I have a 1991 F250. My problem is that the headlight lens on the driver's side is not as shiny as the one on the left when the lights are off, and does'nt shine as bright as the left when the lights are on. There seems to be nothing broken, either out front or under the hood, so I'm assuming that the discoloration is not just dirt that somehow got into the headlight cover, but I am not sure. Is this a common thing, and how can I clean the lens so they are the same on both sides?


Thanks for any help you can give me.

FF

 

There are "kits" on the market-(my Ford dealer has then in his display case) to remedy this comon problem, it consists of several compounds that you use to remove the yellowing and cloudiness, I'll bet automotive paint and body supply places would have this as well.

 

So it is not caused by dirt getting behind the lens?

These "compounds" are what, like wax or something to buff out the discoloration on the lens? I'll have to check that out.

Thanks, Supercab!


FF

 

This is a common problem on the Fords. What I did to my Mustang is put masking tape over anything I didn't want to scratch up and take some very fine sand paper like 1200 grit and wet sand it by hand. The tape protected the car in case I ran out on it. I then dried it off, it looks really bad at this point, very cloudy and I thought I had really destroyed it. I used my waxing orbital buffer with a terry cloth cover and buffed on the Meguires clear plastic cleanner and then removed it. Next I used a new pad and buffed on the clear plastic polish and removed it. They look brand new, took about 20 minutes to do both of them. I read an article in a Mustang magazine on how to do it, they went through a lot more steps but I got great results that have lasted 2 years now. I had to do the first one a couple times because I didn't sand enough the first pass because I was way to scared. I took before, durring and after pictures if you would like me to send them to you just give me your email address. It is very easy to do. The Meguires stuff is about 5 bucks a bottle but you can use it on tons of other stuff like goggles, screen doors, watch faces ect... and there is quite a bit in the bottles, you don't have to use very much. I also used that stuff on my bug gaurd and instument cluster, they both look brand new also. I didn't sand those I just applied the product.

 

I've used those products, with favorable results also. I'd recomend them to anyone. Worked great on those annoying plexiglass windows on toppers/caps. Now you can actually see out them.

 

On my 626, my Headlights were damn near orange so a guy I had worked with had introduced me to some Turtle wax chrome polish and waxed off all of that yellowness in the headlights. Hell, now they look brand new and I religiously keep a can of chrome polish in the back of the truck or at least one in the car

 

hey i just put a bit off spray nine on mine it helped alot if your not looking to do alot off work ...

 

Had that on my explorer bought a plastic cleaner and a plastic polish about $10 fixed it right up.

 

AeroShell makes a product called "Flight Jacket Plexicoat" that's great for all Plexiglass windows and plastic lens type applications. It's made for aircraft applications, but also does a very nice job on auto lenses. Look for it at the pilotshop at your local airport, or do a search here on the internet. I've found it for as little as $7.50, and as much as $15 for a 16 oz bottle. It's fast, it protects from UV rays, and it last.

 

I used a metal polish called Blue Magic on mine and it worked wonders.