Fuzzy Headlight Fix

[Teg]

I know this seems to be more cosmetic than anything, but you do get a better beam after the job is done. I saw the kit in one of my magazine so I thought I'd give it a try, about $20 at Autozone (and there is enough in the kit to last a good while), overall I thought the results were pretty nice and well worth the money spent. :)

Before:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=407

After:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=408

Kit:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=409

[jstoshick]

Household acetone works very well too - and most people have it on hand. Simply put some on a soft cloth or paper towel and cleanse the lenses using long side to side or up and down scrubbing - no not scrub in circles.

[Teg]

Nice tip. :)

[Wyobuckaroo]

FANTASTIC..............

I need that kind of product for my old Dodge pickup. The lenses are about as white as powdered sugar.

What was the stuff that was always around the airport hangers to clean windows ?
Kind of a off white pasty looking cream. Rub it on with a soft cloth. Took off dirt, water spots, bug splats and all. Was always in a generic squirt bottle that had been refilled a hundred times with no label.

Anyone know ?

Wyo

[Teg]

Probably same as this stuff, I believe it is some sort of plastic polish.

[Wyobuckaroo]

OK...........
So I tried the acetone thing..........

I think my lenses were in a lot worse shape than in the pictures.
Worked good on one lens and not as well on the other. Still better than it was, but not as good as the first one. Will have to try it again.

Good luck
Wyo

[fishnut]

I have heard that toothpaste will do the same thing.
Wipe on a thin coat of it, let it dry, and then wipe it off.

I have not tried this yet, so don't take MY word for it. I will try it out soon though, and will post a report/pics if it actually works (and of course recant my original post if it does not!).

[Teg]

Looking forward the hearing about the result.

[Musky]

I used the acetone trick on the wifes car. The first one looked very good so I thought I would give the second a few more good wipes. MISTAKE !!!. The lens looks as if it started to melt and turn real milky. The secret seems to be use a little and use long strokes when wiping.

[nailpounder]

The headlights on my 98 Caravan were so bad they were actually flaking. I got some wet/dry sandpaper at the local NAPA and started with 500 grit and finished with 3,000 grit (I think it was that fine, it's been awhile). If you care about the paint mask off around the headlight assembly with blue tape. I did the wet sanding by hand. If you use a power sander you have to be careful not to over heat the plastic. When I was done sanding and the lens was dry it looked frosted! I then used some Meguire's plastic polish to finish it off, it was sparkling clear. It does need the plastic polish to keep it crystal clear every so often. If the lenses aren't that bad the Meguire's may be all you need. I think there's a UV protecting coating that degrades over the years which is why the lens go bad. Hope that helps. BTW, I didn't come up with this method, I read about it at Allpar.com.

[Teg]

I'm pretty sure all this really is when you break it down is some sort of plastic polish, it even comes with a wet-sanding piece like you described for bad cases. :)