Polishing Headlights

[Jpatchley]

Would a regular polish work to remove the build up on the headlights below? Or should I purchase a plastic polish such as plastx by Meguiar's?

[Setec Astronomy]

It's hard to tell what's on there. Looks like you have some water spots, but the little spots could be bug guts or road rash (small gouges from rocks, etc.).

Remember that those lenses will more than likely have a factory UV coating, which like the clearcoat on your paint, has a finite thickness.

IMO Plast-X will be useless. Whatever polish you use on your paint will remove dirt/bugs/etc. If those smaller spots come out, great. If they are rock gouges you will need to sand them out which will likely remove the factory coating, making the lens susceptible to rapid yellowing. Fortunately today you can recoat the lens easily with Opti-Lens (jury out on long-term durability of this product as it only came out this year).

I would just hit them lightly with whatever process you use on your paint and you will likely be delighted with the result.

[inDetail]

regular polish will work many use M105 and M205. If your headlights are really bad and yellow you may need to wet sand first then polish out the fine scratches. Then you can just use a sealant for protection. Opti-coat. I just use CG M-Seal. I would say as long as it's water based your good. I just put a quick coat on after a wash. There are kits available for restoration 3M is good one just research them.
Just as a reminder what oxidized and turned yellow is the factory coating. Once you remove it it's gone. You will need to restore them again. Using a sealant will prolong the process of oxidation.

[Setec Astronomy]

Just as a reminder what oxidized and turned yellow is the factory coating. Once you remove it it's gone. You will need to restore them again. Using a sealant will prolong the process of oxidation.

I don't see oxidized/yellow lenses in the OP's pictures.

[Jpatchley]

Ok, I'll try the process I used on the paint first. "Least aggressive" and see how that works first. The lights aren't yellow. When I tried to clean the headlights they're clear, just have the little specs shown above. I don't think its bug guts, and the lights still feel smooth, just has the specs. I'm real hesitant to do any sanding as I'm a beginner.