Headlight lens
10-11-2005, 01:37 PM
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Headlight lens
I know my 90 has glass lenses, but do all years have glass or did they convert over to plastic ones??
Reason I am asking is that my Malibu has the plastic ones and they were getting bad ( pitted from driving so much) and on the weekend I used a bit of wet sandpaper and polish and got rid of most of the pits.
So I could post what was done, but only if it would help anyone.
Reason I am asking is that my Malibu has the plastic ones and they were getting bad ( pitted from driving so much) and on the weekend I used a bit of wet sandpaper and polish and got rid of most of the pits.
So I could post what was done, but only if it would help anyone.
10-12-2005, 10:03 AM
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I would find it interesting. Not as much for my Bonneville, at this point bur for the Grand Cherokee whose lens are clouding up and turning a slight yellow color. I had read on a Chrysler forum how one did it, but I didn't print it out.
10-12-2005, 10:22 AM
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Here is what I posted on my other forum.
I have yet to see how much more light I have at night.
Since I drive so much with my 2003, my headlights are taking a beating and the light output is less and less. I found a Headlight Lens Restoration Kit made by permatex and figured I would give it a try.
after looking at the kit, it can easily be bought for less. All you need is a few sheets of wet sandpaper, the grits in the kit are 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500. They also include some kind of polish but I bet either a light rubbing compound or even autosol ( I have to find my tube of that stuff) would work the same.
Here is what my headlights looked like before I started ( up close).
No wonder the light was not as bright as before.
Here is the passenger light after sanding and before polish
I bet if I took more time sanding and polishing it would have turned out better, but here is the after shot, ( drivers side again ), I am getting reflexions that making it look like nothing was done.
before and after
And now the how to.
Depending on how bad your lights are, ( mine were bad) you may start with a different grit sandpaper than I did.
Lower number paper, is harsher and cuts into the lens more.
Let the sandpaper soak in clean water for a few minutes before beginning.
Select your grit of sandpaper and start sanding, in one direction only, so either left to right OR up and down. Once and a while wet the sandpaper again to keep it "lubricated".
Once the surface looks to be even, start with a higher number sandpaper ( smoother). This time go in the opposite direction as the first paper, so if you went left to right, this time go up and down.
Continue the same process till you are finished with the 2500 grit. You lens should now look like mine did, cloudy.
Here is where the polish comes in. The polish provided in the kit was a liquid. When applying the polish use a circular motion and use some pressure. The polish I used had to dry then get buffed after, they provided a flannel cloth for that.
I ended up using my polisher that I use for waxing my car.
Once completed polishing you are done.
I will be attempting to do this once again once I get more paper and find my autosol. I may actually try autosol first since it is a rubbing compound and I already got the lights close the clear.
Total time is about 20-30 minutes depending on how bad the lights are and how picky you are on the final look.
after looking at the kit, it can easily be bought for less. All you need is a few sheets of wet sandpaper, the grits in the kit are 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500. They also include some kind of polish but I bet either a light rubbing compound or even autosol ( I have to find my tube of that stuff) would work the same.
Here is what my headlights looked like before I started ( up close).
No wonder the light was not as bright as before.
Here is the passenger light after sanding and before polish
I bet if I took more time sanding and polishing it would have turned out better, but here is the after shot, ( drivers side again ), I am getting reflexions that making it look like nothing was done.
before and after
And now the how to.
Depending on how bad your lights are, ( mine were bad) you may start with a different grit sandpaper than I did.
Lower number paper, is harsher and cuts into the lens more.
Let the sandpaper soak in clean water for a few minutes before beginning.
Select your grit of sandpaper and start sanding, in one direction only, so either left to right OR up and down. Once and a while wet the sandpaper again to keep it "lubricated".
Once the surface looks to be even, start with a higher number sandpaper ( smoother). This time go in the opposite direction as the first paper, so if you went left to right, this time go up and down.
Continue the same process till you are finished with the 2500 grit. You lens should now look like mine did, cloudy.
Here is where the polish comes in. The polish provided in the kit was a liquid. When applying the polish use a circular motion and use some pressure. The polish I used had to dry then get buffed after, they provided a flannel cloth for that.
I ended up using my polisher that I use for waxing my car.
Once completed polishing you are done.
I will be attempting to do this once again once I get more paper and find my autosol. I may actually try autosol first since it is a rubbing compound and I already got the lights close the clear.
Total time is about 20-30 minutes depending on how bad the lights are and how picky you are on the final look.
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