Headlight Lens Cleaning

[SC300_guy_Miami]

I'm new to the site and wanted to say that the site is very impressive and immensely helpful for do-it-yourselfers. Just two questions...

I've been reading on here about cleaning/polishing the headlight lenses to make them look new again. Before I undertake the feat, just curious if anyone has tried cleaning and polishing the exterior of the lens? If so, does it look substantially better and not warrant taking the unit apart to do the inside.

Also, what's the best way to get the foglight units out? They are in much worse need of a cleaning than the headlights and I wouldn't mind doing them (inside and out) if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks-

[Calvin L]

about the first question, no, do them outside AND inside. way better outcome.

second question...is a good question. i have not heard or read about a situation where a person wanted to take the fogs out for a cleaning. if you cant do it. then maybe its time for some new foglights :)

[BlackSC4]

just dont do what i did and use something else but plastic polish. i practically burned my headlight housing and had to paint it black with window tint paint. i turned my highbeams into headlights and my headlights into signal lights. if you ask me, i kind of like it better like that.

[sightdev]

Good old puffing will fix the hazed lenses. All plastic headlights get weathered over period of time so good maintenance will slow the process of aging. I maintain the headlights by putting on a coat of wax including the brake lights to preserve the plastics of it shine. I also wax the windshield for improved visibility during the rain. I tried this after someone from Corvette forum recommended this many years ago and I have become a believer in waxing everything painted or glossy surfaces. I had to machine buff the DL because of the beating it gets on the lower part of the car to restore the shine.

[TWINTURBO619]

I'm new to the site and wanted to say that the site is very impressive and immensely helpful for do-it-yourselfers. Just two questions...

I've been reading on here about cleaning/polishing the headlight lenses to make them look new again. Before I undertake the feat, just curious if anyone has tried cleaning and polishing the exterior of the lens? If so, does it look substantially better and not warrant taking the unit apart to do the inside.

Also, what's the best way to get the foglight units out? They are in much worse need of a cleaning than the headlights and I wouldn't mind doing them (inside and out) if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks-

hey what's going on, i don't have an sc but a gs with the same problem. when i bought my car, they were yellower than daisies. all i did was buy some mcguires car polish and applied them to the head light lenses and buffed them out. let me tell you, they came out nearly factory. really good stuff. haven't had a problem since. i've had my gs for three years and never gotten yellow again. you don't need to polish the inside, the outside will do just fine. about the fog lights. it should be only two bolts and one built in clip to take them out. shouldn't be too hard. look around in the front for a false cover, if not, then you gotta take off the splash guards at the bottom and take them off from inside the bumper. hopefully this will help you out. good luck

[SC300_guy_Miami]

sightdev...I agree about waxing everything. I'll let you know how things come out. I'm thinking that, if priced within reason, I may end up just replacing the fogs.

TWINTURBO619...that is a sweet-@ss ride you have there!

[BlackSC4]

about waxing the window...try RainX, it repells water off glass, but it will kill paint, so dont think about it

[TWINTURBO619]

sightdev...I agree about waxing everything. I'll let you know how things come out. I'm thinking that, if priced within reason, I may end up just replacing the fogs.

TWINTURBO619...that is a sweet-@ss ride you have there!

thanks for the compliment yo. i really appreciate it. well good luck with the waxing. buy some mcguires, it's really good for the paint and headlights. it's like less than ten bucks. but does wonders for your car.

[SC300_guy_Miami]

I'll post a pic soon but it gets clayed then a nice heavy coat of wax. I RainX all the windows but the headlight & taillight lenses get clayed and waxed as well. Too bad most everyone seems out west or outside south Florida. Weather's perfect here for car fanatics!

[TOGWT]

~One mans opinion / observation~

Vehicle Headlights (glass) -

Wipe glass with a damp waffle weave towel; apply Stoners Invisible Glass to 100% cotton Microfiber cloth and rub glass surface with a light to medium pressure (it will dry streak-free / lint-free and shining)

Vehicle Headlights (plastic) –

Wipe glass with a damp waffle weave towel; apply Plexus1Plastic Cleaner, Protectant and Polish, safe for all types of clear and coloured plastics, Perspex, Lucite, Mylar (window tinting) and clear acrylics.

~Hope this helps~

Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/

justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*

[mktbully]

i thought wax on the windshield causes wiper chatter and skipping.

[sightdev]

mktbully ;

chatter is usually caused by hard rubber which is commonly found on cheap wiper blades. Also free playing wiper blade mostly common on older cars and Chrysler vehicles that holds from the outer part of the blade. Ours have unique wiper blade which passenger side slightly bent to accommodate the insert in to the location closer to the slot. Skipping is caused by worn blades or dirt caught in between. Try waxing and you should have a good experience. I have tried rain-x but it seems to leave residue over period of time making it harder to wash later. so I no longer use rain-x on either in-outside windows. Inside I use glass cleaner to clean the window and that seems to last the longest between cleaning. If the windshield has many fine scratches like a car that does lot of highway cruises may not be a good idea since the wax may get in between and cause more hazing. There are many fine products that does what it does and everyone has there favorite way of maintaining their cars.

SC300_guy_Miami

I am just sharing mine since you asked. Have fun washing while we freeze our buns in NE cold.

[TWINTURBO619]

mktbully ;

chatter is usually caused by hard rubber which is commonly found on cheap wiper blades. Also free playing wiper blade mostly common on older cars and Chrysler vehicles that holds from the outer part of the blade. Ours have unique wiper blade which passenger side slightly bent to accommodate the insert in to the location closer to the slot. Skipping is caused by worn blades or dirt caught in between. Try waxing and you should have a good experience. I have tried rain-x but it seems to leave residue over period of time making it harder to wash later. so I no longer use rain-x on either in-outside windows. Inside I use glass cleaner to clean the window and that seems to last the longest between cleaning. If the windshield has many fine scratches like a car that does lot of highway cruises may not be a good idea since the wax may get in between and cause more hazing. There are many fine products that does what it does and everyone has there favorite way of maintaining their cars.

SC300_guy_Miami

I am just sharing mine since you asked. Have fun washing while we freeze our buns in NE cold.

what worked best for me to clean windows is regular windex and news paper. that combo never fails. same as the inside. for my tail lights and head lights, i use mcguires.

[UCF3]

SC300_guy_miami:

Have you visited our Car care forums, and forum store-link LexusCarCare.com for some of your product needs? Most of the stuff sold there are pretty good. they're kind of expensive but in some cases are really good.

[hysh]

I like novus

[SC300_guy_Miami]

UCF...I looked thru many of the posts on the car care forum and will put stuff like this over there going forward.

One last thing...any idea why the highbeams look like new and the lowbeams are in need of attention? Possibly because the highbeams are used substantially less than the lowbeams...

[SPORTcoupe300]

It is because the high-beams are made of glass while the lows are made of plastic.

Meguiar's Scratch-X swirl remover should do the trick on the plastic.

[UCF3]

along with SportsCoupe's Plastic and Glass, but I'm thinking there might be a leak in the seal for your Lowbeam. There are others posts and people who have talked about this subject before, but the most logical conclusion is a leaky seal.

I'm not sure about adding Scratch X on plastic. I've never did it before, but it's possible it might work. There are plastic polishes from Meguire and Mothers. Google it, or check on their sites. I've heard of Noxus before, and I've heard good things about the brand, but never tried it. I'm a mothers person myself.