How to fix fuzzy headlamps (Polycarbonate)

[macabethiel]

The most important / urgent item on my MoT list of work was under the heading "Repair as soon as possible" (Minor Defect).

Both headlamp lenses discoloured impairing efficiency.

I have see the various Videos and seen a raft of products that will restore them with lots of elbow grease.

Has anyone here actually managed it with a good result ?

 

[jims-terrano]

I’ve seen videos of people using toothpaste with bicarbonate of soda, arm and hammer is a brand that springs to mind.
There specially manufactured polishing kits for them too.

 

[elty001]

Many years ago when I had a Toyota estima that also had the polycarbonate lenses which where scuffed.
I bought a kit off of ebay which worked well but had to be done every six months or so to keep them clear.

 

[macabethiel]

Many years ago when I had a Toyota estima that also had the polycarbonate lenses which where scuffed.
I bought a kit off of ebay which worked well but had to be done every six months or so to keep them clear.

That is interesting, I guess the basic restoration worked but the last stage that would be some sort of sealant to restore the shine did not contain uV inhibitors or they were not effective in the long term.

Most manufacturers went away from glass probably to save weight & money as well as allowing curvy shapes. As a matter of anecdotal observation the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes do not seem to suffer the issue as quickly compared to may of the cheaper Japanese manufacturers.

I am going to start with a basic wash & flatting with the fine Wet & Dry I have - 1200 Grit & 2500 then use Brasso with a buffing wheel. (Its slow but Brasso is great for removing scratches on watches glasses if they are plastic.) Then I am going to look at a branded sealant product with uV inhibitors.

I guess if this fails its buy a new pair of headlamp units - most are around £90-120 mark each for the WJ. I will see if any brands of sealnt are recommended here.

If it was still the same product I would buy a bottle of Klear Floor sealant - it worked a treat on bulling boots up in the 1980's!

 

[Rarche2002]

Do you want mine?

I’m out there this weekend getting some bits off for elty001 not much effort to pull the headlights out


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[macabethiel]

Mine is not a Terrano - Jeep WJ

Mine is a Jeep ??

 

[Rarche2002]

Mine is a Jeep ??

Oh well mine won’t fit then [emoji23][emoji23][emoji1787][emoji23]
Unless you make them [emoji3166]


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[Rarche2002]

I’ve actually restored a set of headlamps before on my skyline ended up just going through all the grits of sandpaper then finished up with a buffing wheel and mother’s cutting compound just gotta remember to keep it cold and wet or it will mess it up then I put 3 light coats of clear lacquer with uv protection on them


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[macabethiel]

Plan to start with the nearside headlamp tomorrow (Fri 17th)

I have taken some before photos and will post the stages as I go through the process.

The Jeep WJ headlamps are retained by a set of three clips (ball & cup type) and one long retaining screw so are really easy to remove. From my memory the wiring unplugs quite easily too.

It will be much easier to do the restoration with the lamps out - avoids masking & I can do the job on my garage bench where it is much warmer - and dry.

 

[kitchenman]

There is a kit on the market, got some in the workshop, I will check it out later and post details, neighbour has Nissan sports car, worked well on his so
I got a kit to use on my Honda scooter screen

 

[macabethiel]

Ongoing photos of my Headlamp Restoration Project

This is the Jeep before I started - you can see the nearside lamp is more discoloured.
Before 1 by Teddy Bagshaw, on Flickr


Close up of the nearside Headlamp before I start the restoration process.

Before 2 by Teddy Bagshaw, on Flickr

 

[macabethiel]

First sanding down by hand with 1200 Grit.

First I washed the lamp unit thoroughly left lamp in place - will probably remove it when I start the sealant process at the end.

This was how it looked after 10 minutes of hand flatting with 1200 grit - its visibly worse (gulp).

First sanding by Teddy Bagshaw, on Flickr

 

[macabethiel]

Have done a couple of minutes with 2500 Grit Wet & Dry

Unfortunately its raining so after about 5 mins had to give up.
At least now its starting to look better again - wonder now if I should have used 2500 from the outset?
Its obvious from the uneven layering that the lamps have either been restored before or coated with a finish that was uneven and has now discoloured and worn off in places.

Plan is to give it some more hand flatting with 2500 Grit before I start the first Polishing with Brasso.

Need it to stop raining !!

After 5 mins with 2500 Grit by Teddy Bagshaw, on Flickr

 

[macabethiel]

Next Stage now it's not raining!

Dried off the nearside headlamp and could see a strange sort of layered stain effect so with nothing to loose found a bottle of "Sticky Label Stuff" remover that we use to remove shop labels from various goods we have purchased.

Put a generous squirt of the fluid onto a cloth and began by wiping the whole headlamp lens area. This I know is safe to use on plastics etc from past use.

Within a minute all the stained / layer marks had disappeared, this stuff usually hardens adhesives gradually, it then removes the glue etc. At present the lens looks really good so I am resisting the urge to put on a finished layer - haven't actually bought anything yet though I do have an aerosol of clear lacquer. My worry is that it might mess up the polycarbonate surface.

Total effort time spent so far about 30 mins with probably 15 minutes of flatting with 2500 Grit.

Stick Stuff Label Solvent Cleaner by Teddy Bagshaw, on Flickr



So far my research has come up with a Turtle Wax headlamp sealing product at sensible price.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Turtle-Wax...0H6P83DZVW8&psc=1&refRID=PM9GG4NYK0H6P83DZVW8

 

[makeitfit]

Best thing once you've done with the polishing bit is a clear lacqauer.
Saves doing it again 6 months.
I've done a few now and easy with autosolve and a cordless drill and buffer. Takes several minutes max

 

[macabethiel]

What is the solvent base ?

Best thing once you've done with the polishing bit is a clear lacqauer.
Saves doing it again 6 months.
I've done a few now and easy with autosolve and a cordless drill and buffer. Takes several minutes max ��

I'm definitelyy going for a finish coat - can you remember what lacquer you used ?
I have a new can of clear lacquer the solvent looks to be Butyl Acetate based though this might be the propelant - not sure if it will damage polycarbonate.

The Turtle Wax Cleaner /Sealant arrived yesterday it's a sort of cream based treatment that you use like wax polish on a car!

I am minded to use the Turtle Wax as a uV screen afterwards. What I dont want to do is do a good job as I have done so far then find the there is a chemical reaction between the two. That would mean me effectively having to start all over.

Many years ago I tried to clean some old paint off a rear lamp on a Mini and the White Spirit melted the surface leaving my fingerprints behind !

Online research reveals Acrylic based paints are good.

 

[kitchenman]

Update

There is a kit on the market, got some in the workshop, I will check it out later and post details, neighbour has Nissan sports car, worked well on his so
I got a kit to use on my Honda scooter screen

The kit
https://www.autoglym.com/headlight-restoration-kit
everything you need except a power drill 1200-1600 RPM

 

[macabethiel]

Work has come to a standstill for a couple of weeks.

Due to a recent Heart procedure I can't use either arm at the moment to finish the headlamp job, can't even drive again until next week.

When my two radial arteries have healed I will then go to the next stage, I have established that Acrylic Lacquer is the right product to use - it keys to Polycarbonate. A can of spray is well under a tenner so that will be my next phase. Will post pics when I have done the left hand unit.

So far have spent £5.99 on Turtle Wax product - Wet & Dry was from stock.

 

[macabethiel]

One restored headlamp finished.

I decided not to finish with a Lacquer coat at present as the finish is good enough without.

I have some decent uV blocker to use instead as a maintenance routine. If they do not stay clear for at least 12 months then I will consider an Acrylic Clear Lacquer at that point.

I did about 15 minutes of T Cut hand polishing then finished off with the Turtle Wax Headlamp restorer.

The final touch was using some Hard Carnauba Wax as a finish. The pale blue circle to the right is the image on the glass from the reflector where it has an oxidised stain from a previous bad bulb. The white bar low down is a reflection of my garage lights!

It's a bit of a gamble but I have found some LED headlamp bulbs on flea bay - if they are not too bright I will use them as the dip beam. If the scatter is bad then I will use them as main beam only. They should arrive tomorrow.

suitably polished by Teddy Bagshaw, on Flickr

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

They look great.. You should find you like the LED's as long as you have bought reasonable quality.

I have bought a few cheap ones over the years, and they put me off them, as they fail or start flashing, but spend a bit more, and the difference is a hundred fold.

I have the HID headlamps, but for some reason Jeep put standard tungsten bulbs in the DRL, parking, and fog lights. The HID's make them look really yellow, so I have been changing them out for quality LED's. I haven't done the fogs yet, as they use a really weird bulb, and I hardly ever use them any way, but the parking lights, and DRL's look great, nice and bright, but no glare.

I also changed the reversing light bulbs for some high intensity LED's which were far superior to the standard tungsten, but I still ended up fitting a pair of auxiliary white light into the rear bumper.