Cleaning headlights form YELLOW to YAY!

[r6z4o6]

OK, so your headlights look like
http://naraku.mine.nu/~r6z4o6/FSC/tech/yaaay/oldhlnight.jpg

But you're on a limited budget, and want them to look like
http://naraku.mine.nu/~r6z4o6/FSC/tech/yaaay/newhlnight.jpg

"WOW!! How did you DO that??!?":read:

First thing you need to do, is remove the headlights!! There are 2 long screws for each light, hex tops on them. Remove these screws, gently pull the headlight forward, and take the bulbs out....press and twist, CAREFUL NOW...the bulbs can break!!:read:

You NOW have a dirty, yellow light on your kitchen table...NOW you should have already gotten some of this
http://naraku.mine.nu/~r6z4o6/FSC/tech/yaaay/papers.jpg
Im pretty sure i went overkill with the 400 grit....just try the 2000 grit first, i got it 6 sheets for like $6.00 It feels like notebook paper:tongue:

Now wetsand those lights!! I placed my light inside a shallow cardboard box, with newspaper underneath to catch the excess water. Get a bowl of water, and sprinkle the headlight(minus wires and lights, remember??) untill its all wet..Dip the 2000 grit in some water, really soak it....then sand the heck outta it!! Your using the 2000 grit, put some elbow grease in there!!! You will notice the water turn yellow...thats when you sprinkle more clean water on it, and keep sanding. Sand untill the water stays clear, or at least NOT YELLOW. Do the entire front face, and the 4 edges on top bottom left and right. Here is sanded on the left(notice it is white and opaque, well get that later), and still yucky on the right(yellow and see through)
http://naraku.mine.nu/~r6z4o6/FSC/tech/yaaay/needpolish.jpg

You now have a nice, WHITE light!! Hooray yer done!!





:kidding: Now you need to polish those tiny scratches out. Get a few cloth towels, and pick up some rubbing compund and polishing compound
http://naraku.mine.nu/~r6z4o6/FSC/tech/yaaay/compounds.jpg

Wet the surface of the light again, and get the towel damp. Rub a generous portion of RUBBING COMPUND onto the towel, and "wax on-wax off" the sucker....little circles, really rub it hard. You want to get rid of the scratches, dont you?!?!
http://naraku.mine.nu/~r6z4o6/FSC/tech/yaaay/rubbinglight.jpg After keeping it all slightly damp and rubbing the entire thing down, turn to a clean part of the towel, and buff clean...LOOKING GOOD!!

Now you have a few minute scratches....enter POLISHING COMPOUND.
http://naraku.mine.nu/~r6z4o6/FSC/tech/yaaay/polishlight.jpg Exact same procedure with this. Damp the light, damp the towel, rub polish onto towel, transfer to surface of light in small circles, get it real good!! This is the final step, spend some extra time if you want...go watch some tv...When you turn to a clean section of towel and buff it off, you will be rewarded with a clear, smooth-as-glass surface, free from all contaminants and scratches. Let it air dry a bit, then install(reverse of dissasembly)

MARVEL at the lack of yellow!!!!!

SCREAM IN DELIGHT at the renewed light transmission at night time...youll think you never HAD your headlights on:naughty:

And REVEL in all the attention people give you when they check out your "new" lights....*snicker*...the joke is on them, my friend.....you did well!!:D

[Joe]

Nice job on the article :D

:FSCrules:

[Sierra Sam]

Nice job -- thanks for posting.

[RedZ-71]

Awesome. :rocking:

But don't think this is for my Silverado, it's for my moms crown vic, and my sister's Grand Prix. :crazy:

[Timberwolve81]

what happened tot he pics? all i see is littel red X's:bawl:

[RedZ-71]

Do you think that this will work on clear lights, like the DRL section of the NBS trucks? Or will it make it hazy?

[mattsmith467]

i wish i would have known that this summer before i paid $400 for some GM headlights because mine were too yellow to drive at night. :banghead:

[Z71Silverado98]

thanks for the post, i guy at work told me to do it minus rubbing/polish compound. i did it on my girls car today, worked great, truck is next.

[SyckShyt]

I am asuming this will work on the parking lamps as well?

[mrflames]

damm i hope this works :D

[Whifflebat]

Yeah it works pretty good. I didn't use sandpaper though. I used turtle wax rubbing compound, then polishing compound (mine weren't that bad). I did it on my parking lights, and they look 100% better. :head:

My sis also did it with the rubbing compound on her 94' thunderbirds lights (dont buy those cars they're POS and PITA), but they were really foggy, and they're fine now.


:head:

[RedZ-71]

But will this work on clear lenses, or will it make them stay foggy?????????:crazy:

[Whifflebat]

Originally posted by RedZ-71
But will this work on clear lenses, or will it make them stay foggy?????????:crazy:


:think: Why would you want to do it on clear lenses? They're already clear!! The idea is to get the plastic off that has faded over time and become opaque.

[RedZ-71]

Originally posted by Whifflebat



:think: Why would you want to do it on clear lenses? They're already clear!! The idea is to get the plastic off that has faded over time and become opaque.

Because my mom's '98 crown vic clear lights are nasty fogged, and my parking lights are starting to cloud around the edges...:smokin:

[wynot]

Mother's makes a plastic polish specifically for this...

[cxpcman]

i take all the yellow stuff out whit thinner ..then i sand ,then i take a propane torch and pass it over the headlights then i apply a thin layer of clear coat

[monkmonkman]

Originally posted by Timberwolve81
what happened tot he pics? all i see is littel red X's:bawl:

Same here :(

[r6z4o6]

Originally posted by monkmonkman


Same here :(

CLICK THIS FOR PICS (http://www.megaone.com/matt/truckpix/headlight/)

:D
My webspace is being finicky, please pardon

[machete]

try rubbing them out with zymol car wax ( all natural blue car wax)
use on them with a wet/damp wax applicator

and see if they clean up enough for you

[sider68]

Originally posted by SyckShyt
I am asuming this will work on the parking lamps as well?

No as they are yellow from the inside

[cracnup]

is it possible to pop the the front plastic off of the clear corners or headlamp housings to get to the inside?

the clear corners on my truck are starting to fog and I'd like to try this, but I'm not sure if it's possible to pop the plastic off. and I'd rather not break a set of clear corners trying it.

thanks

[machete]

i saw on tv that one of the dishwasher cleaning chemical companies just released a product that renews plastic..

it shows it cleaning tomato sauce out of tupperware.

maybe this would work on the headlight lense dulling problem.

[r6z4o6]

Originally posted by cracnup
is it possible to pop the the front plastic off of the clear corners or headlamp housings to get to the inside?

the clear corners on my truck are starting to fog and I'd like to try this, but I'm not sure if it's possible to pop the plastic off. and I'd rather not break a set of clear corners trying it.

thanks

If its the clear CORNERS, i think MOISTURE is your problem...does it look like water condensation on the inside, or an all-around yellow haze?? This method clears the haze from the outside.....as for water in the corners, prevention is my only advice. I just installed mine last night, but not before i ran a bead of silicon around them, clear corners are known to leak:cussing:

[cracnup]

it's more of a haze than condensation. it's pretty dry in the desert... I'll probably pull 'em off this week and see if I can't clean 'em, then seal 'em up

thanks for the suggestion.

[brian1987]

if i do this will i have to reaim my headlights?

[r6z4o6]

ONLY if you manhandle it and break the headlight aassembly *cough*cough* If you turn he aimer bolts instead of the removing bolts....its not good!!!!:bawl:

I suppose there is a possibility, if you remove/replace the headlights...just be careful and i bet it will be ok:D

[GloNDark]

I did this to my parking lights over the weekend, while it didn't do anything for the yellowing on the inside, it did take away a lot of the yellowing. Worth it for a 20 minute job really. I will try and snap some pics tonight. :D

[LS6TT]

I did this last night sanded the carp out of it with 2 and 1000 grit..did the rubbing compound and then the polsihing compound..but my headlights and turn signals are still cloudy...how can i get that to do away?

[seth350]

How in the crap do I take the plastic lenses off?!
Mine are friggin glued on by cement or some kind of jizz.
You cant really man handle them either because they are getting brittle. :idiot:

[Tasty]

I just hit mine up with some Meguiar's paint cleaner, then polish, then wax just to keep em from yellowing again. Worked great, just a little elbow grease. I think if you did it with a buffer it would be even easier. I don't know that all the sanding is really necessary. It's just plastic so it doesn't take much to get that scum layer off of there.

[1990z71]

i thought hydrogen peroxide would work to take the foggy-ness otu of headlights..i havent tried it but it was just an expirement to try...lol what do ya think?

[Sammy004]

I can't see no pictures

[matthufham]

could you clay bar or scotch brite your lights instead?

[BLK99on20s]

I cant see the pictures from the tutorial could someone send me the pictures or something i wanna see exactly how to do this cause i need to do this badly

[95Chevy1500]

I just now saw this article but last weekend I used a buffer and meguires paint cleaner and buffed my yellowing headlights and signal lights and now they look new and clear! Took 15 minutes. Yay!

[myolbug]

I like to use a product called Klasse. It comes in an all in one cleaner and a finish glaze. The plastic lights on my dad's RV were clouded and pitted, and this really cleaned them up with only a small amount of effort. Also, this stuff rocks on paint. It is an acrylic polymer polish, and it is very good, and doesn't get sticky in warm weather. look it up!!!

Also, the front turn signals on my 90 Burbon were yellowing, and this cleaned them right up in about 5 minutes.

Look up Klasse in a search engine. I can't recommend this enough. :rocking:

[Tasty]

Klasse is good stuff, but it can be quite tricky to apply and remove. The Klasse Sealant Glaze that is. The Klasse All In One can't be praised enought IMO. It will clean oxidation like no other, polish metal, restore trim, and it's fantastic on paint right before you apply your final coat of wax. The sealant glaze is good too, but you have to apply it in EXTREMELY thin layers otherwise it can be a total PITA to remove.

[myolbug]

Hey Tasty,
I agree with you somewhat on the glaze being hard to remove. Just leave it on overnight. It is a breeze to remove then. Also, it makes it cure harder, and successive coats are a snap. If you add more coats, then more protection. I left some glaze on my dad's RV for two days and it wiped right off. :phatyo:

[Tasty]

Yeah, you can also use some quick detailer to help wipe it off. There are those over on Autopia that favor a "wipe on, wipe off" method. I am one of those. I apply then remove pretty shortly thereafter. What is left will "cure" as you alluded to. Keep in mind that something greater than 70% of what you apply is wiped off anyhow. That is with any wax or sealant. I just bought some Duragloss Aquawax to try on top of the Klasse SG on my wife's CR-V. SG can be difficult to work with, but I feel that it offers excellent protection and can be beautified with a layer of carnauba on top.

[MillerTmeZ71]

Im not sure how well it works on yellow haze but I use Meguiar's Plistix cleaner/polisher on my lights and it worked great. I had a light haze and it looks good as new now.

[myolbug]

Hmmm, a mystery. Why does the page count go to 3, but it won't show anything but page two???? Aliens I tell ya!!!! Or is it the gubment?

:crazy:

" Course now that I typed this, it's on page 3. Oh well... :crazy:

[myolbug]

Just thought that I would give an update on the Klasse. I did my dad's new bug, and I was low on the All In One, so I mixed some finish glaze with it. It went on great, still cleaned and when I used the finish glaze, in the hot sun in some spots, it just wiped right off after sitting in the sun for 15+- minutes. Also, it seemed to deepen the color on the tailights and cleared up the headlights also.

For what it's worth, it was about 30% of the glaze mixed with the AIO. For max cleaning, use undiluted AIO, but, maybe add some of the glaze, it seems to help.

[The_Intimidator]

thanks for the tip

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1203220/mytruckpics005.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1203220/mytruckpics006.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1203220/mytruckpics004.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1203220/mytruckpics007.jpg

I just used turtle wax rubbing and polishing compound. it took me a hour or so to get both of them done it is really simple just rubb the rubbing compound on with a rag and buff it around repeat and then hit it with some polishing compound. I found the inside of the lenses have a lot of crud built up and my lenses are still a bit coudy from the crud inside but they are a 100% better then they were before should I put a coat of wax on them to protect from further yellowing? if so would a wax like mother's cleaner/wax work thanks

[The_Intimidator]

why is *** censored? A.N.D?

[craq]

ok, i hosted the pictures on my photobucket account for those interested.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/craq/compounds.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/craq/needpolish.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/craq/polishlight.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/craq/papers.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/craq/rubbinglight1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/craq/oldhlnight.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/craq/newhlnight.jpg

[92SierraTBI]

cool!

[Tuesdayx]

What if the haze appear to be on the inside? My fog lights are almost opaque and could use a good cleaning. Lastly do you really need to pull the lights or can you clean them while installed?

[92SierraTBI]

What if the haze appear to be on the inside? My fog lights are almost opaque and could use a good cleaning. Lastly do you really need to pull the lights or can you clean them while installed?
I cleaned mine while they were on the truck.Try cleaning the inside with simple green but make sure you rinse it out good and let dry.