my passenger headlamp somehow collected water and now has yellowed on the inside. how do i correct it and make it clear again if possible?

 

Just follow the instructions in this video.


if you don't have an oven a car on a 90 degree day works but the headlight will need to stay in the car for a longer amount of time.

 

you will need to polish out the yellow. I've never tried the inside, but it shouldn't be TOO hard, other than working around the corners... so it may not end up perfect.
I hear "over the counter" headlight restoration kits work just fine. Try polishing first, only sand if you need to; it will save you some work.

good luck!

 

I have never seen the inside of the headlight lens yellow. There is also a coating on the inside of the lens and if you try to polish/remove that it will mess up the clarity of the lens. Since there is water on the inside all he needs to do is open the headlight, use compressed air to remove the water, and then dry it out in the oven.

 

thanks guys for the input. and the headlamp was clear until the water got in and it turned yellow over night. that wouldnt happen to the outside that fast. i was pretty shocked and pissed to find out that it had yellowed so fast before i ever had a chance to correct it. so idk what or how or why but if it is possible to clean it and make it clear again without i guess changing the projection of the lights that would be awesome. otherwise ill just have to suck it up and deal with it until i can afford a set of oe black housings.

 

The inside has UV coating, too? And does rinsing fix yellowing plastic?

 

You have a major leak on that headlight for that to happen. Take a picture of it so I try to figure out what can be done to fix it.

 

Yea inside has a UV coating. Probably not going to fix it but I think his issue is a major leak and might have been caused by heat.

 

ok. i have alot of things i need to take care and try and get done tomorrow, so i may not have pics until sunday

 

I guess they figure having it on the outside isn't enough. Kinda weird. I wonder what it's protecting.

 

you can buy restoration kits if its mostly on the outside, if not its a slit and restore or new lenses

 

I've always used Mother's or Turtle wax headlight restoration kits.




This was a set of lights I did for my friend's 9MR.<br/><br/>Came out pretty nice.

 

In my experience the over the counter restoration kits worked well but would always turn yellow again after a few months until I bought a lens sealer. Now just a quick polish and reseal every month or two and the lens stays clear.

 

^This was my assumption as well. In theory there is some sort of UV blocker/ coating on the lens from the factory so youd think when you go to buff them out that needs to be built back up again.

What are you using to reseal the lens? I have no experience when it comes to this but is there some sort of spray on permanent coating like a clear coat such that they dont need to be resealed every month?

 

I am using this https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....Tse28P%2BL.jpg. About $8 on amazon.