1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Headlights

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Golf cart 1, Jul 7, 2017.

  1. Golf cart 1

    Golf cart 1 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    12
    4
    0
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    We just bought our first Prius about a week ago.Its a 2006 with only 133,000 miles on it.We absolutely love the car,we wished we would have gotten one a long time ago.Great car but it has it's problems, the main one was the headlights,frosted over pretty bad. I had some auto body polish from a few years back and I tried a small spot on the lens.Next thing I know it looks almost new. 1499425984910.jpg . This is a picture of one side done with just some elbow grease.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #1 Golf cart 1, Jul 7, 2017
    Raytheeagle and davecook89t like this.
  2. Kevin_Denver

    Kevin_Denver Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2016
    581
    424
    1
    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Just be aware that this is a temporary solution. You'll have to reapply polish every 3-6 months to keep the lens clear. The only permanent solution that I know of is to sand the headlight to remove the corroded plastic and then apply clear coat over the top to restore a protective layer to the plastic. There are many tutorials on youtube and online for how to do this.

    PS. The plastic cover for your passenger side foglight isn't seated properly and is liable to fall out. You'll want to wiggle it around and push-pull on the plastic grill it's attached to, to get it seated where it should be.
     
    #2 Kevin_Denver, Jul 7, 2017
    edthefox5, Golf cart 1 and WilDavis like this.
  3. TerryM

    TerryM Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2016
    46
    43
    0
    Location:
    West Central Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    I found this at the local Wallyworld. It takes a little elbow grease, but wet sanding the headlights on my 05 made all the difference. Follow up with a couple coats of spray on clear and polish them out. Now I have to aim them back down so I don't get brighted every time I drive at night.

    Rust-Oleum 1" Detail Sander Kit - Walmart.com
     
    #3 TerryM, Jul 7, 2017
  4. Golf cart 1

    Golf cart 1 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    12
    4
    0
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thank you for your help.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #4 Golf cart 1, Jul 8, 2017
  5. Golf cart 1

    Golf cart 1 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    12
    4
    0
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I had already bought that and I'm going to do that as soon as I get a day that I'm not going to get rained on.This was temporary just so we could see better but the sanding works great because that's what I did on our Tracker.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #5 Golf cart 1, Jul 8, 2017
  6. Kevin_Denver

    Kevin_Denver Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2016
    581
    424
    1
    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Nice! Post your results if you can. I need to do this on my passenger side headlight as it's older and clouded.
     
    #6 Kevin_Denver, Jul 9, 2017
    Golf cart 1 likes this.
  7. Golf cart 1

    Golf cart 1 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    12
    4
    0
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Will do,as soon as I can I will do that. Doing the sanding thing turns out great, the ones on our Tracker was so bad we were going to have to buy new ones until I saw that and tried it. I figured I didn't have nothing to lose except for a little money and time. I will put pictures up as soon as I get them done.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #7 Golf cart 1, Jul 9, 2017
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  8. gptoyz

    gptoyz Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2010
    79
    16
    0
    Location:
    los altos
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Just got an 06 with 200k here are my headlight restoration pics

    500, 800, 1000, 3000 wet sanding
    Meguiars 105, 205, scratch 2.0, uv protectant

    IMG_4637.JPG IMG_4662.JPG


    iPhone ?
     
    #8 gptoyz, Jul 24, 2017
    Golf cart 1 and 05PreeUs like this.
  9. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2013
    1,160
    392
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Krylon sells a clear coat with UV protection, it lasts about a year in the florida sun but its a bear to remove and redo..
     
    #9 Beachbummm, Aug 1, 2017
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)