headlight question

[lone500]

my headlights are kind of dull even after i put new brighter bulbs in there.

 

from the looks of things the inside of the headlight lens is pretty nasty.

 

how exactly do i clean that?

[Fairtax4me]

It's probably on the outside. Depending on the level of "dullness" you can either use a regular plastic polish to clean it up, or you might want to go buy a headlight restoration kit.

3M makes a good one. It has attachments for an electric drill that make it really easy and quick to use.

[Olnick]

Try a search here on the board--there have been a number of threads on cleaning lenses. And yes, it's usually the outside that's the problem.

[Rooster2]

+1 on haze being on outside of the lens. I used toothpaste and a wet paper towel to clean my lenses. It worked pretty good.

[lone500]

lol thanks guys. ill try polishing the outside with toothpaste and see how that works since i dont have to go buy anything to try it

[SubaruDreamer]

my hid headlights are kind of dull even after i put new brighter bulbs in there.

 

from the looks of things the inside of the headlight lens is pretty nasty.

 

how exactly do i clean that?

 

Yup using 3m cleaning tools will help out and make the lenses look clearer. See if that does the job.

[lone500]

no lenses are bright!

 

and not that great in the rain

[aa8jzdial]

try a few drops of brake fluid on a soft rag.

test on a small spot first.

seems like I would then finish it off with a bit of wd 40.

this does a pretty decent job and is very easy and cheap.

it will need to be redone every now and then though.

[Allpar Mod]

You did say that the problem is inside of the housings.

 

It's possible that if the seal for the bulbs has gone bad that the inside of the housings have an accumulation of crud. If the glue that holds the covers to the housings has started to degrade, this can happen also. If so, you'd need to remove them and use a cleaner inside and clean them out. I have seen this happen on occassion to these euro-style lights.

 

Now, which I have seen a few times also, if the reflective coating on the inside has dulled out because weather has gotten in, there's little one can do about that short of replacing the housings. If you're very good, it is possible to cut off the clear covers and spray a new reflective coating after cleaning the housing insides real well and then reglue the covers on. The trick is to remove the covers without breaking them. You'd have to get in between the cover and the housing where it is glued in place. That's the trick.

 

If you try this and crack the covers, we hold no liability.

Edited July 31, 2010 by Allpar Mod

[Olnick]

I seem to recall that warming them in an oven softens the adhesive so you can separate the lens from the backing. Might be worth a search.

 

Edit, found this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=80660&highlight=headlight+oven

Edited July 31, 2010 by Olnick