I have never found anything that would clean them for any amount of time...seems once they are oxidized it "etches" into the plastic. Get replacement glass lenses if available.
I do this all of the time when I paint cars. I just use a very mild rubbing compound (swirl mark remover), which is available in any auto parts store. You can apply it with a buffer, or by hand. If you do it by hand it will probably take 10-15 minutes per headlight.
You'll have to do this again from time to time as the lens will continue to scratch from driving, but it's such a simple thing to improve the look of the lens that it's worth the effort.
I purchased from Auto Zone a set of disk like things that attach to a drill motor. Then you wet them and it says in 5 minutes you have clean clear head lights. Tried it on the right side and after 3 attempts I see no improvement. They also had the polish stuff but I thought this would work better.
Try polishing compound OR buy the plastic kit that Novus sells. Either one will work. Just be aware that using any high speed polishing machine or drill can do more damage than good on a plastic lens.
There are several products out there. Most do good job of improving lens clarity, but none that I have found are able to restore the lens to *like new* condition. The latest one I used was able to remove most of the yellowing, but did nothing for the deep scratches.
Clouded lenses are a result of improper maintance, over the years. Go to a motorcycle shop and buy some of the stuff they sell to clean windshields.
If they are too bad. use a very mild rubbing compound. After there are cleared up, use a polymer like "Nu Finish," on occasion, to keep them clear WBMS
"Mike Y" wrote in news:8NJPi.3$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe06.lga:
I have two minivans that had clouded headlights:
1994 Caravan
1999 Voyager
After a lot of research I decided to try the little kit sold at SOME Walmarts (but mine didn't have it at the time, so I bought at Advance Auto Parts in Sept. 2006 for less than $20, if I recall.
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I did the 1994 Carvavan first. It was a bit messy, but fairly easy to use (although I think the printed instructions had an error about which sandpaper to use first---you need to use the coarser sandpaper first---I think they were color coded and the instructions had the colors wrong, IIRC). It took about an hour or so to do.
As I went through the process, I wasn't optimistic, but when you put the final clear liquid on the lens, PRESTO....amazing: cloudy becomes crystal clear. I mean, it was really great.
This clarity lasted for a year, and now the lenses are cloudy again (not QUITE as cloudy as before, but not good).
This same product was totally worthless on the 1999 Voyager which has the newer curved type of headlight assembly. On that one, the damage to the lenses was not predominantlysurface damage, but deep within the formerly clear plastic, and perhaps INSIDE the assembly too. A few months ago, it got so bad that I shopped online and got a pair of new ones for $169. (I still need to align them, and I've asked for advice on this NG, but I don't think there's been a reply.)
Anyway, I'm probably going to see if the kit manufacturer will honor their warranty and send me a new kit so I can redo the 1994 van.
Mike - When you're done polishing them out, clear coat them with regular clear coat. They will not oxidize for about the same time as when they were new to when they started clouding the first time (i.e., as long as the clear coat holds up.
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
Au contraire! If they're that bad, you use sandpaper starting with maybe 800 or 1000 grit, then use successively finer grades and finish up with 2000 or 2500. That will get them smooth as silk (they'll look milky at that point), then polish them out with any car polish (or Meguiar's PlastX works well) to water clear. They'll look brand new. Will have to hit them with polish every few weeks or clear coat them for longlasting new look.
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
Sandpaper (800 => 2000 or 2500) may be necessary if they have deeper crazing. You're basically removing the original layer of clear coat (yes they have a layer of clear coat from the factory) that has reacted to the elements (O2, UV).
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
I never gave a thought to throwing a coat of clear over them Bill. I am going to try that on the next one I do. A good coat of clear should last a very long time.
I haven't done it - getting ready to, but after polishing it with whatever, I'm sure you need to chemically remove the polish residue with an appropriate solvent to make sure the clear coat sticks and doesn't bead up. Maybe rubbing alcohol? (Test in inconspicuous spot before doing that.)
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
I have been reading this thread with interest. Like I said I purchased a kit thing that hooked on a drill and clean my lens. It really improve them much. Then tonight we rented a movie We are Marshall (its a good one) and it started to skip. I got out the peanut butter and cleaned it and wondered how that would work on the headlights. I may give it a shot.
If you use automotive rubbing compounds you won't need any solvents to clean it off afterwards. It wouldn't hurt to wipe them down with wax and grease remover, but it's not necessary. The stuff I use is $50 per gallon, so it's no something that everyone is going to run out and buy. Rubbing alcohol has oils in it so I wouldn't use that at all. However - any hardware store will carry denatured alcohol for under $10 for a gallon of the stuff, and that would work very well. Useful for lots of stuff around the house as well.
As long as you can be sure the denatured alcohol won't harm (dissolve, craze, etc.) the plastic. But I suspect you know or you wouldn't have said it.
It may actually be best to leave it not so highly polished before the clear coat application. The clear coat will fill in the sanding scratches (polish works by doing that as well as removing material to make the scratches ever finer/microscopic/invisible), and perhaps the scratches will give it something more to adhere to. Might be worth some experiments - trial and error, a few failures, but ultimate success. I do know that it's done all the time - I just don't know the nitty gritty (literally) details to optimize everything.
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
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