justadoode

2001 CLK 430.

I'm pretty new to doing anything outside of washing my car. My friend mentioned that my headlamps are super foggy and needed to be cleaned. He gave me a product from Macguire's that is made to clean plastics. So I started looking on all of these forums for some DIY tips on how to take the headlamp assembly apart so I could clean the inside of the lenses. I have not found any posting here explaining that. Am I not supposed to take it apart to clean the headlight lenses? If that is the right way to do it, then could someone please post instructions on how to take the lenses off to be cleaned?

Sorry for the dumb question.

Thanks in advance, gurus!

Justadoode

Cintoman

Welcome to the Forum !!

Many new cars eventually run into the same problem you have with the headlights getting yellowed and fogged up. It's bound to happen on most cars that have the newer plastic (polycarbonate) headlights. This is due to the UV protection layer getting worn out by sunlight exposure and exposure to the elements (sand/salt/rocks, etc). The good news is that this can be corrected. The bad news... it does take some elbow grease and some experience.

I have been restoring headlights on cars for quite some time, and use several products depending on the particular need of the headlights. Here's what I use:

Porter-Cable 7424
Lake Country CCS pads
Menzerna SIP
Menzerna PO106FF
SIS Microfinish paper
Meguire's PlastX
Microfiber towels

There are quite a few lense restoration products out on the market, but the best over-the-counter I've used has been Meguire's PlastX. However, in some cases, it doesn't have enough bite for seriously bad headlights.

In most cases, my Porter-cable buffer with an orange Lake Country pad and Menzerna's SIP is enough. In english, the Porter-cable buffer is a dual action polisher (similar to a rotary buffer used by the pros in paint shops), and with it, you can attach different types of foam pads to it. I like the Lake Country pads. These foam pads have different levels of how aggressive they cut into what you're buffing. Their orange pad cuts pretty good. With this, I use Menzerna's Super Intensive Polish, which works pretty nicely to cut away at the oxidation.

This weekend, I ended up doing a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo's headlamps. They were among the worst I have seen in a long time. My process above did nothing to restore the headlamps. So I had to resort to something more agressive. I ended up using SIS Microfinish paper. This is basically sandpaper, and a wet-sanding process. However, whereas typical sandpaper runs in grits from say 60 grit, up to 320 grit (the higher the smoother), the SIS paper run from 400 grit all the way to 12,000 grit. 12,000 grit feels almost as smooth as glass. In the Jeep, I started out wet-sanding using 400 grit, then worked my way up to 2,400 grit, then used my porter-cable with Menzerna SIP. See my posting titled: "Restored Jeep Grand Cherokee Headlamps" in this forum for dramatic before and after pics.

Link here: https://mbworld.org/forums/detailing...headlamps.html

More good news: the damage/yellow/haze/fogginess is all on the outside of the lense. So you don't have to remove the headlamps and crack them open to clean them inside. Unless they've been cracked open due to impact or damage, the inside of the headlamps should be as good as new. So after you're done with your work, your headlamps should look brand new.

The other thing is that if you don't have all the equipment and products, you should still be able to do this yourself. I'd recommend PlastX which you can get at most automotive stores as well as Walmart. You may have to use some elbow grease if you don't have a dual-action buffer like the porter cable.


Cintoman
CDS, LLC

Forza1

What Cintoman is saying is that you don't need to remove your headlights to clean them. Just rub your Meguires Plastx on the outside, and rub vigorously in a polishing motion(don't press hard, lightly and quickly). Use a CLEAN rag to buff between coats. Buffing is the most important step. With enough elbow grease it'll do wonders for any headlights.

justadoode

Wow, this is really great news. Thank you so much for all of the info. This is going to be very, very helpful!!! I cannot believe the work you did on that Jeep!! My headlights are no where near that bad!

Thanks again to both of you!

TOGWT

Cintoman - great info

[This is due to the UV protection layer getting worn out by sunlight exposure and exposure to the elements (sand/salt/rocks, etc)]

Note - UVR protection is a sacrificial / renewable component (it is very important that you renew it or your surfaces will degrade)

For more information see article "A B C of UV Radiation" in the detailing school section of detailing bliss

wawy

Good info! Thanks for posting that Cintoman....

BlackLiquorish8

I believe Mothers makes a product for plastic also and it works pretty well for the money

kadafone

Sand paper: 600, 1500, 2000 wet sand
Meguire's PlastX: Use with a foam pad and high speed buffer.

ONLY use 600 grit if needed. Try 1500 first see if that takes care of it, it will save you alot of time.

Cintoman

+1 on that...if you have to go down to 600 grit, be prepared to spend some serious time getting them back to perfect. The end results will be stunning, but it does take some time.

Cintoman

mobi1

Below are research links I've compiled in a few hours.

I've not tried any of these headlight repair products but the entire automotive industry is aware of the polycarbonate yellowing problem. Most plastic lens polishing products do not offer a UV protection so I would avoid using them. For what it's worth, a good R&D engineering team could have manufactured a lens in glass / ceramic that was lighter and less expensive but plastic was a shortcut.

// Headlight - Headlamp restore products
"GlassyLite has applied to become an OEM PC7 coating and is pending a 3 year / 30% haze test. "
http://www.glassyliteusa.com

Diamondite Clear Plastic Liquid Armor (UV coating last only 3 months)
http://www.diamondite.com/diamondite...uid-armor.html

3M 39008 Headlight Lens Restoration System
Professional Headlight Restoration Kit with Polisher and Plastic Polish and Cleaner
http://tcpglobal.amazonwebstore.com/...B001P97RHY.htm


// Here's what automotive folks might have used (but I'm sure there are more products that might work)
ALON Optical Ceramic
http://www.surmet.com/alon.html


// OEM Manufactures of coatings for plastics
Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency, Inc.
- Acceptable Plastics for Optical Lenses and Reflex Reflectors Used on Motor Vehicles (PDF)
http://www.ameca.org/list-of-acceptable-plastics/

Sonneborn & Rieck
http://www.sonneborn-rieck.co.uk/Mai...tics/index.htm

Fujukura Kasei's plastic coating "for headlight lenses"
http://www.fkkasei.co.jp/english/product/coating.html

Redspot ("UV-curable and thermal coatings, including UV basecoats and topcoats, SRC for head lamp and tail lamp lenses, and high -performance coatings for metalized reflectors.")
http://www.redspot.com/UVcurable_auto.aspx

Rohm and Haas Company
http://www.rohmhaas.com/wcm/products/transportation/

Mitsubishi Rayon Co,
http://www.mrc.co.jp/english/products/index.html

Mitsubishi Engineering Plastics Corp.
http://www.m-ep.co.jp/mep-en/index.htm

AustinGuy

Does anyone have experience with the Diamondite product? It's a 3-step process.

Greg recommends the Plexus spray but I don't see how that would remove clouding and haziness from head lamps. Looks like it's a cleaner and not a real polish.