RE:Foggy Headlights

[SilverSurfer]

Hey what's up, could you please post this in the Section of Appearance, it's regarding a product I found for cleaning lenses. For people in Canada it can be found at Canadian Tire its called "Meguiar's Plastx, Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish". I tried it and it works mint, my lenses are like new, It goes for $9.99 Cnd, but i think its well worth the money.

[SilverSurfer]

Just wanted to add that there is a website and a dealer locater www.meguiars.com

[kuruption1983]

i second that,,, very amazing product,,

[UoMDeacon]

I thought I'd post a note as to the reasons behind the lenses fogging, and the advantages and disadvantages of 'clearing' them up with a polish. Most modern lenses in general are actually made of polycarbonate (I'm sure most of us know that). What happens to PC is that under UV exposure, it will age and begin to turn yellow. Carmakers realise this, and all PC lenses are coated with a 'hardcoat' that is usually silicone based with a UV stabilizer. Main manufacturers during the period our cars were made were GE, Mitsubishi, and Sherwin Williams. At this time, the coatings only had UV stabilizers/absorber technology good enough to last about 5 years max. After this amount of time, the UVS/A would break down and allow the PC to be attacked by UV, hence our hazy headlights.<p>Now, onwards to today, and 'polishes' like Meguir's. While I am not sure the exact way in which Meguir's works, I'm quite sure that what it does is remove by outer layer of PC from our lenses, through some type of abrasive or etching. While this is good in the shortrun in clearing up the lenses, what you have actually done is remove the last of the protective coating from the lenses, thus exposing the vulnerable PC to direct UV contact. So for a short while, your lenses will looks great, but invariably, they will begin to haze over again, this time much more quickly than 3-5 years. That is...unless Meguir's, or whatnot, has a UV protective coating, which I don't know.<p>I hope this clears some things up. I'm not trying to bash any polish manufacturers (I love Meguir's wax), but I've seen a lot of people talking about their polished lenses recently. I'm curious as to how long your polishing jobs have lasted.<p>[ May 16, 2003: Message edited by: UoMDeacon ]</p>

[back alley]

well, after polishing my headlites, i use an acrylic floor wax (future) to coat the lenses. i put several coats on and the effect is not only amazing but has lasted thru the winter.
i'll do it again this summer.

[Len-Dogg]

You are right, you are scraping off a thin layer of your headlights, and that is why you get a now clear light. There are two ways to keep it that way. One, do like was mentioned earlier and just use the plastic cleaner once a month when you wax your car. Don't worry it would take a very very long time to get any real amount of the headlight off. Or second, replace the clear coat. I have heard of people using Krylon or another similar brand of clearcoat spray paint and getting good results.