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So I'm certain one of my headlight assemblies has been replaced... one side looks brand new and the other (see pic) looks worse and worse every day. I use a scratch remover compound every few months on the lens shown and there is always nasty yellowed residue on the rag after I buff the compound off.. it will look fine for a few months then yellows over again...plus now it looks like the lens itself is starting to stress crack if you will, creating spots where the lens is no longer transparent. I guess I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and get a new assembly, Anyone else had issues like this?
If you paint them with clear coat after sanding and polishing, it will keep them from yellowing again.
Most likely can't do anything about cracks tho. One of mine does it as well and I tried sanding but cracks must be deeper and I don't want to sand any further.
I'm ignoring it for now - I don't think they reduce output that much, and mine looks worse than yours.
If you do this method, you need to stop sanding at ~2000 grit and then spray the clear.
It absolutely has to be catalyzed 2 part (2K) clear. So...just going to Walmart and grabbing some clearcoat won't work.
Spraymax makes cans of 2K clear - I've found them on Amazon. Make sure you follow the instructions, as its not regular spray paint. Buy a respirator. And mask the whole car (as well as anything else close by that you don't want overspray on).
Or (option 2),
Wrap the headlights in 3M urethane clear bra after sanding and polishing.
To keep lenses from yellowing, you need some way to protect them from UV exposure. UV will degrade the lenses.
Wax, sealants, and ceramic coatings do almost nothing for UV exposure, BTW.
Cracking is also due to UV exposure. And sanding won't help.
Maybe the best bet for you is to buy new headlight(s) and clear bra them.
Last edited by BROlando; Sep 26, 2022 at 09:29 AM.
About two years back I replaced my headlight and tail light housings all the way around because of stress cracks. Parking outside in Florida probably had a lot to do with that.
For UV protection, I've been very happy with the 3M paint protection film (aka clear bra) I installed on the replacement headlights. I'd recommend getting rolls rather than any pre-cut product like Lamin-X.
