Yellowing headlights, big problem for us 7G'ers!!!!! [Archive]

NiTrOuSoXiDe

12-19-2005, 12:38 AM

Most 7G's I see out there have horridly yellowed and cloudy headlights. I personally have one brand new headlight, and one original one and it makes my car look wierd. One is crystal clear, and the other you can't see through at all. Also, the light output from the newer one is so dramatically better, it made me run off and buy this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ANY-AUTO-HE...022316976QQrdZ1 ('http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ANY-AUTO-HEADLIGHT-CLEANER-POLISH-RENEWER-RESTORER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ50450QQitemZ80 22316976QQrdZ1')

I know there was a tutorail on here a while back, I couldn't find it, but it described a way to clear up the headlights again with $20 or so worth of materials. I figured this product here costs me $15, why not. Check out those pictures though! No way it works that well, does it!!?

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/118/10644949/1079809966839_2467233391hc7.JPG
Before

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/118/10644949/1080617823943_2467233391hc4.JPG
After

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/118/10644949/1083468911378_2477057940taurusfinal1.JPG
Before

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/118/10644949/1084566607904_2477057940taurusfinal2.JPG
After

That's damn impressive...

Anyone have any experience with it or something similar?

Thanks.

pinoyesv6

12-19-2005, 01:02 AM

here is the tutorial ('https://www.thegalantcenter.org/viewtopic.php?t=31438')

NiTrOuSoXiDe

12-19-2005, 02:14 AM

Heh, oh yeah, there goes that search function again :roll: :oops:

Either way I wanted to know if anyone has had experience with any of these products.

pinoyesv6

12-19-2005, 10:34 AM

actually no. i didn't use the search function. common sense told me to look in the tutorials forum first since thats where a bucha tutorials are.

the big thing that scares me is this picture of the kit

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/118/10644949/1078547811603_2467233391newlitetubfinal022104.JPG

just that little amount is supposed to do 4 cars? and they give you gloves so that the chemicals seep through?

to me that sounds like kinda dangerous. these chemicals sound like some pretty strong and serious stuff. i mean you have to use gloves?? i'd be scared to even get that stuff close to my car. what if you get some on your car's paint, will it start eating away at the car? what if you missed a spot on the headlight and forgot to wipe it off, will it eat a hole into the headlight? thats what would concern me the most. i agree that tutorial seems like a whole lotta elbow grease but that tutorial doesn't use products that could be harmful.

DOHCstunr

12-19-2005, 10:59 AM

look closely at the pictures of the taurus headslights. you can see differences between the two pics.
not just in the lens,
but in the pains and the rubber trim around the light.

look at the paint blemishes around the dirty lens.
then look for those same blemishes in the clean lens pic.
also, in the dirty lens pic, you will see a dent or deformaty at about 9:00 in the pic. in the rubber trim right where the hood meets the bumper and the lamp. compare to the clean lamp....
looks like the deoxidzer fixes paint and trim too.
i call bullshit.
i think you would be better off sanding and polishing your lens yourself. although that stuff may and most likely will remove the oxidation. i highly doubt it will remove all the pitting and knicks.
sanding and polishing is a sure fire way to eliminate every single pit.

gtx

12-19-2005, 11:59 AM

I used Scratch Out! back in the day on my old car's headlights. It takes no muscle to clear the headlights with it, while not hurting the paint. (You could just mask them around or take them off anyway) And you don't need gloves and stuff. But I agree, if it's really bad, just go ahead and polish it.

MBowen574

12-19-2005, 11:51 PM

DOHCstunr

12-19-2005, 11:55 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MBowen574)</div><div class='quotemain'>i used meguair's scratch-x... smells like windex... works pretty well if you dont mind a few swirl marks left on the lights. clears them right up, though. its like $5 at every autoparts store, too... dont think i'd risk this stuff.</div>
meguars actually has a better product out for this application.
its called Plast-X
supposed to have a microabrasive in it to polish out the swirls and pitting. as well as clear up any oxidation.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

12-20-2005, 01:32 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DOHCSTUNR)</div><div class='quotemain'>look closely at the pictures of the taurus headslights. Â*you can see differences between the two pics.
not just in the lens,
but in the pains and the rubber trim around the light.

look at the paint blemishes around the dirty lens.
then look for those same blemishes in the clean lens pic.
also, in the dirty lens pic, you will see a dent or deformaty at about 9:00 in the pic. in the rubber trim right where the hood meets the bumper and the lamp. compare to the clean lamp....
looks like the deoxidzer fixes paint and trim too.
i call bullshit.
i think you would be better off sanding and polishing your lens yourself. Â*although that stuff may and most likely will remove the oxidation. i highly doubt it will remove all the pitting and knicks. Â* Â*
sanding and polishing is a sure fire way to eliminate every single pit.</div>

Yeah, I actually did notice that myself because I thought bullshit immediately too. Time will only tell. When this stuff arrives, and I try it out, I will update you guys on how well it did or didn't work.

Hell, it was only $15. If it makes the headlight considerably clearer, not nessessarily brand new looking, I'll say it was worth it.

MBowen574

12-20-2005, 04:59 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DOHCSTUNR)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MBowen574)</div><div class='quotemain'>i used meguair's scratch-x... smells like windex... works pretty well if you dont mind a few swirl marks left on the lights. clears them right up, though. its like $5 at every autoparts store, too... dont think i'd risk this stuff.</div>
meguars actually has a better product out for this application.
its called Plast-X
supposed to have a microabrasive in it to polish out the swirls and pitting. as well as clear up any oxidation.</div>

crap... sorry... it was plast-x... not sure what scratch-x is?

it was late... i was buzzed... what can i say? :oops:

NiTrOuSoXiDe

12-20-2005, 11:49 PM

i used meguair's scratch-x... smells like windex... works pretty well if you dont mind a few swirl marks left on the lights. clears them right up, though. its like $5 at every autoparts store, too... dont think i'd risk this stuff.
meguars actually has a better product out for this application.
its called Plast-X
supposed to have a microabrasive in it to polish out the swirls and pitting. as well as clear up any oxidation.

crap... sorry... it was plast-x... not sure what scratch-x is?

it was late... i was buzzed... what can i say? :oops:

You will be shot at dawn for your blasphemic misconception :twisted: .

SuperGALANT

12-21-2005, 12:59 PM

well i dont know about that product on ebay but my father is a shop owner and we do alot of business w/ napa auto parts.. and for $80 we got a 3m kit that does 40 sets of headlights.. what it does is its a sander basicly that adapts any drill.. first u use the 600 grit sandpaper to take off the hazzyness or yellow gazz on the headlights and then use 1000 grit to remove the 600's scraches and use 1500 and 3000 grit the smooth it even more, then there is a cleaner and a polish to be aplied .. all of it comes in the kit.. call around some of the shops around ur house our garage does a pair of headlights for $30 and it takes about 15-30 minutes.. i did this to my car's headlights and front bumper lights and they all look BRAND new..

jreezee

12-21-2005, 02:15 PM

i used meguair's plast-x... smells like windex... works pretty well if you dont mind a few swirl marks left on the lights. clears them right up, though. its like $5 at every autoparts store, too... dont think i'd risk this stuff.

I have used some of that stuff. It works pretty good. It gets some clearcoat scratches and swirls out too. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-04-2006, 10:55 PM

I FINALLY recieved the stuff today. I tried it, and I think I see a VERY MINOR improvement. It even says in the directions "You might want to go to Walmart and buy 2000 and 1000 grit sandpaper, and sand with the 2000 first, then the 1000". I'm going to do just that tomorrow (or whenever I get a minute) and we'll see what happens. I think after I sand the light down, and THEN use the product, it'll come out nice.

All this stuff really did was make the headlight a little bit more clear. It's still very yellow and crappy looking though.

I took a picture before I did anything, and I'll take another picture before I take the sand paper to it. Then, after i sand paper it, and then use the product again, I'll take a third picture and post all three.

ChikagoGTZ

01-04-2006, 10:59 PM

Headlight buffing processes work great on iPods to get out the scratches in the plastic. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

pinoyesv6

01-04-2006, 11:02 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NiTrOuSoXiDe)</div><div class='quotemain'>I FINALLY recieved the stuff today. Â*I tried it, and I think I see a VERY MINOR improvement. Â*It even says in the directions "You might want to go to Walmart and buy 2000 and 1000 grit sandpaper, and sand with the 2000 first, then the 1000". Â*I'm going to do just that tomorrow (or whenever I get a minute) and we'll see what happens. Â*I think after I sand the light down, and THEN use the product, it'll come out nice.

All this stuff really did was make the headlight a little bit more clear. Â*It's still very yellow and crappy looking though.

I took a picture before I did anything, and I'll take another picture before I take the sand paper to it. Â*Then, after i sand paper it, and then use the product again, I'll take a third picture and post all three.</div>

ok. time for you to start throwing that stuff away and start follwing the tutorial we have here. sanding with 2000 grit is absolutely pointless if you are gonna follow up with 1000 grit. thats like painting something then sanding it all off. 2000 grit is finer than 1000 grit so why would you do 2000 grit first??

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-04-2006, 11:09 PM

Maybe I remember the directions backwards. Maybe it says 1000 first. Whatever, either way, the tutorial on here is probably just as good, if not better than this product. Chances are that I will end up doing exactly that: Throwing this shit away and following the TGC tutorial.

Oh well, you live, you learn.

quicksilver22

01-05-2006, 01:03 AM

look in the taurus pictures...

look at the difference of where the corner of the hood comes to the light on the first and second... bullshit,

but ya, they are completely different headlights...

stick w/ the tutorial on here...

thank god us 8Gers don't deal w/ this yet https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 01:04 AM

Yeah I noticed that about the pictures. Either way, I think sanding will help a lot.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 10:33 AM

Alright, here's what happened:

http://www.halo2ce.epgservers.com/nitrous/light1.jpg

There's my passenger side headlight, which is relatively new.

http://www.halo2ce.epgservers.com/nitrous/light2.jpg

Here's the driver side, which is the one I'm working on. This is before I did anything.

http://www.halo2ce.epgservers.com/nitrous/light3.jpg

Here's after using the product and a slight sanding with 1000 grit sand paper.

http://www.halo2ce.epgservers.com/nitrous/light4.jpg

And here's after a little more of a sanding, and another application of the product.

I'd say there's a little bit of a difference. I'll tell ya what, though. I think the product actually needs a little time to work it's magic because last night at work, I applied it again, and this morning when I got up and looked at it, it looked significantly clearer than it did last night. I took those last two pictures immediately after sanding and applications, so maybe tomorrow it'll be a little clearer.

It definately doesn't look brand new, but it's a bit of an improvement.

Thoughts?

Bezzle

01-05-2006, 10:52 AM

unless it takes a couple applications i guess its good enough to let settle.its like those carpet cleaners for cars...gets better over time but makes quicker progress with more applications of it.

i need to clear both of my headlights too...
+ clear the corners while im at it.*sigh* :nono:

bronxbombr

01-05-2006, 11:44 AM

Dudes, all you need is some Mothers Plastic Polish or my favorite! Mothers chrome polish. Makes those headlights look like new all the time, Oh ya it is good for rims too. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 11:53 AM

Will that stuff actually make the headlight NEW, as in, like my passenger side light??

That'd be nice.

bronxbombr

01-05-2006, 11:56 AM

Ya, you might have to do it a few times. but the mothers chrome polish works very well for me.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 12:05 PM

Can this be purchased at Walmart or a related store? I'm at school now, and there's a Walmart right here. Should I go look?

There's also an Advance Auto Parts, Autozone AND Pep Boys on thr way home if it's there.

bronxbombr

01-05-2006, 12:11 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NiTrOuSoXiDe)</div><div class='quotemain'>Can this be purchased at Walmart or a related store? Â*I'm at school now, and there's a Walmart right here. Â*Should I go look?

There's also an Advance Auto Parts, Autozone AND Pep Boys on thr way home if it's there.</div>

Yes all of the above, but especially Autozone or Pepboys.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 01:44 PM

Thanks, I'll try it.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 03:08 PM

Ok, I got the Mothers Chrome Polish stuff. Now, is there anything specific I should do, or should I just polish the headlights as is?

bronxbombr

01-05-2006, 03:48 PM

put some on the light, wait 5 minutes then buff it. repeat as needed.

krazienluv10

01-05-2006, 07:11 PM

take some pics when ur done...

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 10:12 PM

WOW!!!!!

After the solution, sanding, and now the polish, my headlight looks SO MUCH CLEARER!! At night, when you turn the headlight on, it really shows a huge improvement. You can actually see inside the headlight now, you can see the bulbs and everything. Before, you couldn't see anything.

Pictures won't do justice, but I'll post some tomorrow.

The headlight doesn't look NEW, but man it's so much clearer than before. I bet if I sand it some more, use the solution again and then polish it again, it'll be even better. What I really should do, is actually disassemble the headlight and use this process on the INSIDE of the lens too, but that's overboard.

I'll keep posting pictures as I keep working on it.

Thank you so much for that tip, Bronx. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

pinoyesv6

01-05-2006, 10:23 PM

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 10:38 PM

Yeah? Alright. Thanks for the heads up.

pinoyesv6

01-05-2006, 10:45 PM

Yeah? Alright. Thanks for the heads up.

the inside of the 7g headlights aren't smooth. it has that texture on the inside that is used to disperse the light.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 10:56 PM

DOHCstunr

01-05-2006, 11:26 PM

I probably shouldn't bite off more than I can chew, but what if I actually did take the assembly apart, and sanded those lines away. Would the headlight be less effective? Probably, because there's nothing inside of the headlight to dispurse the light so it'd probably just point straight forward like a flashlight, no?
if you sand away those lines your beam pattern will not light up the sides and right in front of your car as well if at all. your beam will be more concentrated far in front of you where the bulk of the light goes now.

yes if you did a good/ perfect job, it would look very clear, it would probably look pretty sweet too. but i really don't think its worth it.
the insides of your headlamps don't really oxidize like the outside. if you were to remove your headlamp assembly, you would actually see thaat only the exterior part that is exposed has the oxidation/yellowing. the top and the bottom of the headlight covers will be pretty clear.
^just an example to model why you realy won't gain muuch at all from cleaning the insides.

how do your front turn signals look? do they need to be cleaned as well?

once you have the headlights clean and clear, the key is to protect the headlights with wax every time you wax your car.

when i wax my car i wax the headlights, tailights, turnsignals, as well as all the glass on the car. really brings out the shine. and doesn't really take any longer to do when all you do is slide the buffer over for a few passes.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

01-05-2006, 11:44 PM

True. If I had a spare set of 7G lights layin around, though, I think I'd try it out anyway. If I cleared the dispurse lines away, and retrofitted projectors into the assembly, we'd have some HOT looking 7G lights.

Anyway, I've never waxed my car, but I think I should. Maybe when it starts getting warmer again, I will.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

03-22-2006, 11:25 PM

Figured I'd just resurect this old thread instead of making a new one, but I noticed my passenger side headlight has a MASSIVE ammount of condensation on the inside. Like, so much to the point where if I put my car right up against a wall, and you compare the ammount of light being cast by both headlights, it appears as if it's not even on.

Suggestions on making this go away?

pinoyesv6

03-22-2006, 11:29 PM

you were recently in an accident so i'd say remove the headlight and look for cracks and damage to the headlight. fix that. and take the headlight inside to make sure its fully dried and then put back.

Shadow19

03-22-2006, 11:58 PM

Might kinda sound stupid but i used finger nail polish remover on the headlights for a neon that i used to own... it made a major improvement but the only thing was that you had to do it like once every 4 months or so....

Galant98ES

03-23-2006, 12:57 AM

I used 800,1000,1200,2000 grit wet sand paper and than scratch-x. Made my headlights look like new.

NiTrOuSoXiDe

03-23-2006, 06:30 AM

Pinoy, it's a new headlight assembly. Neither of my headlights that I currently have instaled were in the accident. Also, guys, the headlight is not cloudy and yellowing. It has condensation on the inside. That is, little tiny droplets of water collecting on the lens much like a glass door or a mirror in a bathroom after you take a hot shower.

MBowen574

03-23-2006, 09:54 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NiTrOuSoXiDe)</div><div class='quotemain'>Pinoy, it's a new headlight assembly. Â*Neither of my headlights that I currently have instaled were in the accident. Â*Also, guys, the headlight is not cloudy and yellowing. Â*It has condensation on the inside. Â*That is, little tiny droplets of water collecting on the lens much like a glass door or a mirror in a bathroom after you take a hot shower.</div>

where'd you get the new headlight? it probably does just have a crack in it somewhere... im assuming you got a used one and didnt take the financial nosedive that is a new headlight (up to $140 on eBay!!!). just look for a crack and hit it with some superglue is what id say. did that with a leaky blender the other night. worked great!

NiTrOuSoXiDe

03-23-2006, 10:14 AM

Well it was good, but see, my coolant resevoir is right there. When I had my over heating problem, hot water and coolant was shooting out of the top of the resevoir, all over the headlight, in turn causing it to condensate.

SuperGALANT

03-23-2006, 12:57 PM

is ur sig b4 or after wreck or after new headlights?

NiTrOuSoXiDe

03-23-2006, 01:23 PM

Post-wreck, pre-new lights.

Shadow19

05-18-2006, 12:28 AM

I REALLY REALLY REALLY hate to bump this thread and bring it back up but..... I plan to do this tomorrow and i have a few questions. I bought 800 1000 and 1500 grit sand paper ( i plan to work my way up as i go). First ? do i have to sand in a circular motion or side to side? 2nd i bought a cheap ass coleman buffer it pushes 4000 RPM will that work if i take my time and buff it?

Bezzle

05-18-2006, 12:53 AM

im not 100% sure but isnt 1500 a tiny bit too harsh??

Shadow19

05-18-2006, 10:44 AM

1500 barely scuffs your finger nails.....

SuperGALANT

05-18-2006, 10:58 AM

once i get my ands on a set of yellowed lights ima start a tutorial, if any one has a set or just one laying around please let me know.. if u pay for shipping u can have it back when im done.. or ill pay shipping and keep it.. other wise i gotta find some.. junk yards around here clean them when they get them so they can sale...