doing this made them baby smooth. Here in the Seattle area we get a ton of rain, and this also helps keep them clean, also UV protected (from the carnauba wax) for the week and a half of sun we get every year.

 

so you waxed, then polished.

you are aware that this removes the wax you put on right? wax/sealant should be the absolute final step.

 

thanks for the info. yea in florida the sun is brutal on plastics. and i have seen 2007 nissans etc where the lights already look bad.

good to hear wax is not an issue, they are not halogen but i was concerened that waxing them could hasten the wear.

 

a lot of waxes have UV protection. So i say wax them regularly and you should at least be a step ahead of the curve