 Have your headlight lenses turned yellow & cloudy? These tips are only for the 1987-up plastic headlight assemblies that use the 9004 h Halogen bulb. In an effort to help save you time and money I am writing this tech article. First of all DO NOT USE HARSH rubbing compounds or abrasives on your plastic headlamp assemblies! This will only scratch and make them look worse. In most normal cases your lamps are yellowing from oxidation. The only commercial product I have found is called Nu-lite. Heres what they say about it:" It will not make them look brand new but you will be able to see at night" Price is 12.95 U.S. dollars. Now before you go running out to buy this product let me share some more info with you. I have not tried these techniques personally however others have had success with them. One mustang enthusiast used West Marine brand fiberglass boat cleaner/wax he said, " I figured I had nothing to lose, so I tried polishing the lenses with fiberglass boat cleaner/wax. I used West Marine brand, not sure it really matters, just don't use fiberglass cleaner for heavy oxidation removal (it's too coarse of a polishing compound). A soft cloth, a little polish, and some elbow grease made my headlights look like brand new again" Steve W. Some of our 50tech members have suggested using Scrubbing Bubbles household cleaner and some elbow grease to remove the yellow oxidation. It has been brought to my attention that it is important to keep this chemical off the paint! Now here is another suggestion that I have seen pictures of the results. You use 1500-2000 grit sand paper and water. Wet sand the headlamp lenses carefully and rinse. Dry thoroughly and use a good plastic polish and buff by hand or with a buffer. Note: If you use a buffer it is important not to get the lenses to hot they will melt! The results of this method were outstanding. You can do this process with the lamps in the car however it takes a lot of work and attention to detail so as not to scuff your cars finish. Another problem can be a leaky headlamp. Water inside will cause a fog/or green fungus to grow. Bleach water will help here but you will probably have to remove the lamp to empty out the solution and dry it out. Not to mention caulk up the assembly to stop the leak. If you are to the point of considering spending a couple of hundred dollars on new lamp assemblies why not try these suggestions you may be surprised at the results. |
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