Clear plastic headlamps

[JHZR2]

That's it, that's the question - have they gotten any better?

My Chevy truck headlamps look like new. Their clear plastic and they look like brand-new after 14 years. My 04 saab? Not so much. We put 3M films onto the headlights on my wife's 08 Volkswagen, and they have stayed crystal-clear. But that's not much time either.

So our plastic lens headlamps still getting really discolored and cracked? My 2011 BMW almost as 8000 miles and while the weather is nice if I'm going to do something to protect them I figure I had better do it. I did see a chemical product I think by diamondite - two chemical inhibitors work?

I would hope by now they've come up with a good plastic that lasts. After all my 98 Chevy has it so it does exist.

 

[eljefino]

20 year old saturn s series (Guide brand) are still crystal clear.

Pontiac vibes and hyundai sonatas are a "new generation" clear that isn't doing so well.

96+ taurusses and 97+ ventures are the worst though.

I'd like to see NHTSA do some recalls to force at least an eight year life expectancy.

 

[NHGUY]

Chrysler,along with their manufacturer Wagner,pioneered plastic sealed beam headlight bulbs on 1985 K cars.I have never seen one of those get beat up by rocks or discolor anything like todays aerodynamic assemblies.Some of those original sealed beams lasted into the early 1990s (if the user didnt operate them a lot) and they were still clear.Signal Stat also employed those bulbs in plow light setups to save weight,once again they held up well.Wagner discontinued plastic HP6054 and HP6545 sealed beams a few years back.Shame.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

2001 Civic: Not as bad as Ford/Mercedes of the same year but brutal nonetheless. Had to do the sandpaper treatment to get them clear again.

2005 CR-V: Same highway treatment, but no issues at the same mileage (165k) that the Civic had.

Who knows.......

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
20 year old saturn s series (Guide brand) are still crystal clear.


Yeah, Guide is who made the lights on my Chevy.

 

[01rangerxl]

It probably varies a lot by model and usage.

My truck has a 10 year old original Visteon light on one side and a 2 year old made in Taiwan light from Certifit on the other side. The original was destroyed in a wreck. Up close you can tell which light is older, but it's not a huge difference. Driving at night I can't tell a difference at all. The remaining original light seems to be aging pretty well.

My 1995 Explorer had pretty foggy lights, typical for that era.

 

[Virtuoso]

Just used the Turtle Wax restore kit on our '98 Windstar and '99 Malibu. The Chevy was worse than the van, but the Ford still wasn't good. The difference in light output (and looks in general) was totally worth it.. I just hope they stay that way for a while.


... Junky.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Virtuoso
Just used the Turtle Wax restore kit on our '98 Windstar and '99 Malibu. The Chevy was worse than the van, but the Ford still wasn't good. The difference in light output (and looks in general) was totally worth it.. I just hope they stay that way for a while.


... Junky.


3M sells a headlight sealant which I have but have not yet tried. I also used the Turtle Wax kit. The bad areas of my lights I could feel with my finger. I may do my lights a 2nd time and seal them. The first time I kind of figured out what to do and how much. The second time should be better.

 

[RiceCake]

I polished my headlamps by wet sanding them and then buffing the [censored] out of them with Megulairs plastic polish. It worked great, probably twice as bright now.

A coat of mop 'n glow floor polish every once in awhile now has kept them looking nice and perfect. The original lights had 13 years of wear on them. They weren't perfect but for a decade old, it was an easy fix, and they're perfect again.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: RiceCake

A coat of mop 'n glow floor polish every once in awhile now has kept them looking nice and perfect.


Now that's an interesting product selection!

 

[RiceCake]

Basically anything for no-wax floors is a clear, durable kinda sealant. It dries on really sticky, then hardens so it makes polishing up the lenses later really easy. Seems to really do the job and makes them shine crystal clear for a long time.

 

[JHZR2]

great to know!

 

[jsnyder49090]

the mop and glow is a good idea i heard the sealer is the best part of the kits i use the blue magic and it did very well but i have a small ingersol polisher.I think rubbing compound then polishing compounds would do the same.I heard 3m finesse is really ideal.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Why only plastic headlamps are getting discolored while others such as plastic corner lamps front and rear are still clear after 10-15 years ? The heat from the headlamp bulbs is the cause ? Most headlamp halogen bulbs are in the range of 50-65 watts and other lamps are 10-15 watts. Halogen bulb is generating more heat than incandescent bulb. Just touch your headlamp cover and side marker cover after it is on for 10-15 minutes, the headlamp is much warmer than side marker.

 

[4ever4d]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Why only plastic headlamps are getting discolored while others such as plastic corner lamps front and rear are still clear after 10-15 years ? The heat from the headlamp bulbs is the cause ? Most headlamp halogen bulbs are in the range of 50-65 watts and other lamps are 10-15 watts. Halogen bulb is generating more heat than incandescent bulb. Just touch your headlamp cover and side marker cover after it is on for 10-15 minutes, the headlamp is much warmer than side marker.

My understanding is that headlamp covers are sprayed with clearcoat along with the paint and the clearcoat is breaking down over time possibly from the heat as mentioned.

 

[Falcon_LS]

The headlights on my Mitsubishi are glass, which I'm very pleased about. The OE headlights on the Mercury would yellow out every now and then, and my solution was to buy a new set and have them clearcoated prior to installation. Worked like a charm, and the headlights are still clear two years later.

The headlights on the Explorer are still bright, and I had them covered in paint protection film. Quite a popular method to protect them from sand blasting and seems to have worked well for many people.

Haven't done anything to the VW yet.

 

[TFB1]

Just giving the lens a coat of wax every 3-4 months will go a long way toward keeping them clear... Takes maybe five minutes vs spending the better part of a hour buffing and spending money for those "special" kits...

I ain't buyin' the heat from the light as the cause of hazing, if that were the case the paint on our cars would be getting foggy due to the sun baking the paint...

 

[AVB]

I had to polish the driver's side head light on my 2003 Avalanche yesterday. The passenger side still looked good.

 

[MCompact]

1995 3 Series and 2004 X3- headlamps on both look brand new.

 

[NateDN10]

IMO, it's mostly sun that causes plastic headlight lenses to age. I've seen many vehicles with one in good shape and the other completely hazed over - I assume because their normal parking spot has one side of the vehicle facing the sun.