'93 Es300 - Polishing My Cloudy Headlamps...

[tckcumming]

Sorry dialup internet users - might take you forever to download all these pictures

Before...

After....

Before #2....

After #2 ....

Here's what I use ...

OOOOOO ... purty!! .......

BUT - look what I found on the top surface of the right (passenger) side headlamp ...

Should I be shopping for a new headlight? The cracks are very small, not noticeable unless you look closely. But they weren't there last time I did the headlight polish thing ( 6 months ago maybe??), at least I didn't notice them then.

New headlight units must be horrendously expen$$$ive, has anyone priced them (for interest sake, only!!). Is ebay the best way to go if I do eventually need a new one (or 2)?? Has anyone else replaced a headlight because of cracking???

tck...

[Lexusfreak]

Pics look great tck! B) Nice job. You have to do that every 6 months? That's a bummer. :(

[LexKid630]

That is a great job with the headlights. I just use a swirl remover for $2.99 and it works perfectly. Highway driving really does a number on the plastic. I have to polish my headlights every few months because there is actually so much foggyness the headlights don't light up the road as well.

[Toysrme]

I'm lucky, my headlights are mint cause the guy that bought the car kept the factory headlight covers on!

tck good luck getting new ones. Used they go for like $200 a unit, even on ebay.

It's more asthetic anyway, the headlight has a drain (honestly it doesn't work well), but more importantly the projectors are semi sealed from the headlight housing itself. I highly doubt any moisture would get in the projectors themselves, I know it was hard enough for me to bust my projectors apart & rebuild them when I went HID.

[SKperformance]

The scratch X works great and i have used it lots. I now use 3m scratch remover and then 3m plastic polish.The cleaner works and so does the polish but it give the clear plastic a white haze.

If the cracks are not bad as it looks i would clear coat them ,especially since you seem to have to redo them after only 6 months it needs protection after cleaning to keep the buildup off either from wax or paint.

[exdotcomer]

very nice- what products did you use? and did you rub the product in circles or straight lines? does it matter? did you just use a cotton rag?

[tg413]

very nice- what products did you use? and did you rub the product in circles or straight lines? does it matter? did you just use a cotton rag?

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I used the same thing " plastx" and it worked great, i only hand buffed the lights 3x and they came out like new. ;)

[TOGWT]

Removing Oxidation or scratches from Vehicle headlights, Brake lights (polycarbonate)

Most vehicles now have a protective, transparent, plastic lens covering the headlights to protect expensive lamps (headlight assemblies range from 500-$700+) from flying stones and road debris. They discolour over time, becoming opaque and cloudy; these lenses can severely restrict the amount of light reaching the road.

The lens has a silicone-based coating applied to its outer surface, some manufacturers apply two different types of coatings to the outer surface of the lens, these coatings are mainly for UVR protection, but are also for impact and abrasion resistance, once the coating (s) fail the lens surface will occlude (clouding or yellowing)

While most of the cloudiness is on the surface, severely discoloured lens cannot be brought back to optical clarity. If you live in a southern state, this discoloration can become noticeable in as little as two-years. You could also use a metal polish (Reckitt and Coleman’s Brasso®)

Protecting Headlights against Stone Chips:

Protect your headlights from stone chips, scratches and yellowing by fitting X-PelTM clear headlight protection. The pressed polished thermoplastic vinyl is optically clear (headlamp protection material blocks less that one tenth of one percent (0.1%) and will not significantly reduce lighting effectiveness.

The 40 Mil vinyl is flexible enough to adhere to contours and will withstand kicked-up road gravel travelling in excess of I20-mph. Fill a 16 oz spray bottle with distilled water and 3-4 ¼-inch sized drops of liquid detergent as a lubricant, plus it prevents the water from evaporating too quickly. Spray both the film and the headlight and place in position. The 3M™ adhesive backing ensures that they are easily fitted, plus their UVR inhibitors will resist yellowing and fading (autosportcatalog.com)

JonM

[LexKid630]

very nice- what products did you use? and did you rub the product in circles or straight lines? does it matter? did you just use a cotton rag?

←

Meguiars ScratchX is the best stuff i've used. I put it on a damp cotton cloth and rub it in as hard as i can without breaking the plastic. It doesn't matter if you rub it hard, because it wont create new scratches. This stuff is amazing.

If you have a lot of tiny rock chips in it, you can start with a polishing compound (#7). This will make the plastic foggy, but that will be removed with the scratchX.

Then i coat the plastic with a coat of wax and i'm all done. It looks great.

I just found another "chip/crack" in the left front headlight on the rx330, but there's no way to fix that. It's in an area where you can't really see it so i don't care :(