Need help with these headlights!

[avman1987]

So my headlights look fine in the light but at night with the headlights are on they look like this(hopefully I can get this picture thing to work). I have used PlastX on them they feel very smooth and they look perfectly clear during the day. Any ideas? You can see them here if the pic doesn't work- http://s1061.photobucket.com/albums/t468/avman1987/

[SVT Lightning]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

Ya Know....that almost looks like condensation on the inside. I've had good luck using UC on headlights FYI.

[avman1987]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

Yeah it kind of does look like that but up close with the lights on you can tell its on outer part of the plastic. Thanks for the reply.

[ronniejay]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

bookmark.

[HCAD]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

If you went over the light with PlastX and saw no improvement, it's likely that the flaws are IN the plastic and not on the outside. Have you noticed the lights on another car, same model? Maybe it's in the design of the cars lights themselves? If you still want to try a more aggressive approach, I'd advise taking it to a detailer who can access 1000 grit paper, or 3000 grit on a drill, and then be able to buff out the sanding marks.

[GhOsT1321]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

Before taking it to a dealer, I would give this a shot. For $10 you don't have much to lose versus paying a dealer.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-minute-headlamp-lens-restorer-kit-65938.htmt

The sand paper is quite fine, but you may be able to sand through the defect if you work it long enough.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

So these feel totally smooth on the outside? You don't feel any sort of roughness, or can't see anything that looks like fine pitting on the outside when the lights are off? How old is the car, and have the lenses always appeared this way or are you noticing that this condition is worsening with time?

[avman1987]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

Yes they feel totally smooth on the outside, no roughness but I can see some small marks that look like rocks have hit (not nearly as much as in those pics though). I uploaded a pic in the day without the lights on if you would like to see that. It is an 04 and I am not sure I have used PlastX for a while on them just to keep them their best but the other night I was parked in front of a store and I noticed that in the reflection for the first time. I have all the stuff to sand and buff them and I have done it on another car but I was just hoping I didn't have to.

[avman1987]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

Here is the day and night (lights on/off)

[GhOsT1321]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

Could the headlights have dust on the inside?
You could take the bulb holder assembly out and try to blow the inside out with compressed air.

[avman1987]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

It looks to me like its on the outer part of the lens, but i'll check when I get a chance to take off the headlight.

[Jumper09]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

It might be dust but to me, it looks like a case of crazing. I've seen the same thing on some lights that I've done too. looks clear during the day and feels smooth but when the lights turn on, all you can see is little cracks or chips. If it feels smooth on the outside, chances are it's on the inside or all the way thru the plastic.

[Jumper09]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

By any chance, are these lights on a Pontiac Grand Prix? I only ask because they look like the same lights as my buddies car. If they are, I've seen the same problem on an 05 Grand Prix.

[avman1987]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

What is a case of "crazing"? I don't know what that is. It is actually an '04 Avalanche.

[Jumper09]

Re: Need help with these headlights!

As I don't have any sample pics to show, crazing is a tightly clustered network of cracks that run all the way thru the plastic. Most of the time you can't feel them on the outside surface but they run thru the thickness of the lense. There is no known way to fix it that I know of yet.