My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.

Anyhow, I'd like to do some sort of restore on them. I see these "As
seen in TV" ads where they sell these kits, and charge an outrageous
amount of shipping and handling. Anyhow, I dont buy any of that high
priced crap.

I'm looking to either buy a product at a local Auto Parts store,
Walmart, a Dollar store, or possibly ebay. My question is what is a good
product for this? One that works well, is easy to use, and is priced
fairly.....

Thanks

On Mon, 11 May 2015 19:23:38 -0500, wrote:

My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.

Anyhow, I'd like to do some sort of restore on them. I see these "As
seen in TV" ads where they sell these kits, and charge an outrageous
amount of shipping and handling. Anyhow, I dont buy any of that high
priced crap.

I'm looking to either buy a product at a local Auto Parts store,
Walmart, a Dollar store, or possibly ebay. My question is what is a good
product for this? One that works well, is easy to use, and is priced
fairly.....

Thanks



I just used some polish, not wax, that I had sitting around. That
polished out the dull surface off the plastic and made them almost
like new. I also bought some Turtle wax headlight sealer at Auto Zone
and put that on after to protect it (supposedly) from degrading too
fast again. Don't waste your time on any kits that use a drill to run
a buffing ball or pad. You can easily enough buff it up with regular
polish and some elbow grease and the sealer is around $8.

Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Mon, 11 May 2015 19:23:38 -0500, wrote:

My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.

Anyhow, I'd like to do some sort of restore on them. I see these "As
seen in TV" ads where they sell these kits, and charge an outrageous
amount of shipping and handling. Anyhow, I dont buy any of that high
priced crap.

I'm looking to either buy a product at a local Auto Parts store,
Walmart, a Dollar store, or possibly ebay. My question is what is a good
product for this? One that works well, is easy to use, and is priced
fairly.....

Thanks



I just used some polish, not wax, that I had sitting around. That
polished out the dull surface off the plastic and made them almost
like new. I also bought some Turtle wax headlight sealer at Auto Zone
and put that on after to protect it (supposedly) from degrading too
fast again. Don't waste your time on any kits that use a drill to run
a buffing ball or pad. You can easily enough buff it up with regular
polish and some elbow grease and the sealer is around $8.

I've tried buffing with rubbing compound and wax with fair success. A cheap
kit I got with drill attachment worked fast and well. I don't think I
actually tried wet sanding first before, but the stickon pads don't last
too long if your doing multiple lights. Changing from sanding to buffer
screws up the sticky.

Greg

On 05/11/2015 06:23 PM, wrote:
I'm looking to either buy a product at a local Auto Parts store,
Walmart, a Dollar store, or possibly ebay. My question is what is a good
product for this? One that works well, is easy to use, and is priced
fairly.....

How bad are they? The G3000 kit requires sanding and buffing if they're
really clouded.

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G3000.../dp/B004HCOE72


Same deal, without the 1000 and 3000 grit sanding

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G1900.../dp/B001O7I7FS


And just the PlastX, buff it with your old underwear or something.

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G1231.../dp/B0000AY3SR


You should be able to find the Meguiar line in AutoZone, O'Reily,
Walmart, etc./


3M's kit uses a drill motor for all the steps.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-39008-Headl.../dp/B001AIZ5HY


Disclaimer: I don't have any relationship with Amazon but it's the
easier way to link to products with a number of reviews.

On Monday, May 11, 2015 at 9:28:17 PM UTC-4, rbowman wrote:

3M's kit uses a drill motor for all the steps.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-39008-Headl.../dp/B001AIZ5HY


Disclaimer: I don't have any relationship with Amazon but it's the
easier way to link to products with a number of reviews.

I used the 3M product on weathered BMW headlights and it worked great.
I think I bought it at Walmart, but lots of autoparts and similar
have them. You have to have trust in it, because you start out with
a coarser paper, initially making them worse. But that's what you have
to do to take off the deteriorated surface. By the time you use the
fine grit, they look real nice.

wrote:
My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the
result of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never
had that problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I
can do to change what they put on my truck.

Anyhow, I'd like to do some sort of restore on them. I see these "As
seen in TV" ads where they sell these kits, and charge an outrageous
amount of shipping and handling. Anyhow, I dont buy any of that high
priced crap.

I'm looking to either buy a product at a local Auto Parts store,
Walmart, a Dollar store, or possibly ebay. My question is what is a
good product for this? One that works well, is easy to use, and is
priced fairly.....


Harbor Freight sells a cheap kit.

On 5/11/15 8:23 PM, wrote:
My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.


AFAIK, the sun damages all plastic headlights. The principal is first to
remove the damaged plastic. One method is to use progressively finer wet
sandpaper. When the damage is shallow, I've read that toothpaste can work.

A suitable polish coat can finish the job and slow further damage.

I like what rbowman said, to look at user reviews at Amazon. Then you
can buy locally.

On Tue, 12 May 2015 01:41:33 -0400, J Burns
wrote:

On 5/11/15 8:23 PM, wrote:
My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.


AFAIK, the sun damages all plastic headlights. The principal is first to
remove the damaged plastic. One method is to use progressively finer wet
sandpaper. When the damage is shallow, I've read that toothpaste can work.

A suitable polish coat can finish the job and slow further damage.

I like what rbowman said, to look at user reviews at Amazon. Then you
can buy locally.


I heard about using toothpaste too. I tried that and it was a
frigging mess. Maybe back in the day toothpaste was more like what I
think of as polish but the toothpaste I tried is the modern kind where
the bulk of it is a plastic based carrier and that plastic just balled
up and made a sticky mess out of things.

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 2:50:48 PM UTC-4, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Tue, 12 May 2015 01:41:33 -0400, J Burns
wrote:

On 5/11/15 8:23 PM, wrote:
My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.


AFAIK, the sun damages all plastic headlights. The principal is first to
remove the damaged plastic. One method is to use progressively finer wet
sandpaper. When the damage is shallow, I've read that toothpaste can work.

A suitable polish coat can finish the job and slow further damage.

I like what rbowman said, to look at user reviews at Amazon. Then you
can buy locally.


I heard about using toothpaste too. I tried that and it was a
frigging mess. Maybe back in the day toothpaste was more like what I
think of as polish but the toothpaste I tried is the modern kind where
the bulk of it is a plastic based carrier and that plastic just balled
up and made a sticky mess out of things.

Also the kits start with a coarser abrasive to cut the top damaged
layer off quickly, then progress to finer to finish it. I would
think with TP it would be so fine that it would have a hard time
cutting off the weather damaged top layer. But, all I know is the
3m kit worked. And for $10 or $15 it includes the buffing wheel
that you use with a drill.

On 05/12/2015 12:49 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
Maybe back in the day toothpaste was more like what I
think of as polish but the toothpaste I tried is the modern kind where
the bulk of it is a plastic based carrier and that plastic just balled
up and made a sticky mess out of things.

You gotta use Arm & Hammer with baking soda and peroxide I haven't
had the need to clean up the headlights yet but I've used Meguiars
plastic cleaner and polish on motorcycle helmet visors. I wonder if the
polish or PlastiX used once a year or so as PM would work.

Ashton Crusher writes:
On Tue, 12 May 2015 01:41:33 -0400, J Burns
wrote:


I heard about using toothpaste too. I tried that and it was a
frigging mess. Maybe back in the day toothpaste was more like what I
think of as polish but the toothpaste I tried is the modern kind where
the bulk of it is a plastic based carrier and that plastic just balled
up and made a sticky mess out of things.

try peanut butter instead.

I've been thinking about that lately myself. In the
past I've had good luck with Rain-X on lexan panels,
but I haven't tried it on headlights. I'm curious about
the buffing polish but the version I saw was ridiculously
overpriced.

It sounds like Ashton is the only person here who's
actually tried the polishing approach.

"Mayayana" writes:
I've been thinking about that lately myself. In the
past I've had good luck with Rain-X on lexan panels,
but I haven't tried it on headlights. I'm curious about
the buffing polish but the version I saw was ridiculously
overpriced.

It sounds like Ashton is the only person here who's
actually tried the polishing approach.

I used a Harbor Freight on a 98 infiniti a few years
ago. Worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.

|
| I used a Harbor Freight on a 98 infiniti a few years
| ago. Worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.

That seems to be the name of a store. I've never
heard of that store and I don't think there are any
near me. (I also avoid shopping online, especially for
things that I can probably buy down the street.)
You don't remember the name of the product?

"Mayayana" writes:
|
| I used a Harbor Freight on a 98 infiniti a few years
| ago. Worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.

That seems to be the name of a store. I've never
heard of that store and I don't think there are any
near me. (I also avoid shopping online, especially for
things that I can probably buy down the street.)
You don't remember the name of the product?

It's easy enough to find on the HF website (item 65938, USD9.99)

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 10:46:38 AM UTC-4, Scott Lurndal wrote:
"Mayayana" writes:
|
| I used a Harbor Freight on a 98 infiniti a few years
| ago. Worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.

That seems to be the name of a store. I've never
heard of that store and I don't think there are any
near me. (I also avoid shopping online, especially for
things that I can probably buy down the street.)
You don't remember the name of the product?

It's easy enough to find on the HF website (item 65938, USD9.99)

More importantly, just about everything at HF is their
own stuff, branded for them, where you won't find anywhere else.

On 5/12/2015 10:35 AM, Mayayana wrote:
|
| I used a Harbor Freight on a 98 infiniti a few years
| ago. Worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.

That seems to be the name of a store. I've never
heard of that store and I don't think there are any
near me. (I also avoid shopping online, especially for
things that I can probably buy down the street.)
You don't remember the name of the product?



It is Harbor Freight headlight restoration kit. Seems you are SOL.

Your local auto store will have something.

| It is Harbor Freight headlight restoration kit. Seems you are SOL.
|

OK. Thanks. At least I know now what
he's talking about.

On 5/12/2015 10:35 AM, Mayayana wrote:
|
| I used a Harbor Freight on a 98 infiniti a few years
| ago. Worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.

That seems to be the name of a store. I've never
heard of that store and I don't think there are any
near me. (I also avoid shopping online, especially for
things that I can probably buy down the street.)
You don't remember the name of the product?


headlamp lens restorer kit

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-minu...kit-65938.html

On sale, ten bucks.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 05/12/2015 03:10 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 5/12/2015 10:35 AM, Mayayana wrote:
|
| I used a Harbor Freight on a 98 infiniti a few years
| ago. Worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.

That seems to be the name of a store. I've never
heard of that store and I don't think there are any
near me. (I also avoid shopping online, especially for
things that I can probably buy down the street.)
You don't remember the name of the product?


headlamp lens restorer kit

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-minu...kit-65938.html

On sale, ten bucks.

-

Chinky junky?

On 5/12/2015 10:01 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:

It sounds like Ashton is the only person here who's
actually tried the polishing approach.

I used a Harbor Freight on a 98 infiniti a few years
ago. Worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.


How does that compare to pig on
greased glass?

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 5/11/2015 8:23 PM, wrote:
My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.

Anyhow, I'd like to do some sort of restore on them. I see these "As
seen in TV" ads where they sell these kits, and charge an outrageous
amount of shipping and handling. Anyhow, I dont buy any of that high
priced crap.

I'm looking to either buy a product at a local Auto Parts store,
Walmart, a Dollar store, or possibly ebay. My question is what is a good
product for this? One that works well, is easy to use, and is priced
fairly.....

Thanks



I have not tried it on a headlight but used to have a good watch with a
plastic face that would cloud and I restored it with tooth paste.
Tooth paste contains a mild fine abrasive.

Plastic lenses are more subject to clouding as they are softer than
glass and more likely to be abraded by grit and the like.

Do not try to clean up these lenses with solvents as most will attack
them. You can clean them with maybe 10-15% rubbing alcohol in water.

On 5/12/2015 8:46 AM, Frank wrote:

I have not tried it on a headlight but used to have a good watch with a
plastic face that would cloud and I restored it with tooth paste.
Tooth paste contains a mild fine abrasive.


I'll have to mention this to my dentist. She asked
me to stop using baking soda as she says it's
abrasive.

Do all tooth pastes contain abrasive? How about
the clear gel ones? Not sure how I'd go find out?

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 5/12/2015 3:06 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 5/12/2015 8:46 AM, Frank wrote:

I have not tried it on a headlight but used to have a good watch with a
plastic face that would cloud and I restored it with tooth paste.
Tooth paste contains a mild fine abrasive.


I'll have to mention this to my dentist. She asked
me to stop using baking soda as she says it's
abrasive.

Do all tooth pastes contain abrasive? How about
the clear gel ones? Not sure how I'd go find out?

-
.
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
. www.lds.org
.
.

Yes, and you are advised not to clean (plastic) dentures with tooth
paste. They contain abrasives mild enough not to erode tooth enamel but
still polish it.

Apparently baking soda is OK if not used more than twice a week:
http://www.md-health.com/Brushing-Te...king-Soda.html

I assume they use tougher stuff for my biannual cleaning. I brush after
all meals but still need the cleanings.

On 05/12/2015 01:06 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
I'll have to mention this to my dentist. She asked
me to stop using baking soda as she says it's
abrasive.

Same here. I have a tube of Arm & Hammer but I don't use it regularly.
otoh Colgate Extra Super Whitening doesn't do much for tea and coffee
stains. Sometimes I wonder which is worse, using the abrasive toothpaste
or spending quality time with a dental hygenist polishing my fangs with
flour of pumice?

writes:
My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.


Has more to do with fuel economy. Glass is much heavier than
plastic. Plastic, however, suffers degradation over time.

Anyhow, I'd like to do some sort of restore on them. I see these "As
seen in TV" ads where they sell these kits, and charge an outrageous
amount of shipping and handling. Anyhow, I dont buy any of that high
priced crap.

Harbor Freight.

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 10:00:11 AM UTC-4, Scott Lurndal wrote:
writes:
My older pickup truck has foggy headlights. This seems to be the result
of poor manufacturing, since the older GLASS headlights never had that
problem. But aside from bitching about it, there is little I can do to
change what they put on my truck.


Has more to do with fuel economy. Glass is much heavier than
plastic. Plastic, however, suffers degradation over time.


And I don't think it's a manufacturing problem. Plastic is
just not as durable as glass. AFAIK, the fogging is typical
of all cars that have plastic type lights.

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 10:32:10 AM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
AFAIK, the fogging is typical
of all cars that have plastic type lights.

....launch your own non-scientific study at a lot near you!

On Tue, 12 May 2015 09:04:09 -0700 (PDT), bob_villa
wrote:

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 10:32:10 AM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
AFAIK, the fogging is typical
of all cars that have plastic type lights.

...launch your own non-scientific study at a lot near you!

Do you examine tail lights for oxidation?!

Why does a red lens not oxidize?

A clear headlight cover lens does.

On 05/12/2015 01:04 PM, Oren wrote:
Why does a red lens not oxidize?

A clear headlight cover lens does.

The headlight cover gets sandblasted for one thing. Why doesn't your
rear window have the pitting that the windshield has?

Oren wrote:
On Tue, 12 May 2015 09:04:09 -0700 (PDT), bob_villa
wrote:

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 10:32:10 AM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
AFAIK, the fogging is typical
of all cars that have plastic type lights.

...launch your own non-scientific study at a lot near you!

Do you examine tail lights for oxidation?!

Why does a red lens not oxidize?

A clear headlight cover lens does.

Probably resists uv.

Greg

On Tue, 12 May 2015 08:32:06 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

And I don't think it's a manufacturing problem. Plastic is
just not as durable as glass. AFAIK, the fogging is typical
of all cars that have plastic type lights.

Ever notice it is mostly, if not always headlights? Is it because the
lenses is clear (chemistry)? In the desert the blowing sand blasts
the plastic. My truck is age 20. Sanding may be needed if the lenses
is done DIY. The headlight lenses ain't cheap.

I like Eric The Car Guy video - stay dirty! (Youtube videos)

His main page:

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/body-videos/612-how-to-restore-headlights

On 5/12/2015 12:59 PM, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 12 May 2015 08:32:06 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

And I don't think it's a manufacturing problem. Plastic is
just not as durable as glass. AFAIK, the fogging is typical
of all cars that have plastic type lights.

Ever notice it is mostly, if not always headlights? Is it because the
lenses is clear (chemistry)? In the desert the blowing sand blasts
the plastic. My truck is age 20. Sanding may be needed if the lenses
is done DIY. The headlight lenses ain't cheap.

I like Eric The Car Guy video - stay dirty! (Youtube videos)

His main page:

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/body-videos/612-how-to-restore-headlights


Crazed, cracked lenses can't be restored. No good to polish them.
Reading that plastic lenses are lighter and tougher than glass and
actually safer with no glass from them in an accident.

Next time you're in a parking lot take notice of the car manufacturers that have this clouding issue...seems to be MoPar mostly, then Ford. Very few GM products?
This has to contribute to some deaths on the roads...

bob_villa writes:
Next time you're in a parking lot take notice of the car manufacturers that have this clouding issue...seems to be MoPar mostly, then Ford. Very few GM products?
This has to contribute to some deaths on the roads...

Why would you think that? It's strictly a cosmetic issue.

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 9:47:47 AM UTC-5, Scott Lurndal wrote:
bob_villa writes:
Next time you're in a parking lot take notice of the car manufacturers that have this clouding issue...seems to be MoPar mostly, then Ford. Very few GM products?
This has to contribute to some deaths on the roads...

Why would you think that? It's strictly a cosmetic issue.

Seriously...anything that hampers your abilities is a danger. Site being the most important when driving at night...it has nothing to do with being cosmetic to me.

On 5/12/2015 10:47 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
bob_villa writes:
Next time you're in a parking lot take notice of the car manufacturers that have this clouding issue...seems to be MoPar mostly, then Ford. Very few GM products?
This has to contribute to some deaths on the roads...

Why would you think that? It's strictly a cosmetic issue.


Dingy headlights are more than cosmetic. Many would not pass state
safety inspection. I have no idea if it has contributed to deaths, but
I guess it is possible.

(Scott Lurndal) wrote:
bob_villa writes:
Next time you're in a parking lot take notice of the car manufacturers that have this clouding issue...seems to be MoPar mostly, then Ford. Very few GM products?
This has to contribute to some deaths on the roads...

Why would you think that? It's strictly a cosmetic issue.

I think not. it has dimming effect.

On 5/12/15 7:31 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:
(Scott Lurndal) wrote:
bob_villa writes:
Next time you're in a parking lot take notice of the car
manufacturers that have this clouding issue...seems to be MoPar
mostly, then Ford. Very few GM products?
This has to contribute to some deaths on the roads...

Why would you think that? It's strictly a cosmetic issue.

I think not. it has dimming effect.
That way you won't blind oncoming traffic!

On 05/12/2015 05:55 PM, J Burns wrote:
On 5/12/15 7:31 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:
(Scott Lurndal) wrote:
bob_villa writes:
Next time you're in a parking lot take notice of the car
manufacturers that have this clouding issue...seems to be MoPar
mostly, then Ford. Very few GM products?
This has to contribute to some deaths on the roads...

Why would you think that? It's strictly a cosmetic issue.

I think not. it has dimming effect.
That way you won't blind oncoming traffic!

Or scare the deer playing their silly deer games in the middle of the
damn road.