Do any of you have the clear head light protection. If you do, which type do you have and was it a pain putting in on? Thinking about getting it for my new ride.

No protection at all other than keeping it very clean all the time and even putting some wax on the clear plastic when I wax my Terrain. My 2010 with 120K miles had a crystal clear lens when I traded...looked good as new. Clean off the bugs/road debris often and you'll be ok.

Was just curious since on my last ride the lens was getting that worn look . I had a crack windshield from rocks hitting my car. After a while you get that pitted look on the windshield . My insurance covered the replacement of my windshield. With the stuff they spread on the road , for winter, to melt the ice and the bad roads/potholes, there is a lot of crap that hits the vehicle.

I have a 13 terrain with just under 50k miles-- and 90% of its life was in northern New York dealing with over salted roads and absolutely unnecessary amounts of snow... Headlights (and windshield surprisingly) survived just fine but I am also a nut about cleaning my car every week.

If you are starting to get the fogged over look or have some nicks on the headlights turtle wax sells a kit for $20 or so with small pads to sand it out by hand. Mothers also sells a kit to use with a drill for a more effective sand and polish. I used that on a ten year old Camry and it took the headlights from a milky white to crystal clear.


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It's pretty easy to use one of those kits mentioned above. Did it on my old civic in about 30 minutes. I wouldn't worry about it for now with the equinox.

Headlights and windshield do take a beating.

As others have said, keeping the headlights polished gives a level of protection and keeps them clear. I use Gelgloss fiberglass polish regularly, plus I have a 3 step cleaner/polish that I use once a year or so.

Mostly, I get bug splatter and maybe some road tar that can be hard to remove with just washing.

I don't think there is anything that can help with keeping the windshield from getting all those small pits that start to give the windshield that "sparkly" look in the sun shine. I've noticed that on cars that I kept over 5 or 6 years.

What is the brand/name of the other polish you use on your headlights? I intent to keep my terrain till it falls apart so I'll have to add some additional headlight love to my cleaning routine. Is it available at your average auto store?


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I use Novus 1,2 & 3, plastic polish and also the cleaner. It works well to preserve and also polish out mild scuffs and keep the headlights clear. But they must be in good shape.

I also have used Mequiar's Plastx polish for a bit more cut if the surface needed some more surface smoothing.

I also use the previously mentioned Gelgloss which can be found at home supply stores. Also very good on some metals for a bit of protection.

I found they work best with an orbital or other power polishing pad. If the surface is really dulled, but not crazed or rough looking and yellowed already, I have used Mequir's Scratch and Swirl Remover with a powered pad.

Most of these products can also be found on Amazon and also Ebay.

If you go the route of sanding and polishing your headlights or just polishing them, you are removing the UV protective layer. The UV rays are what makes the plastic turn cloudy to begin with so once you start polishing them, you are stuck doing it. There is a fix however, I had to do this on an older vehicle. Wet sand and polish the lens. The either remove the headlamp from the vehicle or mask it off completely and use a clear coat to add the level of protection back. Even a rattle can clear coat is better than nothing and will last for years.

I wouldn't trust a rattlecan clear coat. If you go the clear coat route for headlights it should be done at a body shop. Or there's the option of a 50/50 mix of spar urethane and mineral spirits that seems to work very well