Recurring haze on headlights of 2013 Subaru WRX STi

[morphiasx]

I am having recurring haze that appears on the passenger side headlight of my 2013 Subaru WRX STi, and I am stumped on how to resolve it. The car is garaged except when at work daily for 8 hours where it sits in the sun. I am near Chicago, so the sun is not intense like in the warmer states. It only occurs on the passenger side, not the drivers side. I buff the headlight by hand with Menzerna SuperFinish and the haze comes right off. I follow up with a coat of sealant by hand (Previously Menzerna PowerLock, most recently Wolfgang Deep Gloss). This resolves the issue temporarily, but it comes back within a month or two. I have repeated this every few months for over a year, I need to find a permanent solution. Does anybody have any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

[Bruno Soares]

That's coming back because the sealant doesn't offer enough UV protection. You'll have to either spray the headlight with clear coat or apply PPF over it after you polish it one last time. Then the hazing will stop.
Each time you cleaned it up you removed whatever was left of the factory UV protection and now with nothing left, it's up to the sealant to protect it but it doesn't do a job that's good enough.

[howardm4]

You'll need something like McKee's Headlight Protectant Spray (use semi-regularly) or some other UV friendly sealant/coating.

[morphiasx]

Thank you for the responses. I guess I had not realized that the sealant I have had zero UV protection. I will clean the headlight up again, and apply a UV block. Looking at this one currently:

SYLVANIA-Headlight-Restoration-Headlights-Protection

[howardm4]

I have that but not used it yet. Hoping to do mine soon.

[Bobby B.]

Dr. Beasley's, IGL, McKee's 37 and Optimum offer excellent coatings for your headlight lenses. Wolfgang offers an excellent sealant too.

Dr. Beasley's Headlight Coating Kit
IGL Ecocoat Headlight Kit 30 ml.
McKee's 37 Headlight Coating
Optimum Opti-Lens Permanent Headlight Coating, headlight coatings protectants

Wolfgang Plastik Surface Sealant forms a clear barrier over your plastic lenses to shield them from contamination and UV rays.

[DBAILEY]

The SYLVANIA product is the same as the factory coating. I'm about to try shooting out of an airbrush to see how that comes out.

[spazzz]

I have had a Sylvania UV clearcoat kit hanging on my pegboard for a few years.
I really haven't had to sand a headlight yet.
According to the directions it's all about sanding them out then the clearcoat.

Is it usable after just a polish?

I treat my sisters 2011 Outback with a wool pad with M100, then a white Force and Hyper polish.
Finally Optimum Opti-lens holds it for a good while.

[fly07sti]

As others have said, either put something very durable like a ceramic coating or some Expel PPF on them and you’ll be golden.

[FUNX650]

•IMO:
-The below Barry Theal article is the definitive
how-to for the headlight lens restoration process.

-All others, quite literally, will ”pale” in comparison.


Understanding headlamp repair


Bob