2nd Generation Headlight fogging

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Greg Houston, Jan 7, 2007.

  1. Greg Houston

    Greg Houston Guest

    I saw a 2nd generation Intrepid (unknown year) the other day and the
    headlights looked pretty foggy, as in the plastic was no longer clear.
    Is this a common problem? Mine look crystal clear although I often keep
    my car in a garage during the day (out of the sun) and the lights were
    replaced under warranty in 2002 because one of them had condensation
    issues. Perhaps keeping the sun away helps.

    Anything that can be done to keep the headlights like new? I clean them
    with mild car wash soap when the car is washed.
     
    Greg Houston, Jan 7, 2007
    #1
  2. Greg Houston

    Bill Putney Guest

    Here you go, Greg: http://www.autosportcatalog.com/index.cfm?fa=p&pid=332


    The fogging is a surface phenomenon.

    If they need a little polishing before you install the XPels, you can
    use plastic polish (Meguiar's makes one called Plastix™; also, I find
    Zymöl™ does well) - if needing more serious polishing, you can use
    successively finer grades of sandpaper ending with 2000 grit, followed
    by polish. If yours are in good shape, best to leave them alone (other
    than install XPels now to prevent future deterioration) because when you
    sand and polish, you are removing a thin layer of UV protective material
    - but if it's already cloudy, no harm in sanding it off. You would need
    to polish periodically after that as they will cloud up again more
    quickly (every few weeks).

    Some people also use clear coat on the headlights after polishing them
    out if they don't plan on using the XPels. That essentialy restores
    them to new appearance and resistance to clouding.

    Bill Putney
    (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
    address with the letter 'x')
     
    Bill Putney, Jan 7, 2007
    #2
  3. Greg Houston

    Greg Houston Guest

    Thanks for the info! The X-Pel / 3M product looks interesting. Do you have
    any experience with it? My lights are fine at the moment although the hood
    has lots of scratches and paint chips from flying debris...
     
    Greg Houston, Jan 12, 2007
    #3
  4. Greg Houston

    Bill Putney Guest

    I am embarrassed to say that I have had a pair sitting on my shelf for
    quite a while now. Just like medicine that is not taken, they aren't
    doing me much good sitting on the shelf. In my defense, I am planning
    some mod's to the headlight assemblies, and they are not easy to get in
    and out, so that mod is still on my to-do list and I'm waiting to get
    that done before I put them on. In the meantime, I am periodically
    polishing them following the sanding on two of the headlights and just
    polishing without sanding on the other two (I have two Concordes). I
    only hope that when it finally happens that the adhesive will be OK
    (will release from the backing paper, and will hold well when applied to
    the headlights).

    Bill Putney
    (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
    address with the letter 'x')
     
    Bill Putney, Jan 12, 2007
    #4
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