Your answer for Yellow / Dimmed Headlights

[Eclipsionz23]

ok cool. thanx

mine wasnt yellow, but the clear coat or whatever is on the headlight was chipping off, and it looked pretty bad. its all gone now and looks really good when its wet with water or even glass cleaner, but once it dries, its all hazy glazed again.

eric

 

[Ghost1984]

Mine were hazy too, I just sanded on it until it was all gone and then buffed on some rubbing compound and that seemed to take care of it, goodluck!

 

[aaronm_2003]

Mine was all on the outside so all i had to do was sand it down and put some rubbing compound, if its on the inside you might have to take it all apart and clean it up that way, but other than that im not really sure.

How do I take the whole assembly out? I unscrewed the bolt on the top, but it still won't come out. Is there another bolt somewhere or am I doin somethin wrong?

 

[Ghost1984]

How do I take the whole assembly out? I unscrewed the bolt on the top, but it still won't come out. Is there another bolt somewhere or am I doin somethin wrong?

I'm not really sure on the 2g's, I had one a few years ago and tried taking it out and it was a pita, I didnt take mine out on my 1g but i was very careful when i was sanding and buffing, you might try asking one of these 2g guys.

 

[SlowSpyder]

theres four bolts total for the 2g. One on top, two on the back of the headlight and one directly underneath the headlight.

 

[BacknBlack92ESi]

Now if you want to. You can paint your headlight housings black like mine.

 

[Fakie]

dont waste your time with sanding and waxing.. just get some acetone based nail polish remover and rub it on your lights with a cotton ball and the oxidation comes off in seconds... trust me... follow it up with plenty of water and you are golden... you will thank me

word! one pass with a paper towel and the acetone based nail polish remover and ALL the yellow was gone! then I rinsed it with water...no melting...no yellow.

 

[PogiTSI]

Now if you want to. You can paint your headlight housings black like mine.

That looks dope, are u doing the flat black thing??????? Looks like it.

 

[BacknBlack92ESi]

That looks dope, are u doing the flat black thing??????? Looks like it.

Yeah I "was" doing the Flat Black Theme. I actually sold my car a couple monthes ago. So I don't have it anymore. Some old guy has it now in my town. I never knew my exhaust was that loud when I drove past it one day while crying.

 

[dynatos]

here's a pic of mine with one done. I used the sanding method with mothers polish.. they look like new. (the colored circles were for an old post)

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[Defiant]

I'm also trying to figure out why they yellow up like that, but i hope it doesnt do it anytime soon.

The polycarbonate formula used in the headlight lenses is photoreactive, and UV from sunlight causes it to break down. In "cleaning", you're grinding off the rotted layer and exposing a fresh one to the elements. You will probably run out of usable plastic in about 2123.
For an extreme example of a similar reaction, leave an empty milk carton in the sun for a month. Or, poke at the windshield washer resevoir of a junker at the wreckers that's had the hood off for a year. It crumbles like it was made of salt.

 

[kevingst]

Hmm, definitely good to know! I must try this...milk carton.

 

[AdoreGSX]

milk cartons are a must have for people like me. I cant get enough of them.

 

[AdoreGSX]

^ that red eclipse looks sexy.

 

[this_is_me48823]

I copy and pasted these directions for those who are having trouble with their discolored headlights. I included a picture of a before and after on my 1993 Eclipse.

Supplies:
1000-grit Sandpaper
2000-grit Sandpaper
McGuires ScratchX Scratch Remover/ Mothers Mag and Wheel Polish
Spray Bottle filled with water
Shop Towels

1. Pick a headlight to start on and spray it down with water. Dig out the 1000-Grit sandpaper and start sanding the headlight, keep it wet and wipe the plastic dust off frequently. Keep at it until the dust isn't yellow anymore and you can't feel any pits or corrosion on the lens.

2. At this point your headlight looks worse than when you started...it may have been foggy before but now you're wishing you had left them alone because they are clouded worse than ever before. Never fear. Dig out the 2000-Grit sandpaper and spray the headlight down, like before keep it wet, keep sanding and wiping and spraying until any minor imperfections come out, and all the scratches from the 1000-grit paper are smoothed out.

3. Yes I know they are still foggy. Wash them off completely and dry them thoroughly. Now grab that expensive tube of ScratchX and follow the directions, rub it on using tight circles and lots of elbow grease. Let it dry and then buff it off and look at your headlight. Has it ever looked better? No I didn't think so.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 above on the second headlight.

I hope this helps relieve some of the aggrevation I had in trying to find a solution to my headlight issues.

 

[Daem0n]

I followed the same exact directions, only to have my headlight come out foggy, but not yellow.

Glad to see yours came out alright, though.

 

[Catbox_95]

That is WAYYYYYYYYY too much work! All you have to do is rub them down good with some Mother's aluminum polish, and that's it. That is all I did to mine, and check it out. I'd say it took me, like, maybe 4 minutes worth of rubbing per light, that's all, nothing else, just the Mother's.

 

[blackGSX2g]

3. Yes I know they are still foggy. Wash them off completely and dry them thoroughly. Now grab that expensive tube of ScratchX and follow the directions, rub it on using tight circles and lots of elbow grease. Let it dry and then buff it off and look at your headlight. Has it ever looked better? No I didn't think so.

Or you could just pick these up:

 

[blackGSX2g]

Here they are on Venom55s car....can't beat that with a stick! beautiful

EDIT: wont' let me upload pics, can be seen on this thread

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147478&page=2&pp=25

 

[Defiant]

Uh.... thanks.

We have about four of these in the Tech section.

 

[ktowntalon]

Like all headlights on 92-94 eclipse, talon, or laser, they get a haze or foggy look to them. I was experimenting with a pair i got from a junkyard and i found that if you follow these steps your headlights will look amazing and brand new. It will only cost about $10. Would you rather pay $100 for new lights or make yours look the same for 1/10 of that?

1. Wet sand your headlights with 800 grit sand paper.

2. Wet sand your headlights with 2000 grit sand paper.

3. Go bye some swirl mark remover and buff your headlights with a buffer.

4. Wipe them off and using a buffer, buff mothers metal polish on them. Wipe them off again, and you have refurbished your headlights. Now they look nice and clear.

Get some HID Bulbs and you'll have the brightest headlights out there.

 

[DSMunknown]

Ha ha! Look at a photo I found that Defiant posted up long ago:

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http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235805
http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127646
http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98500
http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80302
http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58328
http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157103
http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140308


EDIT: By the way, us tuners always appreciate write-ups and such, but this topic has been beaten to death and back again

 

[98EclipseGST06]

Honestly I've used oil before. It dripped a little bit from the bottle and on my headlight that was foggy and it made a clear streak where it landed then I wiped the whole thing and it looked brand new until I started my car because it was foggy from a hole in my cover which let in water/heat from the engine to turn it into steam. If not buy new lights. Ebay

 

[MILITISINVICTUS]

Ha ha! Look at a photo I found that Defiant posted up long ago:

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Is that supposed to be Defiant? It looks like George Lucas realizing he missed out on a way to make another buck on his Star Wars franchise.

 

[DSMunknown]

Is that supposed to be Defiant? It looks like George Lucas realizing he missed out on a way to make another buck on his Star Wars franchise.

That's him alright.