Terrible headlights

So my lenses are horrible. Yellowing and really distracting from the rest of the car. Looking to get them refurbished by a professional. I have the factory upgraded litronic headlights. I was told that the heat they produce can crack the clear coat after they�re cleaned up. Any advice out there on how to get these lenses back? Trying to avoid replacement just cause they�re so expensive. Thanks!

Those don�t look too bad - at least they�re still relatively clear (ie not dull/foggy). Any shop that does refinishing should be able to get them back to looking �new� with minimal effort. The key to keeping them that way will be the clearcoat they use. It shouldn�t cost more than a couple hundred $$� Good luck! Post pics when they�re done�

That�s great news! I was told the Litronic can heat the clear coat and crack it? Idk. I read that clear PPF on the headlights is a good way to protect them moving fwd. any thoughts? here�s a couple more pics I took today in the sun.

I have kept mine clear with regular use of canopy cleaner. I have also brought friends' lights back using various grades of the 3M plastic polish as well as canopy restoration kits, never using or needing clearcoat. IMO the clearcoat is more problems than it's worth with the only upside being less regular maintenance until it fails. Kits are here and I like 210 or Plexus for regular maintenance: Windshield Cleaners & Kits

go to wal-mart and get some cerakote headlight restoration kit. i did my lights and it was easy took about an hour for both. crystal clear now. they also make a plastic trim coat that restores trim back to black. check the reviews. they make good stuff

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Yes. Of the dozens of cars I have owned over the years I find PPF to be excellent for headlight protection. Any vehicle purchased new gets PPF immediately. I'm lucky to have to FANTASTIC installer in my area. Recently bought a 2020 Aston Martin and the headlights are completely peppered. No PPF anywhere from new.

Another vote for PPF. A few years ago I shopped around in my area for a good headlight restorer and at the time, not knowing any better, I asked shops if they could restore and clear coat headlights for me. I was surprised that many of them said that PPF was the better protection. I have been offering this ever since, and the results have been amazing. Picture of a set of lights I retrofitted and had the lenses restored at my local go-to headlight lens guy. Customer was very happy!

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It sort of seems that a lot of folks avoid DIY, even for simple projects. The headlights are a good example. I had headlight 04 C4S that were a little worse than yours. No PPF or coating. There is a "Mothers" headlight restore kit for about $30, +/-. It comes in a red box and has polish and little sanding pads. It also includes a sort of "choopy?" foam half-ball thing to fit into an electric drill. There is a polish solvent or some other stuff, nearly redundant. Do NOT try to take out the headlights. Good advice. You risk braking the connectors, moving old wires that insulation will break off, and too many issues to lead to expensive stuff. Just use blue painters tape around everything and mask off the front hood as best you can. Use a LOT of water in the first sanding stages, start with the lowest number on sanding pads. Headlights will begin to look like crap, cloudy and obscure. It is normal. It may take 1-2 hours just doing the sanding part on headlight. While simple, it does take time. Wash with water all the way to the highest number sandpaper pad. The foamy ball thing with polish will make the headlight start to shine and be clear. Like magic. Be patient. Use corded electric drill, preferably with speed control for polishing. Wet and wipe often. You will see how the cloud-obscure goes away and is clear plastic left over. All it takes is time and patience. My headlights came out just gorgeous. I have used my same Mothers kit on 3 cars so far and it works great on all of them. I repost the Before/After pics I posted somewhere else here on RL, The lights are so much better light output than before, results amazing. Getting rid of yellow-plastic age is annoying, but certainly doable for anyone with an electric dill. Get involved in your 996. Just my opinion. BTW, I am told a hair dryer med-low setting heating up PPF, can then be peeled off the headlight very slowly. Right-Wrong, Dunno. It doesn't sound like fun, and I am glad I did not have to do it. YMMV

Is the recommendation to then skip the clear coat and go straight to ppf? I read that the high temp on the litronic can crack the clear coat

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How often do you use the Plexus? Every wash or every X months? And how soon after a new piece is put in service do you start using it?

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I use it whenever I wash the vehicle. I flush with a lot of water and soap, carefully remove any grime then use the Plexus or 210. These products do to make bug streaks easier to remove. Since they are non-abrasive, I would use from new without concern. LP Aero also makes a good product if you prefer a squeeze bottle. OT but back in the day, plain unscented Pledge was magic on canopies, leading edges, etc., then plain was discontinued and only lemon and other formulas remained; unsuitable due to the lemon oils, etc. I called the company to see about availability of plain and received the most legalistically overkill response of "unintended and unapproved use", "cannot endorse...", "(me) assume all liability"... Understandable but funny. Back on topic, extreme example of bringing back lenses using the products in the link above, wingtip landing lights in this case. They live a tough life and will be replaced. Interestingly but not surprisingly they seem to age less w/ LED's as opposed to 100w halogen.