Headlights have yellow discoloration...

[Orion]

I know that this happens to many older cars. The headlights loose their clear color and end up with this horrid yellowish tint. Is there some way that this can be cleaned off?

 

[BIGIRON]

I tried everything (PlasX, floor wax stripper, acetone, very fine abrasives, etc) on my previous Dodge p/up with no success. Found aftermarket units for $30 each, so just replaced them.

 

[270winchester]

the best bulbs I have found are the clear glassed Sylvania extravisions. You can probably find them at your local autoparts store, pretty cheap and are good bulbs.

 

[Orion]

Actually, 270win, . . . what I'm talking about is the part of the headlights that make up the outside of the car. . . . not the bulbs. It is the plastic lens parts that have discolored to a yellowish tint.

 

[ACMarina]

Auto wax has worked for me in the past to bring back the shine, and chrome polish seemed to take away the yellowing..

 

[Orion]

Thank you for your input, Stew.. ....uh, ACMarina. I will give them a try.

 

[Pellidon]

I bought a $20 kit at wal mart that had two grades of ultra fine emery paper and a sealing wax. You buff the yellow and scratches off then re seal it. It is temperature sensitive and the higher above 75 the less time you have to apply the sealer.

 

[270winchester]

Actually, 270win, . . . what I'm talking about is the part of the headlights that make up the outside of the car. . . . not the bulbs. It is the plastic lens parts that have discolored to a yellowish tint.

I see. I didn't see any mentioning of the lens in the first post so I assumed you were talking about the bulbs

There was a thread in the general lighting section before the change that was a step-by-step tutorial on how to re-finish your plastic light lens. I'll see if I can dig it up.

 

[Orion]

I see. I didn't see any mentioning of the lens in the first post so I assumed you were talking about the bulbs

There was a thread in the general lighting section before the change that was a step-by-step tutorial on how to re-finish your plastic light lens. I'll see if I can dig it up.

I appreciate any help you can offer!

 

[unnerv]

I used a wet sanding method similar to the one described here:
http://www.tccoa.com/articles/exterior/headlights/index.shtml

 

[Orion]

I printed those instructions off. Thanks!

 

[Darell]

Those plastic lenses are the devil. The rear lights have the same problem (and area ALWAYS plastic while the fronts are often glass. The easiest way is to prevent this in the first place by cleaning and applying wax regularly (like every time you wax the car - everybody waxes, right? :duck

But after it has happened, there is no other solution than to buff it out as others have mentioned (or replace). Even if you get it buffed perfectly, you can still end up with permanently discolored plastic.

 

[270winchester]

I got bad news Darrel, a lot of the new cars have clear plastic lens for the headlights too, to have those fancy "curves". I haven't seen glass head lights lens in a while now. Both the more recent model Toyotas my family own are platic and the '99 already needed TLC(turning yellow) and the '05 is, well, good for now. They look just like glass in the dealership showroom but tend to deteroiate after a few years in the real world. Meanwhile my 15 year old Corolla has the glass lens and look like new. gotta love progress!!

Those plastic lenses are the devil. The rear lights have the same problem (and area ALWAYS plastic while the fronts are often glass. The easiest way is to prevent this in the first place by cleaning and applying wax regularly (like every time you wax the car - everybody waxes, right? :duck

But after it has happened, there is no other solution than to buff it out as others have mentioned (or replace). Even if you get it buffed perfectly, you can still end up with permanently discolored plastic.

 

[Unicorn]

I try to prevent it by using a plastic cleaner, and polisher every so often. Or that's my intent anyway. I've not been so good with actually doing it.

 

[Darell]

I got bad news Darrel, a lot of the new cars have clear plastic lens for the headlights too, to have those fancy "curves". I haven't seen glass head lights lens in a while now.

Bad, yes, I agree. But not news to me. I can't remember my last car with glass headlight "windows." I know my 1966 Volvo P1800 had them for sure.

I simply have not had a problem on my own "plastic" cars, though I've sure seen problems for others! I polish/wax those covers along with the rest of the car regularly. My cars tend to look new for longer than most - save for the paint chips from driving down the sand-blaster/belt-sander freeways!

 

[reptiles]

I have a 92 Eagle Talon Tsi and the headlight housings have turned yellowish over the past 16 years. It isn't a coating of yellow that can be polished off --the actual material has yellowed (full thickness.)

I compensated by installing HID components (salvaged from a Mercedes) --the cool-white HID makes the headlight housings look brillant at night.

It still looks crappy by day

Regards,

Mark

 

[chmsam]

Chrysler products seem to be the worst at this but other brands suffer as well. There were other threads on this not too long ago. Upshot was a quality kit to be used with an orbital polisher was the way to go. Watch out for lenses with the tabs for headlight aiming systems when you polish unless you really like replacing pads a lot. Cost was about $50 per kit but beware since the cheaper kits had little or no UV protection. IIRC it made some difference if you were in the North during the winter where they use salt, but not a whale of a lot.

 

[scott.cr]

Check out clearcorners.com, the guy there does great work with restoring yellowed plastic lighting assemblies. Emery paper will work, but clearcorners.com gives your lights back with that just-off-the-showroom-floor luster.

Years ago he did the front blinkers on my (crappy) Dodge Omni and I was so happy with the work I had him do all the lights. The car looked WAY better with "brand new" plastic on all corners.

 

[Yoda4561]

I try to prevent it by using a plastic cleaner, and polisher every so often. Or that's my intent anyway. I've not been so good with actually doing it.

I wouldn't recommend this on a new car. You do want to apply some kind of non-abrasive UV protectant (synthetic car waxes work). All the newer cars have a very durable UV/scratch resistant hard coating, abrasives will just remove it and expose the polycarbonate lens to the elements. Wait until you notice the lens degrading a bit before you use an abrasive and take off the only protection it has.

 

[yellow]

when the headlights show some "fog" from the inside, get them out and wipe them with a towel till clear again (towel worked around some stick, inserted by the bulb holes)
(do not touch the reflector part, just the glass)

... made quite a visual difference with my cars