How can I prevent the headlamps on my new car from becoming yellow and losing transpa

How can I prevent the headlamps on my new car from becoming yellow and losing transparency?

I've noticed that headlamps on new cars usually turn yellow and lose some of their transparency after two years.

Welcome to CPF, Obella

In CPF terminology, "Headlamp" is a light strapped to your head, and "Headlight" is the main light on your car (I get confused about this sometimes too! :green.

With that in mind, I'll move your thread to the Automotive section.

Obella said:

How can I prevent the headlamps on my new car from becoming yellow and losing transparency?

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There are specifically formulated products (mild polish + wax) for plastic headlight lens care. Do some googling

Cheers,

Tam

tam17 said:

There are specifically formulated products (mild polish + wax) for plastic headlight lens care. Do some googling

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Googling the forums may reveal that if you polish the headlights, even with a mild polish, you start to wear down the protective coating on the outside of the lens. Wax will do very little to protect the lenses or the protective coating from UV, as well. That being said, a wax will help keep the lenses clean or make them easier to clean (such as when a bug gets splattered on it).

Keep the car parked indoors whenever possible, or park where the lights don't face the sun. There are also UV-protective sprays available, but they may reduce the light transmission slightly.

For some time, the kit from Double Horn Products which contained a set of cleaners and polishing 'sponges' was favored, but its protective spray may not work as well as advertised. See a review here and my thread where I did a mini-review.

If the lights have already started getting crusty, then stripping the coating and recoating may help prolong the life of the lenses. Once the lenses themselves yellow, that is a permanent condition as it is more than 'skin deep'. You want to prevent that whenever possible. Again -- indoor parking is definitely of benefit.

Alaric Darconville said:

Keep the car parked indoors whenever possible, or park where the lights don't face the sun. There are also UV-protective sprays available, but they may reduce the light transmission slightly.

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I've also seen a UV-blocking film, but it wasn't specifically meant to cover the headlights. The concern would be that I believe it's illegal to cover the headlight (or licence plates) with anything. You can always replace the car every 3-5 years http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/images/smilies/smile.gif

Norman said:

I've also seen a UV-blocking film, but it wasn't specifically meant to cover the headlights. The concern would be that I believe it's illegal to cover the headlight (or licence plates) with anything.

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My Previa's headlights have that blue masking tape on them because it's just parked in front of the house, in the sun. I peel it off and save it before I take it somewhere, and reapply it when I get back home. A clear UV-protective film for cars that get driven would be useful, so long as you peel off the film before driving off.

You can always replace the car every 3-5 years

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But I already get a new unicorn every year!

Obella said:

How can I prevent the headlamps on my new car from becoming yellow and losing transparency?

I've noticed that headlamps on new cars usually turn yellow and lose some of their transparency after two years.

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after 2 years????? idk, none of mine 3-5 years old cars have that problem, and i park them outside. older ones.. yes, but not 2 years. ...however, quality of new cars becoming worst and worst, so i wont be surprised if it happens in 2 years.

well there is not much you can do untill they become yellow, than you just polish them. you can put wax on the car, and lights too, it'll block some uv , other than that, idk,

i personaly didn't have yellow lights since my first and second car (both were over 10 yeaers old), so now i don't keep cars for longer than 5 or 3 years, all depends on how long the warranty is, once it runs out, the car is gone. the way they build them nowadays... let someone else deal with repears.

I have used these and have good results with delaying the yellowing:

http://www.xpel.com/products/headlight.asp

They are easy to apply and well worth it.

Matt

There are some situations that compound how fast this occures. automatic car washes can use a mild acid in there wash cycle. Dish soap can strip waxes, ammonia based glass cleaners can damage them as well. Now add heat and stir....
I have successfully refinished 20-30 headlamps over the last couple of years with 3m products, a small air sander and orbital polisher are needed. 500,800,1000, and 3000 grit 3M trizact foam sanding disks and some polishing paste. A few hours and there almost perfect. The 3M restoration kit cost about $350 on line and works well.

Mattb said:

I have used these and have good results with delaying the yellowing:

http://www.xpel.com/products/headlight.asp

They are easy to apply and well worth it.

Matt

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I use Xpel on my headlights and the stuff is amazing. it very thick and works wonders!

That's interesting, I have never seen a car with yellow headlights. Maybe for your next car you should consider something with glass lenses, 70 year old lenses can be made to look as good as new with a bit of hot soapy water. Basically that limits you to old cars but they have some big advantages over modern cars, easy to find replacement parts, easy to repair, better quality (depending on what you choose), and cheaper to boot, and a lot can be insured at low prices (old landrovers can be insurance group 2, they can be insured cheaper than most small hatchbacks).

Have you looked for glass raplacement lenses for whatever your vehicle is? That's a possibility

JacobJones said:

That's interesting, I have never seen a car with yellow headlights.

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It's potentially rarer in the northern latitudes, which may explain why you have never seen such a thing, but that does not preclude the possibility of their existence even in your locality. Given the plethora of products marketed to people facing yellowed headlights, it's clear that they do exist and in large quantities.

Maybe for your next car you should consider something with glass lenses, 70 year old lenses can be made to look as good as new with a bit of hot soapy water. Basically that limits you to old cars but they have some big advantages over modern cars, easy to find replacement parts, easy to repair, better quality (depending on what you choose), and cheaper to boot, and a lot can be insured at low prices (old landrovers can be insurance group 2, they can be insured cheaper than most small hatchbacks).

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You also forego quite a few technological advances in safety such as antilock brakes, lane departure warning systems, vehicle stability control, airbags...

In the United States, older vehicles can often only be insured for liability, not for 'comprehensive' or 'collision', meaning that you'll be out of pocket for repairing your car unless the other driver is at fault.

Have you looked for glass raplacement lenses for whatever your vehicle is? That's a possibility

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But often not a probability. If aftermarket, they may either not fit properly (as is usual for most aftermarket crap) or it may be practically impossible to reseal the lights again after taking them apart. Entirely new lamp assemblies would be a better option, but again, OE, not aftermarket, as many are notoriously bad.

JacobJones said:

Have you looked for glass raplacement lenses for whatever your vehicle is? That's a possibility

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No, it is not, there are no glass replacment lenses. nobody replaces lenses, they are glued to the reflector assembly.
looks like you have no clue what you talking about

alpg88 said:

No, it is not, there are no glass replacment lenses. nobody replaces lenses, they are glued to the reflector assembly.
looks like you have no clue what you talking about

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Sorry, I just asumed it was possible to disassemble modern headlights because it is on older vehicles. Sounds like you are trying to say that all headlight lenses are fixed to the reflector assembly, maybe it's you who doesn't know what you are talking about? Maybe I was partially wrong but you don't have to be rude about it

JacobJones said:

Sounds like you are trying to say that all headlight lenses are fixed to the reflector assembly,

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i.m not trying, i'm saying, they are fixed, find 1 modern car that has removable\replacable lens.

alpg88 said:

i.m not trying, i'm saying, they are fixed, find 1 modern car that has removable\replacable lens.

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BMW 3 series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRcsD2UZkhE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I took apart a 7 series headlamp that wasn't fixed or sealed with sealant. Perhaps we should just leave it at, "We all know something" because that's what forums are for: sharing our individual pieces of knowledge so that we all can learn something we didn't already know.

I need to replace my headlamps' covers, and am probably going to go with aftermarket front lens. I'm assuming that, unlike OEMs, these aftermarkets are made of plastic and are not coated at all, so I would like to add UV protection to them. My current set is starting to get that crackled glass look, and is getting frosty. Therefore, I don't care about sanding and polishing, I just need somethign that will stop UV and stay on the headlamp.

So, general consensus is that the xpel stuff is the best bet? Are there no spray-on alternatives?

Edit: I'm starting to like the looks of that doublehorn product. Alaric, how's the 'Rolla headlamps holding up? I have aftermarkets that exhibit that crackling in a major way. Luckily, I'm not using the aftermarket beamshaping optics >.>

JacobJones said:

BMW 3 series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRcsD2UZkhE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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lol, ok, you win, that i have never seen anyone do, but it doesn't change the fact, you were right i was wrong, some cars do have replacable lens.

I always park away from the sun if I can help it, in hopes that less direct exposure slows the process. I still have all clear lenses on all my vehicles even my 1997 suburban.

bshanahan14rulz said:

I'm starting to like the looks of that doublehorn product. Alaric, how's the 'Rolla headlamps holding up? I have aftermarkets that exhibit that crackling in a major way. Luckily, I'm not using the aftermarket beamshaping optics >.>

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I may not have applied it correctly the first time, and I may have damaged the lenses by pressing too hard during the sanding and polishing stages prior to even putting it on, so my car may not be a good example. They look pretty terrible, but weekly Turtle Wax applications have helped keep them tolerable. I should probably have never messed with them in the first place.

On AllPar, they found that less than a year later the headlights they did really didn't fare that well. Here's their story.