Chili Ron Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Howdy, Once upon a time headlights were glass. The wise and wonderful folks in Washington have decided that cars must get better gas milage. So steel and brass and glass are all being replaced by plastic. Plastic can be better or most definitely worse. Driving back home I noticed it was really hard to see. The next day I looked at the headlights and found the plastic covers had hazed over to the point of being solid white in areas. I went to work on these plastic covers and was told they had a top coat and that TOP COAT was turning yellow and the covers needed to be replaced or reworked. New covers are several hundred dollars and difficult to install, just bring money. I bought one repair kit for around $15, it sorta worked but not really. Then I bought 2000 and 3000 grit sandpaper and removed the haze or most of it. Finally I bought WIPE NEW and followed the instructions. Remember the heavy haze had been removed before and the WIPE NEW replaced the coating over the lens that looks close to new in clarity. Then headlight bulbs were replaced. NOW I have lights on the ol horseless carriage. Now that Ive seen the problem there are dozens if not thousands of folks in need of headlight work. Replacing bulbs only works if the lenses are clear. Good luck with that. Best CR ps The plastic lens is soft plastic. The factory puts on a layer of HARD plastic to protect the soft plastic. This gives a resilience WITH scratch resistance. If you don't replace that top coat the uncoated lens will look fine for a short time then haze back over. That's what the WIPE NEW is supposed to be replacing. And what works in dry climates may not work in an Illinois winter. Your milage may vary. Never open this cap, Usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 I have seen car-repair businesses that offer to resurface your headlamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Hanger #3720LR Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 A few suggestions for plastic lens clean up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Just one of the MANY reasons I'm glad my trucks are from the 80s. No computers. Glass headlights. They are antiques so my tags are only 25 dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Turtle wax polishing compound and about 5 minutes work. I do ours, twice a year-- OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted November 15, 2014 Author Share Posted November 15, 2014 Howdy, Staying on top of things is always fine. Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtwater Doc 17941 Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Toothpaste works as well. DD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Brasso works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Howdy, And how does the brasso or toothpaste replace the hard scratch resistant outer coat of the original lens cover? Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 No replacement-Your just polishing the haze off. I've tried'em all-Turtle Wax Polishing Compound does the best job, in the least amount of time. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ornery Cuss Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Or Sam's Club will do an amazing job on them for about $25.00 and 20-30 minutes. Headlights look absolutely new. Although, as someone already mentioned, there are probably a number of businesses happy to do it for you. I tried one of the 'kits' from an auto parts store.....too much work for an iffy result. My cars are 2004 and 2002 models, headlights on both almost totally opaque before refurbishing. Ornery Cuss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty Jack Hammer Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 There is a scam out there where people are using bug spray to remove the haze that works spectacularly ... For a couple days until the oil drys up or worse gets wet and runs onto your paint and ruins it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bristol Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 I just don't drive at night unless I have to. I had one of the plastic lenses fall off on the highway once. I was just glad the car was still under warranty by a week. Would have cost me $225 just for one headlight assembly. I can buy the old glass headlights for my truck for $10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 A few years back, I bought a Meguiar's Headlight Resoration Kit (heavy duty series) to redo my girlfriends '95 Camry. The old lenses were severely yellowed and hazed over. The kit was somewhat pricey ($35?) and it required some elbow grease to get the job done but I gotta tell ya, the lenses looked brand new when I was finished. It came with a "protectant" to apply last. The lenses still looked like new when the car was sold a few years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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