On my 10 year old van the headlight lens are becomming real foggy. It`s almost as if they have been sandblasted. What can I do to make them clear again? Can I use a buffer wheel in a drill with some sort of rubbing compound? Please help.
My son works at a dealership in the prep bay. He was a skeptic when they told him to restore a couple headlights on a used car-- Now he's a believer. [but for *his* car, he'd just buy a new set of glass, despite the cost.]
Jim
Herb Eneva wrote the following on 4/28/2012 6:34 AM (ET):
I've used polishing compound with the drill and buffer and had good results. Even the TV advertised products don't do any better.
Instructional video is good. You could duplicate materials. I used to use toothpaste to polish up a plastic watch lens. Any mild abrasive would work but at all costs, avoid solvents, as they could ruin the plastic lens.
Actually I just use Bonami or Comet (household cleansers) with a sponge and it works good on my 10 year old car. Honestly it comes out almost as new. If you look real for imperfections, of course not new but it's reasonably close .... surely works at nite a lot better without a doubt. I never did this but I bet with a buffer, it would be even better but for me, its easy enough to do by hand and looks pretty good.
When it comes to fogged-up headlight lenses - is it the inside surface or the outside surface that needs polishing?
Duh!
I'm serious.
Which side of the lens turns cloudy or milky -> and why?
You don't see tail-light lenses turn cloudy, even though they seem to be made from the same plastic...
Ive used polishing compound on mine and it has worked great. I applied it b= y hand instead of a drill but I didnt start taking care of the problem afte= r 10 years. I have been doing it about once a year starting at about the se= cond year I owned my 10 year old truck.
Jimmie
by hand instead of a drill but I didnt start taking care of the problem af= ter 10 years. I have been doing it about once a year starting at about the = second year I owned my 10 year old truck.
hand instead of a drill but I didnt start taking care of the problem after 10 years. I have been doing it about once a year starting at about the second year I owned my 10 year old truck.
what he said. the "headlight restoration kits" you see advertised are basically just the same thing. Just sand them down with some fine grit (1000, 1500 etc.) sandpaper, then buff with rubbing compound, polish, then wax. Or just buy the kit - if you don't have a good auto body supply around, and/or don't do body work and therefore have the need to keep supplies around to cut and buff orange peel out of paint, then it's not that expensive in the grand scheme of things. Just understand that once you've done this, you've removed the UV-protective layer of your headlights, so they will "fog" up that much more quickly again. A good way to maintain them is to simply polish and wax them whenever you do your paint.
What you're seeing is a combination of actual sandblasting by road debris (which you probably won't get out) and degradation of the top layer of the plastic due to UV damage (which you *can* polish out for a nice improvement.)
nate
I've seen it, on cars that sit outside all the time. Polishing/waxing your light lenses at the same time that you do the paint keeps them looking shiny however.
I recently bought an old Jeep Cherokee and apparently a PO had gouged the 3rd brake light either by backing into something or else loading something on top of the vehicle, so while collecting parts for some other stuff I wanted to do (specifically, adding a factory fog light switch and cruise control) had a guy that was parting out a wrecked vehicle send me his 3rd brake light. It was all kinds of pink and hazy looking, but I just hit it with some old Zymol that I found in my box of detailing stuff, now it looks like new.
I've also noticed that the clear turn signal repeaters on A4 chassis VWs seem to age particularly badly, although fortunately for owners of those cars, replacements aren't expensive if they don't buff out.
Now why headlights, probably the most important light of the vehicle, seem to weather worse than most other light lenses, I don't know - but they do seem to. Maybe it's because a lot of them are "laid back" so they are more exposed to the sun's rays than a typical taillight? In any case most of the weathering seems to be on the outside of the lens, and it's always related to sun exposure.
This is a reason that I like good old sealed-beam format headlights (so I can replace them with E-code assemblies with glass lenses) I have seen some European vehicle-specific headlights w/ glass lenses (VW Corrado for example) but I don't think I've ever seen a glass lens on a US market car outside of a sealed beam; I don't know why that is. Plastic is definitely a step back in durability and clarity (at least after they fog up) for sure.
nate
Home Guy wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@Guy.com:
The outside. The problem appears to be UV light from the sun.
I believe headlamps are made of polycarbonate. Other lenses are usually made of acrylic (PMMA).
By law, plastic headlight lenses must be coated with an anti-abrasion epoxy. It's that epoxy which discolors as a consequence of UV. No other plastic lenses need be so coated, so those generally don't go yellow or cloud-over.
As for a fix, most garages, bodyshops, and detailing places offer headlamp- lens-cleaning services. They work surprisingly well. Auto-supply stores, Walmart, and other retailers offer DIY kits that do much the same thing.
I have 3 vehicles. 1992, 2001 and 2007. 3 different brands. All have good clear headlight lenses. I when I wash and wax them I use Nu Finish wax even on all the plastics. This is good for fiber glass on motor homes. Found this out from a friend that has a motor home. All my vehicles still look like new despite being out in the sun. My $.02 worth WW
willshak wrote in news:dqCdnRbxYPF4RgbSnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@supernews.com:
I used plastic polish and a foam pad on my cordless drill. But after a few months(in central Florida),it clouds up again. the key is that the lenses are coated with a UV protectant at the factory. I discovered a restorer kit that includes a packet of coating/sealant that has the UV protectant,and it lasted over a year before my 94 Integra GS-R was stolen,stripped and torched. the name of the kit is CrystalView Headlight Restorer/Defogger,and I bought it at WalMart for $20. It comes with polishing compound,ultrafine sandpaper,and polishing cloths for badly scratched lenses. I haven't seen it there lately but they may still have it at the online WalMart store.
The MGF website is MyHeadlight.com
Disclaimer; have no financial connection with the company or WalMart.
Nate Nagel wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news1.newsguy.com:
note; CrystalView restorer kit includes the sealant that has UV protection,and it lasted over a year on my Integra,but then the car was stolen.
Nate Nagel wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news3.newsguy.com:
yeah,any plastic polish works good for plain fogging. I used a foam pad on my cordless drill.
the headlight lenses are polycarbonate plastic that's dipped in a coating that is hard and protects from UV. Glass lenses were great,but would shatter from stones thrown up by semis and other vehicles. They also could not be molded into complex shapes without great cost,and then there was the advent of halogen bulbs in the headlight/reflector assembly. Polycarbonate(Lexan) is less prone to shatter from such road debris,but NEEDS the anti-UV coating to last. But it eventually wears away,and then the lenses degrade.
harbor freight has a kit for about 10 bucks
Nothing better than new lens, but you can defog/descratch pretty well much more cheaply with the DIY remedies. I used this on 2 cars. Bought it for 7 bucks or so.
Right... and if you don't have any polishing compound handy, toothpaste does a good job, too. :-)
cheers
Jules
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