Quick clean of headlight front surface

[HPsauce]

One of my headlights (nearside) is noticeably yellow and cloudy compared to the other. I decided it was may be time to do something about it.
So I read all the various threads I could find on this and other Audi forums about polishing the headlights; all seemed quite lengthy and brutal.

Looking at the headlights it seemed as if the nearside had some sort of very thin somewhat sticky layer on top that had yellowed and degraded; I wondered if it had been coated at some time in the distant past (before my ownership) whereas the other had not or had even been replaced.

So I decided to start with a gentler approach and in the end set to with Brasso and Silvo! Both are VERY fine abrasives, Silvo the finest, just working by hand.
Amazingly it seemed to work in just a few minutes, all I could manage between showers today.
I did test it first on the outer (indicator) section first before moving onto the section in front of the main beams.

The errant unit is looking a lot clearer and brighter though still has signs of a coating that hasn't yet totally gone. So I'll go back another day and give it some more elbow grease.

It might be worth editing a summary of this into one of the relevant "stickies" which do describe a whole list of varying grit abrasives. I can't find an equivalent measure for Brasso/Silvo though. I also wondered if it was worth trying the stainless steel polish I use on the tailpipe as I assume that also is a mild abrasive.

[Ronin]

To do it properly you'd have to sand the clear coat off completely and then apply UV resistant clear coat again just like at the factory. I never understood why people Polish headlights, its like painting over mould.

Having said that my favourite lazy method is acetone vapour:
https://youtu.be/cmWxoJLHvF8?si=E4Ce7VtweF9OYsRs

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by HPsauce

I also wondered if it was worth trying the stainless steel polish I use on the tailpipe as I assume that also is a mild abrasive.

The answer to that is no, it just made the surface a bit cloudy but didn't remove any more film.
A further round of Brasso/Silvo got it back to "reasonable" again.

I suspect to really get it perfect you need the full aggressive process as followed here: https://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showpost...58&postcount=1

Of course I had the usual two steps backward before any forward.... the trim strip retaining screw managed to escape my clutches and disappeared into bumper cavity.
I eventually found a suitable but ugly replacement but then decided to hunt for the original. Foglight grille off and I could just see it; scraped knuckles and I just managed to retrieve it!