Cloudy, yellowed headlights not only spoil the look of a car — they can also reduce visibility at night and cause issues at MOT time.

In this blog, I’ll show you a Mazda MX5 headlight restoration I carried out in Nottingham — captured in a timelapse video.

👉 Important note: This was a temporary headlight fix — I didn’t apply a clear coat on this job. For a longer-lasting r

esult, I usually recommend clear coating the headlights after polishing to protect them from UV damage and slow down future aging.

Why Do Headlights Go Cloudy?

Headlight lenses are made from plastic and exposed to years of:

  • Sunlight (UV rays)

  • Road salt and debris

  • Washing chemicals

  • General wear and tear

Over time this causes oxidation and the lens becomes yellowed or hazy.
If your car has cloudy headlights or fails its MOT due to poor visibility, a professional headlight restoration in Nottingham can make a big difference — for both looks and safety.

Watch the Timelapse Video

Here’s a 30 second timelapse showing the Mazda MX5 headlight polishing process:

What I Did

1️⃣ Preparation

  • Cleaned the headlights

  • Masked off surrounding paintwork

2️⃣ Sanding
For this Mazda MX5 headlight restoration, I used:

  • Dry sanding with a dual-action (DA) polisher using 1500 grit — this removed most of the oxidation and defects

  • Wet sanding with 3000 grit — to refine the surface and prepare it for polishing

3️⃣ Polishing

  • Machine polished the lenses to restore clarity and shine

Why This Was a Temporary Fix

In this case, I didn’t apply a clear coat afterwards — so while the headlights looked much clearer, they don’t have UV protection. Without that protective layer, the plastic will gradually start to haze again over time.

👉 For a longer-lasting Mazda MX5 headlight restoration, I recommend finishing with a UV-protective clear coat after polishing. This helps maintain clarity for much longer.

Results

Even as a temporary headlight fix, the results were excellent — the headlights looked much clearer and brighter.

But for a proper long-term cloudy headlight repair, applying a clear coat is the best solution.

See Me in Action on YouTube (Filmed by Paul Cowland)

If you’d like to see more of this Mazda MX5 NC headlight repair project — including some of the headlight work I did — check out this video from the Cowland Car Collection YouTube channel:

👉 Mazda MX5 NC Project Begins! Seats and Lights Restoration

Filmed by Paul Cowland as part of this restoration project, and you can see more of my work featured in the video.

Want Proper Headlight Restoration?

If your headlights are looking tired, I can help!

For mobile headlight polishing in Nottingham — or a full cloudy headlight repair with UV protection — contact Star Smart Repair today.

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