Headlight Cleaning Advice (1 Viewer)

GRUMPY OLD GIT

Funster
Deceased RIP
May 8, 2011
115
227
Pembrokeshire
Funster No
16,315
MH
coachbuilt
Exp
Started in1974 with a converted London ambulance
Started cleaning the old bus yesterday and she scrubs up quite well for an old timer.
Except for the headlights !! They have a yellowish haze and outlines of various beam
benders we have used over the 9 years we've had her.Lights are clean and moisture
free on the inside. Would appreciate any advice as replacements are horribly expensive.
She's on a 2003 Merc Sprinter base.
Thank You in advance for any advice from the mighty Funster Network.
Bob and Jenny.
 

mike mcglynn

LIFE MEMBER
Deceased RIP
Jan 6, 2008
2,700
32,552
St. Helens MERSEYSIDE
Funster No
1,144
MH
Autosleeper Warwick XL
Exp
A long time now
hi try a litttle toothpaste it can work quite well and shouldn't do any harm if you can get sticky stuff off first. Are they glass or plastic type headlights .
 

Bailey58

LIFE MEMBER
Jun 23, 2010
8,782
29,099
Norfolk and Toftir.
Funster No
12,267
MH
Sold
Exp
July 2010 (ex tugger)
WD40 works a treat on a lot of surfaces but, if unsure, try it on the neighbours car before risking your headlights. :)

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

XRN

Oct 10, 2014
312
294
Plymouth
Funster No
33,775
MH
Hymer B680 Starline
Exp
We are no longer Newbie's.
If they are polycarbonate then you can buy kits for clearing them but it is a bit of work and involves various grades of abrasive paper. Brasso is good as a starting point though and works quite well without doing any damage. Make sure you put polish on afterwards as they will start to fade quite quickly.
 
OP
OP
GRUMPY OLD GIT

GRUMPY OLD GIT

Funster
Deceased RIP
May 8, 2011
115
227
Pembrokeshire
Funster No
16,315
MH
coachbuilt
Exp
Started in1974 with a converted London ambulance
Thanks for your replies. l'm pretty sure the lights are plastic of some sort,can't check at the mo as she's back in storage. Beam benders and sticky came off ok but have left the shape in the haze.l will try toothpaste/brasso and hob cleaner and see what happens!! Cheers Bob.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Dec 23, 2014
2,169
2,791
South Somerset
Funster No
34,546
MH
Carthago C-Line I 50
Exp
Since 2009
Most plastic lens have a anti UV coating that can in time start to breakdown, go yellow and cloudy. Some polish and things like RainX accelerate the breakdown and are best avoided. DIY kits are available to clean and polish the old surface and replace the coating but I have found that most body shops have the ways and means to do the job professionally for not too much money.
 

Charlie

Free Member
May 16, 2015
3,211
3,639
Herefordshire / Worcestershire borders .
Funster No
36,385
MH
Auto Sleeper Kemerton.
Exp
Im a newbie
Do not buy expensive dedicated headlight cleaning or polishing kits !! They are re packed plain automotive polishes !

Farecla G3,is a cheap automotive polish. It's a rather complex polish but for headlights it's just perfect. If doing by hand it should take roughly half an hour to do each one. The trick with G3 is to wet the surface or the polish will dry and stop the cutting process.

To be honest any automotive polish will do !

I did the lights on a friends car just last week. With a rotary polisher it took 15 minutes tops. It took longer to clear up.

Why does it happen ?
The materials used in the lights that cloud are recycled. It's as simple as that. If they had been made from virgin materials they will never deteriorate cloud or fade. Anyone with plastic gutters round their houses that have faded. Black is the worst. Would not have the fading if virgin materials had been used.

Manufacturers use recycled to help hit their environmental targets.
 

PeteH

Free Member
Nov 22, 2007
6,853
9,029
East Riding of Yorkshire
Funster No
900
MH
Rapido, 999M.
Exp
18+yrs plus 25+Towing
I used "MER" on the Fiat headlamps, after it failed the MOT on one headlight, yes they re-discolour after 6 or so months but it takes about 10 min to re-polish.
 

GWAYGWAY

Free Member
Sep 6, 2014
4,213
3,305
Dover
Funster No
33,216
MH
Hymer ML I 580
Exp
4 years
I have just done my Granddaughters car, they were quite bad and would fail the MOT. I used Farecla and my variable speed buffing tool just go slow and keep it wet, any of the sponge heads will do just not too much pressure. They came up sparkling like new, everyone thought I had bought new ones for her. Have to do my own ones next year.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
May 31, 2015
11,518
43,712
Cornwall
Funster No
36,638
MH
Ducato PVC
Exp
Getting Better
Tcut has very little bite so the effort required would be several times as much.

Apart from which the additives within that petrochemical based product would discolour just about anything.

I appreciate your experience Charlie, but I can only go by what I have witnessed and experienced myself, generally only being able to only afford older second hand cars I find it comes up much better than it was and after a good wax applied it takes any discolouration away.

Then the usual regular wash and polish keeps it good, never had a problem in 40yrs
 

Emmit

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 14, 2009
8,004
17,530
Cornwall
Funster No
7,967
MH
Pilote Explorateur
Exp
Jan.2014
I understand that the reason that previously polished up headlights go cloudy again is because of UV light.
Apparently headlamps have a UV protection that by polishing is removed.
UV Protection spray can be bought on Amazon for plastic products (including headlamps.)
 

Charlie

Free Member
May 16, 2015
3,211
3,639
Herefordshire / Worcestershire borders .
Funster No
36,385
MH
Auto Sleeper Kemerton.
Exp
Im a newbie
I appreciate your experience Charlie, but I can only go by what I have witnessed and experienced myself, generally only being able to only afford older second hand cars I find it comes up much better than it was and after a good wax applied it takes any discolouration away.

Then the usual regular wash and polish keeps it good, never had a problem in 40yrs

I'm trying to help in saying there are better products than a Tcut which don't contain ammonia that will discolour anything plastic or UPVC based

Discoloured lights are not restricted to older cars. Take the Micra I did last week. Some suffer some dont. It's down to the material used on particular batches.

A wax can help or slow down the return of the cloudiness or discolouring whatever we call it. But a sealant will keep it at bay longer .

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Charlie

Free Member
May 16, 2015
3,211
3,639
Herefordshire / Worcestershire borders .
Funster No
36,385
MH
Auto Sleeper Kemerton.
Exp
Im a newbie
I understand that the reason that previously polished up headlights go cloudy again is because of UV light.
Apparently headlamps have a UV protection that by polishing is removed.
UV Protection spray can be bought on Amazon for plastic products (including headlamps.)

Yes spot on it's the light that causes the cloudiness . But only if the light has been manufactured using recycled materials. As above sealant is your best bet as it will to some degree reflect the light off the lens .

It really is not down to owners altering the surface by cleaning or polishing. When recycled lights reach a certain age which cannot be determined because we have no idea of the composition the discolour.

The UV protection spray will be likely a cheap sealant re packaged and of course a lot more money. Tryna regular wax or sealant if you have it .
 

FJmike

Free Member
Jul 17, 2014
972
1,046
Swindon
Funster No
32,455
MH
A Class
Exp
over ten years
If you use Fenwicks, Tcut or Brasso you will be there a very long time, they are all very poor for polishing defects. A better polish is Megiuars PlastX, this will require some elbow grease if manually applying but being formulated for the job will be much better than other products. A quicker way would be using a machine polisher but could be damaging if you are not used to using one.
 
OP
OP
GRUMPY OLD GIT

GRUMPY OLD GIT

Funster
Deceased RIP
May 8, 2011
115
227
Pembrokeshire
Funster No
16,315
MH
coachbuilt
Exp
Started in1974 with a converted London ambulance
WOW !!! Certainly got all the advice l needed there....Thank you all very much for sharing the benefits of your knowledge and experience. I will order the required materials and let you know how l get on. What a brilliant forum this is,it's like doing an online uni course towards a degree in Motorhome Management. Bob.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top