How to keep the headlight covers new?
 

I see older cars where the plastic headlight covers are dull and hazy. I wax mine hoping to prevent it. Anybody got a better idea. I've been using Turtle Finish 2001, liquid in the green bottle. Anybody know a better way to keep them looking new? That's what I use on the paint too.

How about using plastic polish/cleaner such as the one made by Mothers, it should be available at most auto parts stores.

there's a clear plastic film you can buy that protects the lenses from chips.....I THINK that haze you see on many of the old lenses has more to do with the type of plastic that was used...the ones on the protege are polycarbonate (which I was surprised to hear) which SHOULD stay pretty clear for a long time. If your worried about chips and stuff like that, buy the film.

an ultimate cleaner
 

Hey Rusty,

I tried a great product called PlastX by Meguiars. I knew this product was great when I tried it on my headlights. I found a sample package at an AutoZone for 99 cents. The great thing about this product is that you don't need very much of it to clean your headlights. Therefore, this small package should last a while. I used it to clean the haze off of my headlights. The chrome-like surface within the clear cover of the headlights looked like a mirror. I then proceeded to clean the rest of the lights on my car. I then gave some of the PlastX to a co-worker of mine who asked me the same question you did. He had yellowing on headlights of his 8-year-old Mitsubishi. He tried it and later thanked me for it. I still have a lot of it left over. I hope you try this.

Believe me, I call my car SHRED for a reason.

Thanks SHRED, I have an Autozone in my neighborhood. I'll give it a try. My wife's GrandAm looks like a good test subject.

if ya wanna to know another way would be is to sand them down with 600 grid real good then rinse them then dry them if there real foggy you did a good job then spay some good clearcoat spraypaint on them 2 coats and they will look brand new look at mine....

The plastic of the headlight covers will over the years be sand blasted by all the grit on the roads, bombarded by UV rays and occasionaly pranged by stones, salt, and the refuse that finds its way onto the roads.
The best way I have ever seen to protect your headlights, and the rest of the front of your car is to protect it with a film by 3M. It protects the surface of your lights by not allowing anything to touch it.
It is sold by various companies in Canada and the U.S. Some of them are weathertech.com, xpel.com.
I have to drive over 5 miles or 8 kilometers over gravel surfaced roads to get to my cottage. With my last car I had to suffer with broken fog lamps (3), broken headlights (2) and many, many stone chips before I found out about this product. In the 2 years since I put it on my new Protege I have had no damage at all.
I would seriously recommend the film.

There are a few how to's on how to do this on the clubprotege site... Gro Harlem, and I both wrote 2 different solutions to this problem.. Peace

MeeN