Originally Posted by 28oz
Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by c502cid
Originally Posted by 28oz
Lots of things will polish them well.
How long they stay clear is what counts!
^^^this!^^^
+100......... And it won't be for long if you park outside, in an area of the country with a high UV light index. It becomes a losing, never ending battle to say the least. Unless you change how your car is stored, they'll just oxidize again in almost no time. Because nothing has changed. My 1991 truck was always garage kept, and my plastic lenses remained clear and bright. Through most of this time I worked nights, which really helped in keeping them from oxidizing.
For the last year it was parked outside, and the lenses oxidized in a matter of just a few months. I polished them, and within 3 months they were deteriorated. Now that we have moved into a home with a 3 car garage, I took the time to completely polish and detail them to all but new condition. Now they'll stay that way because the vehicle is out of the weather.
Point being, plastic will begin the deterioration process as soon as it's exposed to ANY UV light. And nothing can be done about it. With all of the "engineering" that has gone into making modern vehicles more maintenance free, plastic headlight lenses sure weren't one of them. Now we can add, "Headlight Lens Maintenance" to our list.
Absolutely. This is one thing I like about my 300ZX. Actual glass headlights, lol. 30 years old and they still look new. On my Quest, I sanded them and sprayed them with clear coat. Looked great and lasted 1.5 to 2 years before the clear coat started flaking off. Now they're as ugly as ever again.
Amen to the Z's glass headlights!!