Toyota Matrix Reloaded
 

Well I have a good friend who picked up a 2003 Matrix for a great price. It needed a new clutch when he picked it up and was the reason why it was so cheap.

Needless to say, he threw in a new clutch in there and its been great ever since. Now he's looking at selling the car to fund a build of his and he asked me to clean it up some for him. We exchanged some services and I gave it a once over.

Headlights were nearly all yellow and impossible to see through. It looked like someone washed the whole thing with an SOS pad......it was bad but for the price paid it could be overlooked.

So i took the car for a few hours one after noon and this is what he got back.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1620/2...d1a61830_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1478/2...661a62a9_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1473/2...1d4f1391_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1449/2...22a4754b_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1459/2...36c74001_b.jpg

As much as I hate owning a black car because of the headaches of keeping that paint looking perfect, I sure do enjoy taking peoples cars that are supposed to be black (but look grey) and making them look deep and black again.

Oh wow, what is the secret to clearing out the headlights like that?? Assuming those were the really bad ones the car came with. I tried those off the shelf headlight clearers before and tooth paste on a small corner, it works slightly but not much.

Due to wanting to just improve the car over what it was and the time I had to work with what I did was much like what you have probably already tried.
Wet sanding the lenses. I went from 1200, 2000, 3000 and finish with 5000. Its rather over kill to go as high as 5000 grit but I ad it so I went there.
Sanded down with random orbital air sander and some soapy water to lubricate. Masked off the paintwork around them to help prevent any damage from any possible slip up. Went through the grits. The 1200 should knock out most of the damaged plastic. You can see the color change in the fluid thats running off the lights. It will go from a yellow to a white color. Once it was at that stage I would work my way up to the higher grits. After going over both with 5000 I finished them off with some Mequiars 205 Ultra Finishing Polish. Once they were to my satisfaction I gave them a wipe down with some rubbing alcohol to remove any oils that may be left and put a coat of paint sealant on them to help protect them from the UV light.
Normally, if someone wants to get the lights back to as new condition I will remove them from the car and do this process but will clear coat the lenses. The clear has UV inhibiter's just like the original coating on the lights did from the factory.

Very good work, you made the paint look perfect!