Balls OT

[Young Ed]

I used a similar kit made by 3m. I picked it up for about 13 bucks if I remember. However Don's kit appears to have more materials in it to repeat the process. The 3m kit could maybe do 4 lenses before it was out.

[Don Coatney]

Don,

I know your pretty much done with this thread, but for the benefit of others, I went on ebay and replaced the entire headlights by the pair (new) with S&H included and new bulbs in the housings for $89/pr. So with that being said say against a $29 cleaning which may only last a year or two along with all that sanding and buffing, that is if nothing else gets marred or broke along the way the extra $60 for brand new headlights doesn't seem so bad. The new ones will last another 6-7 years easy. So its six of one or a half dozen of the other. A kit every other year for 6 years will cost around $87, or new headlights and re-install and one and done for around $89 doesn't seem so bad. There is one more consideration, that is if your going to keep your vehicle 6 more years or not. Oh well you asked for Ideas and that was mine.

Tom

My truck is 15 years old and this is the first time I have touched the headlights. Also the kit I bought will do several more. I thought about searching for replacements but elected to do this fix instead.

[40P10touring sedan]

My '99 gran voy has had the headlights redone about 4 times now...I've used all the different types of rejuvinates out there and they only seem to last a year...sometimes not that long. Oh, I have a set of nighthawk bulbs in there that are a tad bigger{probably hotter} than oem so I can see at night....gen 3 mopar vans aren't well known for their lighting prowess{bad design}.

One thing you'll want to look out for is crazing...tons of lil cracks in the plastic...no polish will ever take those out and those will add to a milky look in the lenses....I go for removing the yellow coloring only.

To replace the headlight completely will fix the problem for a few years, but at added cost and if you can easily find them.

...was thinking of replacing mine this morning...in the form of an '05 magnum with a hemi{hehehe}...I need a new parts hauler...

[littlemo]

Save your money, don't drive at night !!! lol.. Cass, alias littlemo...

[Flatie46]

I was amazed at how much it helped on low beam after I went over the lenses. I'm getting to where I don't see as well at night and I guess every little bit helps.

[greg g]

On my Exploder, I used 800 wet sand then 1000, then polishing compound with a orbital palm polisher with whatever cover it came with. I then gave them two coats of rainex and that treatment lasted for quite a while. Made a big diffeence in light output.

[WatchingWolf]

We used to stock a product at the shop that was made to clean and polish the plastic slip shields in welding helmets... it was a creamy paste that went on like a wax, dried to a haze then you buffed it off. Been several years since I had a car with plastic lights, but it worked really well to clean them up and keep them clear with regular use. I'll see if I can find the bottle and post the name. We got it from the welding supply house.

[wayfarerstranger]

Best solution don`t buy cheap newer cars try to stay 73 or older !

[Young Ed]

Best solution don`t buy cheap newer cars try to stay 73 or older !

Come to MN and try to find a 73 and older model to drive. You'll be walking!

[Robert Horne]

Bubba says we don't need any headlights....

[wayfarerstranger]

They sell cars in other States ??? there is this place called EBAY ,,,, they have tons of them ... also vintage car magazines are loaded down with them ,,,,

[Young Ed]

Ya so you'd pay a premium price for a collector car to watch it rust away in a few years?? Not to mention how much better modern cars are in the winter. Fuel injection really helps with those 30 below starts.

[Plymouthy Adams]

back in the day DOT banned European lights..bring into the US and pay dearly for coversion..but then they did the ole crawdaddy and allowed composite headlights to be legal..why..is it because of a good well funded lobby fromt he makers of these cheap throw away lights..maybe..and if so, fine..allow body contoured lenses and promote it for fuel economy due to better aerodynamics..but at least give us quality glass..many cars of today have sero adjustments for alignment..take a tour of the wrecking yard and look about..ma Mopar is highly guilty of these cheap made lights without adjusters...trade off in everything these days...you just got to decide what you can or cannot live with..

[Plymouthy Adams]

Ya so you'd pay a premium price for a collector car to watch it rust away in a few years?? Not to mention how much better modern cars are in the winter. Fuel injection really helps with those 30 below starts.

ah Ed...you making my day..the very resaon for those that upgraded drivetrain and electronics into the older car...its work..but its fun also to do..a huge challenge that all are not up to....you can have the best of both worlds but as I said a minute ago..what is that you can or cannot live with..

I know those that live up north cannot really expect to pay dearly for a collector car and drive it through the winter..please don't get me wrong...most of my relatives up north have a WINTER car..one that is a sacrafical lamb you could say..

Edited September 17, 2012 by Tim Adams

[Don Coatney]

Back on topic to this very much off topic thread. Drove in darkness for the first time tonight after using the product and I did notice much improvment in night driving visibility. Dont ask, as I have no means to measure or quantify this other than my tired old eyes. Bottom line is I made my problem better but it cost me 25 bucks. Others who have responded to this thresd found a less expensive way to do so and if you are looking to resolve the same problem you may want to follow there advice. But what I did worked for me.

To stay off topic a bit, I have had only one lamp failure on my truck (1997 model) and that is a lisence plate lamp (one of 2) that I have not yet repplaced to date. All other bulbs are original. On my wifes much newer Caddy I have had to replace two front running lights (this requires removal of the entire doghouse, heater motor, differential fluid, low air pressure indicator, cigar lighter if that option was included, and air from the spare tire:rolleyes:) to replace and the lamp cost is enough to launch a sattelite. What lamp failures have you folks had on newer vehicles?

[Plymouthy Adams]

I usually wet sand with various grit of fine paper till it is very smooth..the grade you start with is usually determined by the severity of the deteriation...after than I use my slow speed buffer with Permatex brand plastic polish..I also do not own a LUX meter but I assure you there is a difference at night..not to mention the overall improved looks of the vehicle itself..I still question the why of the acrylic lenses..they have been proven a bad idea over and over again...some of these lights are in the 400.00 and up range...so economics to the owner is no wehre near a consideration in the manufactuer's eyes..its cheap for them..its a necessity for you..thus the high retail replacements...they depend on the fact that most owners do not do their own maintenance..most shops do not just polish a lens...this is the big got-ya

[Niel Hoback]

So, what is the consensus of opinion as to how we avoid this probem? Is there something we can to prevent the crazing of the plastic? At least slow it down?

[PatS....]

The toothpaste seems to work as well as the expensive kits on my Caravan, although neither did as well as I would want. I'll keep a lookout for decent replacements rather than all that work for not much improvement.

[TodFitch]

So, what is the consensus of opinion as to how we avoid this probem? Is there something we can to prevent the crazing of the plastic? At least slow it down?

I've heard that it is due to ultraviolet light. My almost 9 year old "daily driver" show more problems with this than my wife's almost 12 year old car. Hers is garaged while mine is in the driveway so the old Plymouth can be in the garage. Same brand car, so I am guessing that the materials in the plastic are similar so the main difference is how many hours of exposure to the sun they've had.

[Don Coatney]

So, what is the consensus of opinion as to how we avoid this probem? Is there something we can to prevent the crazing of the plastic? At least slow it down?

I bought a new Honda motorcycle in 1971 and it had a plastic windscreen. I had several friends who also bought the same bike. Everytime I waxed the bike (at least once a month) I also waxed the windscreen using Rally wax. After a couple of years I noticed the windscreen on my friends bikes were all scratched and glazed but my screen was still clear. I sold this bike in 1993 and the windscreen was still clear. So a wax application seemed to help a lot. This bike was always garaged.

[Merle Coggins]

... What lamp failures have you folks had on newer vehicles?

On my daily driver, ('06 F150) I had the left licence plate light fail within the first couple of years. A new bulb didn't help as the socket had failed. I got a replacement lamp assembly and it is still in my desk drawer. (wasn't high priority). Then at around 150,000 miles I began noticing that my headlights didn't seem to be as bright as they should have been, but the lenses were still clear. I replaced the bulbs and all was good again. I tend to run with my headlights on all of the time and they had a lot of hours on them. Then this summer I noticed that I had a bad brake light on the left side, so I replaced both bulbs as insurance. I now have around 190,000 miles on this truck and so far only 2 lamp failures and others replaced as preventative maintainence.

Merle

[TR Waters]

The majority of those A/M headlamp assemblies you buy for $89 +/- are junk. The insides bounce around so bad you will swear they are falling out of your vehicle. You are much better off to buff up your o.e.m. lamps, even if it is once a year. You can actually sand them with 1500 or 2000 and use a two part clearcoat on them. They will last a long time.

[40P10touring sedan]

I bought a new Honda motorcycle in 1971 and it had a plastic windscreen. I had several friends who also bought the same bike. Everytime I waxed the bike (at least once a month) I also waxed the windscreen using Rally wax. After a couple of years I noticed the windscreen on my friends bikes were all scratched and glazed but my screen was still clear. I sold this bike in 1993 and the windscreen was still clear. So a wax application seemed to help a lot. This bike was always garaged.

Keeping anything in the garage helps with less exposure and fade...old hondas that sat out were easy to find...look at the redline area which was usually orange from sun fade, or the area around the quad indicator lights....my 1st two used cycles{'74 CB750/'75 CB750} were rather faded in that aspect...my father's '76 CB550 was in nice shape since it was garaged.

Funny thing, dad and I couldn't agree on cars, but we both liked our hondas...then I got a '76 KZ750B and that ended that!

[Mark Haymond]

Today I used MOTHERS PowerBall Headlight Restoration kit I bought from the local car parts store. It looks similar to the Megquires one. It was for the headlights on my wife's 2006 Caddilac CTS. It works as advertised. They were slightly fogged and showed surface cracks just at the top of the light.

Instead of using the little squares of paper in the kit I tried 2000 grit wet and dry from my box of garage sandpaper. That was too fine to remove the surface scratches so I used 1000 grit wet and dry. That and a bunch of elbow grease removed the surface scratches and left a milky surface glaze that you could not see when it was wet but was visible when dry. I followed up with 2000 wet and dry. As the last step I used the polishing compound, sponge ball, and cordless drill to polish out the glaze. The plastic looks good now and passes wife approval.

I have lots of polish left in the bottle, the sponge ball is still like new, and I have lots of 1000 and 2000 paper, so the $23 kit was a good value.

[Niel Hoback]

Well, this is a very informative thread. I will put on a heavy layer of polish and hope for the best. Hmmmm, maybe some custom formed stainless steel visors for them. Hmmmm