Headlights oxidized on the inside?

JayClark79

JayClark79

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Okay I've performed a handful of headlight restorations but this one has me stumped. The other day I was working on a customers car (2009 Jetta) that head light fogging in the headlight. I offered to take care of it and the customer was OK with it. Since it was light fogging i started out with Meguiars 105... nothing.... i then tried some 2500 grit sand paper... nothing... so i went with 1000 grit sandpaper and still nothing... i then went back over with the 2500 grit, and 105 and the headlight did look CLEANER.... but the fogging remained and could easily be seen that it was on the underside of the glass. Anyone ever deal with something like this?
 
Probably condensation film which is typical on older vehicles.
 
If the discoloration/hazing is on
the inside, moisture intrusion is
the usual culprit.


IMO:
It'll be very difficult to perform the
same "cleaning procedure" that you
did for the len's exterior surfaces.

On the other hand:
Some people have developed their
own strategies to access the inside
sections of the headlamp lenses...


Bob
 
I actually hit myself against several headlights that were oxidized on the inside.
The thing is that the sun oxidizes the plastic from the outside but that bulb itself also oxidizes the plastic for the inside. It is less common but it happens.
I've seen this mostly happened on cars that have big lights/bulbs.
 
I had mold and film and who knows what else cloud the inside of my headlights on my 91 Sentra. Those headlights were glass (back in the days when glass was still allowed). I ultimately replaced them when I repainted the car because I wanted everything to look clean.
 
RangerDetails said:
I actually hit myself against several headlights that were oxidized on the inside.
The thing is that the sun oxidizes the plastic from the outside but that bulb itself also oxidizes the plastic for the inside. It is less common but it happens.
I've seen this mostly happened on cars that have big lights/bulbs.
Click to expand...
Ranger was there anything you could do or did you just have to explain it to the customer or live with it?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
Nothing to do really. Or at least nothing worth my time for what I was charging. I guess you would have to remove the light, open the casing and find a way to sand and buff the inside. Too much of a hassle.
 
Usually it's water condensation. To fix it you have to take the headlight off the car, find where water is coming in (usually a crack on the upper part of the headlight), seal it using a silicone then dry the headlight. Here is a video of the procedure, you will need to charge extra for that cause it will take you quite a lot of extra time to do:

 
I'm sure the OP is likely seeing the film from normal moisture and dust (since they are vented to the atmosphere). You'd need the same approach of opening up the lights to wipe everything clean and resealing them which can be pretty involved depending on your skill level.
 
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