headlight restoration?

quicktsi

Registered User
I tried searching every section but could not find the previous posts. The seal on mine has failed. I tried to just pry it apart but did not trust it. I thought I saw a post saying to heat it in the oven for a few minutes and it comes apart easier. Anybody know any more details?

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I'd use a heat gun....and be very careful.

Others claim 250F deg. - one headlight at a time for 5~7 minutes...be sure to strip all rubber, bulbs, metal, plastic etc.

You might want to get a broken assembly to practice on first.

If it just a matter of sealing, I'd think you could knock out any loose adhesive first, and then use silicone glue to seal.
 
Your better off buying some new ones off of ebay, nothing like crystal clear headlights and clear corners to improve the looks of your car.
 
Here is the progress so far. I heated to 250 for 7 minutes and was able to get the lens to separate from the housing. I then started scrapping the gasket material off. I worked about 4-6 inches at a time, and the back in the oven for another 5-8 minutes until I got it all off.

I just bought a BHJ so no extra SC funds for now. I have a Diamondite headlight kit sitting on the shelf and have been wanting to use it. I did the wet sand and plastic polish on our Corvette rear turn signals and it turned out really well.

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Save your money and buy new ones, you'll spend alot of time working on those and in the end you'll be dissapointed and buy new ones anyway.
 
Interesting - actually looks like you did a good job...so far :)

I have a spare set of lights already cleaned/polished tucked away should the need arise.
 
Here is the headlight prior to being resealed.

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Here is a picture of the product I used to reseal the headlight. This was my first attempt. It sealed good on top but I got a few bubbles on the inside edge. On the next one I will use more sealer.

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I will get a picture of it installed next to the one I have not done yet tomorrow.
 
Good job, it looks alot better, better than I thought it would but if you ever have the funds to buy new ones and new corners, do it and you'll think you have a new car because there's that much difference.

I found a set that looked brand new in the local junkyard about a year and a half ago. It was funny because the car was a piece of ugly crap with brand new headlights, like an ugly girl with beautiful eyes.........LOL Anyway here's a pic of them now.
 

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Wow, that actually looks pretty good. Its a great improvement. What exactly did you use to clean the inside of the lense? Was it just a wipe-away, or did it need wet-sanding?

Edit: I just re-read it and saw you said you used Diamondite headlight kit... What comes in that kit, just some different polishes? Do you remember how much the kit cost?
 
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What exactly did you use to clean the inside of the lense? Was it just a wipe-away, or did it need wet-sanding?

The inside of the lens was just a simple wipe down. The outside lens got several stages of wet sanding and polishing. I started with 800 grit. I then moved up to 1000 grit. Then I moved up to 2000 as my local parts store was out of 1500. Then I made about 4 passes broke up over 1/4 sections with Meguiars PlastX.

Edit: I just re-read it and saw you said you used Diamondite headlight kit... What comes in that kit, just some different polishes? Do you remember how much the kit cost?

I tried the Diamondite kit but it did not get it far enough.

Good job, it looks alot better, better than I thought it would but if you ever have the funds to buy new ones and new corners, do it and you'll think you have a new car because there's that much difference.

Thank you for the positive comments. I spent 9 dollars for the wet sand paper and 7 dollars for the sealer. I already had the PlastX but that is less than 10 dollars at Walmart. I have more than enough to do all the headlights and fog lights. The wife drove it last night as it is pictured above and said you could see a noticeable difference in the light quality.
 
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