I just preformed a variation of this procedure with decent results. I Didn't have any super find sandpaper so I didn't do any sanding. I also don't have a buffing or polishing wheel so I just attached a piece of terry cloth to an air tool and used some general purpose auto polishing compound that I have had sitting in my garage for years. This only took a few minutes and didn't cost me anything since I only used supplies that I already had. This car has almost reached beater status so I don't mind improvising like this. I video taped the procedure. The video can be found here:
does anyone know how to take off the actual lenses? I can't seem to do it, I want to see if I can get some of the water our, these about an inch of water in mine and also all kinds of condensation on the lens, making the light barely come through. My escort is a 2000, any advice is appreciated...
One of mine filled halfway with water also, leading to premature bulb breakage. What I did, some years back, was remove the whole housing assembly, drain out the water, and drill some holes in the bottom of it so that water would always drain out. I haven't had a problem since, and also, because of the free flow of air inside, the lenses rarely get condensation.
There's some technique to remove lenses by baking the housing assembly in an oven at low temperature for awhile. Search the forums for 'oven' and light or something. I think they've done this with indicator and brake lenses, etc.
I use dishwashing detergent to maintain mine. I pour it out and then dab a damp cloth. It's just abraisive enough to keep the yellow away. I following up with car wax. I do that every six months. So far my head lights have lasted about 4 years.
^thanks for the drilling hole tip, but what I can't actually get the whole headlight out of the car, I see there was 2 bolts that hold it in, I took both of them off and a 3rd just to be safe. The headlight becomes looser but I can't seem to get it out, is their some magic maneuver to have it pop out?
It probably differs by model year. On mine, the headlight and parking light assembly/housing comes out as one unit, held by 5 or 6 screws each. You have to remove the grill to access one screw, and swing the plastic trim underneath the assembly out of the way, to access another, and another screw is screwed in vertically underneath the housing.
yea the 3rd gen scorts get yellowed i just fixed mine with a kit i found at walmart for like 20 bucks i dont remeber what it was called but it was in a chrome pacage
I polished my one leadlamp a couple years ago, and they were still still cloudy, So I bough a new one. Later, when I was looking at it, I thought that the INSIDE was dirty, making it look cloudy, so I rinsed the inside with water and it went CLEAR!
I concluded it was coated with salt residue, and after tasting the rinsewater, I found I was right. After so many winters, enough salt made it through the vent holes to coat the back of the lenses.
So if you think the outside is fine, you might pull out the lamp, and get in there with a stick & dauber, and wipe off the back of the lens. before buying a new one.
My headlights were pretty yellow and completely ugly. What I did was I bought some Kit Fix-It (or something like that) scratch repair from Wal-Mart. It's in a yellow bottle shaped like carpenter's glue in the auto section. Anyways, it had a tag on top that said it could also remove yellow residue on headlights. You put it on just like wax and then buff it off. I used it twice and each time it took a light layer of yellow off.
Wal-Mart also has a silver-pouch of chemicals, etc. with no real brand name on it in the same auto section. They're about the size of a large greeting card with a foil package about $20. I haven't tried it, but someone above said it worked.
I also know there's a kit to clean and sand the plastic headlight covers made by 3M and only requires water and a drill (think: 18v cordless). It has a small buffer ball, sanding paper, etc. I've seen them at AutoZone for ~$20.
the headlight lenses on my tracer lts were as yellow as a pee stain. The mothers mag and wheel polish that someone suggested is a lifesaver. $6 and change later, minor amount of elbow grease applied and the lights gleam as new! Thanks for the tip!
Ok so i was a non-beliver for so long. I went and picked up a polishing compound from my local Harbor Freight. It was 8 bucks and came with the polishing wheels. Great buy if you have one near you. Here are my results.
Just some FYI, I just did the headlights n my 2000 Focus ZX3 with a Turtle Wax headlight restoring kit yesterday. They came out great. The finish had a yellowed cracked look to it, like old paint that has shrunk and cracked from age. It comes with sanding pads, spray bottle of lubricant for using them, a bottle of polishing compound and a sealer for the final treatment. I got it for about $12 at Advanceauto, only tokk a couple of hours to do right. If your headlights aren't as bad as mine had gotten it will take alot less time. They aren't like new, but the bad finish was pretty deep, so I plan to do them again soon to get down to good plastic again.
Did mine on my 2007 wagon, did right side first, better than before (compared to left) looking at pick.
1500 grit and water and hand polished it w/ terry cloth and Meguiars scratch x plastic junk, for like $6.00. I'm content.
Did mine on my 2007 wagon, did right side first, better than before (compared to left) looking at pick.
1500 grit and water and hand polished it w/ terry cloth and Meguiars scratch x plastic junk, for like $6.00. I'm content.
Now for the rest of the car?
anyone thought about using oven cleaner? if it will clean up a cylinder head like nezwick did, think about what it could do for our headlights. and then using rain-x on them.
Polished my headlights today. I left the alignment nubs alone..may go back once and file them off.
Soapy water 1500 and 2000 grit sander paper and Blue Magic Headlight lens Restorer made them look pretty good again. Finished it off with some 303 aerospace protectant.
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