Cleaning foggy headlight covers?

[wep54]

99 Sub: any tips to cleaning the headlight covers?

Thanks in advance. Wep

 

[oaleystormakleyguyh1]

megiurs has a kit, but mine are tooooo far gone for it, it is around $20 at walmart

 

[tonymac617]

Not sure if the housings are glass like mine (01 LT) or plastic....im assuming glass for the year but you may need to seperate the housing and clean inside of the lense to get the foggy look gone. Usually on plastic, they get pitted much easier and can be brought back to life using the kit that Oaley talks about or by using some detailing equipment and stripping the bad layer of plastic away using an orbital buffer and some detailing compound then polishing them up, but like I said not sure what to do for glass. Some have clips you can remove but when re-assembling them, you will need some type of silicone to re-seal the seams to avoid moisture getting in.

 

[Gregski]

I have tried many cleaning kits and they are all scams, I had the cheap ones and the more expensive ones with the sand paper on the drill, and they all suck, if the foggyness bothers you save up and replace the headlights, old 13 year old faded plastic is old faded plastic, no miracle buff is going to make it new, sorry to be so pesemistic, but I've been through the drill on a couple of cars with no luck

 

[oaleystormakleyguyh1]

best thing to do is get new ones

 

[squeasel]

I just ordered new ones from someone on Amazon for my 1996 Tahoe, less than $50 for the pair incl. shipping.

 

[Gregski]

that is very cheap, hope they are solid

 

[squeasel]

that is very cheap, hope they are solid

I'll let you know when they arrive. I tried a bit of clean up on the existing headlights and while I changed the color from yellow to white, they didn't get clear.

 

[tonymac617]

I have tried many cleaning kits and they are all scams, I had the cheap ones and the more expensive ones with the sand paper on the drill, and they all suck, if the foggyness bothers you save up and replace the headlights, old 13 year old faded plastic is old faded plastic, no miracle buff is going to make it new, sorry to be so pesemistic, but I've been through the drill on a couple of cars with no luck

The RPM of a drill is no match for a professional buffing machine. These kits they sell arent for badly damaged lenses but if you had access to a professional buffing machine, it will clear up badly fogged lenses using the proper compounds and technique.

 

[squeasel]

The RPM of a drill is no match for a professional buffing machine. These kits they sell arent for badly damaged lenses but if you had access to a professional buffing machine, it will clear up badly fogged lenses using the proper compounds and technique.

Agreed. On another forum (different make), someone posted that they removed their "foggy" headlights covers and brought them to a body shop. The shop's charge was much less than replacement covers and the shop made the covers sparkle (and that sparkle has lasted). The report was that the shop repeated buffings from 300 to 3000 grit though this is hear-say.

 

[squeasel]

My sub-$50 pair of headlight covers/housings have come today. I will post photos of them pre-install and a comparison with the original after install but that probably won't be until next week. They feel "inexpensive" but I won't be able to gauge until I get the originals out.

 

[lesterl]

My sub-$50 pair of headlight covers/housings have come today. I will post photos of them pre-install and a comparison with the original after install but that probably won't be until next week. They feel "inexpensive" but I won't be able to gauge until I get the originals out.

Please keep us posted....

 

[squeasel]

Note: Perhaps too much detail … Sorry.

So I have replaced the headlight covers on the 1996 Tahoe with the inexpensive pair (<$50 including Shipping) purchased from a vendor on Amazon. Here are my thoughts:

Description: The pair came with headlight covers, backing plate, bulbs and electrical connectors.

Quality: The set is lighter in weight than stock and seem to be of lesser quality though they are not so bad as to be alarming. The lenses are crystal clear but perhaps thinner than stock. The unit is DOT approved. The left side cover would not fit into the stock backing plate (more later).

Replacement: I thought this would be a piece of cake replacement. I watched this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfsFGfNcPY0) and figured that I could mount the new headlight covers on the old backing plate and be done in 15 minutes. I removed the 5mm studs, took out the old cover, moved the connectors and bulbs into the new unit. However, the drivers side cover would not mount to the backing plate (I think due to a difference in the flange that fits into a backing plate slot). So I had to go the long route of replacing the backing plates which required removal of the parking lamps and grill.

Grill Removal: I removed the parking lamps using a drill with a Phillips bit (4 screws per lamp), and removed the bulbs. Then I removed 7 of the 10 7mm screws that hold the grill in place. Three screws, however, were nearly impossible for me to remove with the tools I was using (1/4†drive ratchet and socket). These were located near bumper level on the far left and right (under the parking lamps) and one under the bow tie. With the help of a pair of nine year-olds (and keeping the cursing under control) I did succeed. More later.

Backing Plate Replacement: Each plate has 4 10mm screws … easy off and on.

Cover Mounting: Again, very easy, just reinsert the 5mm studs, two per side.

Grill Replacement: I was dreading the grill replacement but after inspecting the bottom of the grill I found the that the 3 difficult screw from removal are actually part of a grill clip-on system. I unclipped the body color bottom portion of the grill, easily reinstalled with 5 screws, then push fit the bottom of the grill into the clips, using a rubber mallet for some extra force, then refit the remain screws.

Question for the group: What is the proper method for removing the grill? Should I have tried to unclip the bottom of the grill from the body color portion?

Summary: The new headlight covers are inexpensive but I would call them an “OK value†and not “cheap†(i.e. I am not worried about them failing). I did use the stock light bulbs and connectors and put the bulbs and connectors from the kit in storage. Installation should have taken just a few minutes but because one of the covers did not match the backing plate I had to remove the grill. Perhaps I would have paid some extra money for covers that fit the backing plates (note that the video maker sells pairs for $60 or so). Grill removal was a knuckle-banger (might be a wrong method on my part) but otherwise this is a simple job and should take less time than buffing out the lenses.