Cloudy Headlights

The lenses on my 2000 JGC are really cloudy. Other than this one commetic issue it still looks new at 200K miles. After some web surfing I found replacement headlight assemblies online around $130-$150 each side and $250-300 each at local auto parts stores. I also ran across some plastic polishing products that claim to remove the haze (oxidation) and restore the lenses to "crystal clear" condition for around $15-20 for a three stage process.

Anybody have experience with these products? Do they work, or is there a hardware store product that does the same thing?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

you can try those buffing products, i have but it didnt really do anything so i just bought new lights (this is for the car in my sig but it applies to all cars) if you care about having bright lights when youre driving, id recomend new headlamps and good quality bulbs such as sylvania silverstar. you will be very happy with the result.

theres a product called FLITZ, it is used on all sorts of oxidation, especially headlights, look into it.

Did I read that right, you 2000 WJ has 200K (200,000) miles on it?

The lenses on my 2000 JGC are really cloudy. Other than this one cosmetic issue it still looks new at 200K miles. After some web surfing I found replacement headlight assemblies online around $130-$150 each side and $250-300 each at local auto parts stores. I also ran across some plastic polishing products that claim to remove the haze (oxidation) and restore the lenses to "crystal clear" condition for around $15-20 for a three stage process.

Anybody have experience with these products? Do they work, or is there a hardware store product that does the same thing?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Assuming you are talking about a cloudiness that can only be seen at night with the lights on and not a yellow haze, those product are useless...
My Jeep at 40K mi are like this. Check out some other "not new" jeeps at night, up close and you will feel better.
"claim to remove the haze (oxidation) and restore the lenses to "crystal clear" condition"
Polishing out scratches in clear plastic is virtually impossible.
If they look cloudy, not yellow (which I almost guarantee) the lenses are scratched and must be replaced. Remember, the lenses are only plastic, taking road debris head on. After several thousand miles all WJ Jeeps exhibit this.
The good news is this is mostly cosmetic and you do not need to spend several hundred dollars on new assemblies.

my used 94 had cloudy lenses as well , frankley.. i just scrapped it off with a safty razor , cost .. bout 5 cents

I just had that problem about 2 weeks ago and found this polish at Pep Boys that took the haze right off.....my buddie works at the Jeep Dealer here and he said its what they use on trade-ins when the lenses have oxidized......its called BlueMagic Plastic & Plexiglass Cleaner.......made my headlights look brand new.....took me about 15 minutes of elbow grease but well worth the 7 dollars. 140 a piece?!!! Ebay my friend.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7981809185&category=33710

I used 3M finishing glaze with my buffer and turned them into brand new. Use a low speed so you dont burn the lense and let the buffer do the work...No hard pressure. Wax them and you are done.

On my Lincoln I had it had that problem bad, it was so bad that for inspection they had to buff it, if your not sure about doing it yourself take it to an inspection place and ask them what they do.

I replaced the ones on my 93 JGC with $40 units from Ebay new, you may want to try to find a set on Ebay, depending on what kinda look you want you may be able to get the headlights with the dark or chrome background.

Good luck

I recommend to check ebay I bought a brand new set for my 2001 limited with a 1 yr. warranty for about $100 total cost with shipping. They are SAE and DOT approved. The lights are made by a company called Depo automotive lights and they include wiring and sylviain bulbs. The seller was directauto. Great folks! I recommend just replacing then trying to save your old ones I tried with mine and wasted about 25 dollars in products that don't work. Plus nothing can make your lights look brand new again. They will really make your car look alot newer.

I also bought new headlights from ebay for my 94 ZJ. They cost abour $90 with shipping. They are really clear they look like glass, I had to replace my corners and park lamps also, because it looked funny with the new headlights looking so clear. I replace the corners with some clear corners that give it a better look.

There is another post abouty the headlight oxidation, and someone gives some advice on wet sanding and polishing the headlights.

My wife's 99 had the same issue. Here is a way to restore even the WORST headlights. Start with 1000 grit sandpaper and wet sand the headlights horisontally until you remove all of the oxidation. Then wetsand the headlight vertically with 1500 grit until all of the horizontal scratches are gone. then sand horizontally with 2000 grit until all of the vertical scratches are gone. At this point you can sand with 2500 sand paper horizontally again. The headlight will lokk hazy, but use a buffing pad on a drill and some wax and they will look like new. I did my wife's one afternoon and she thougth I bought new headlights.

Also, it helps to put a little dish soap in the water when you wet sand, it helps keep the paper lubricated. I have used this trick on pexiglass motorcycle windshields, helmet face shields, and a 42 year windshield on a boat (now THAT was a project!)

There is a kit at Auto Zone for about 15 bucks with the grades of sandpaper, but they are TINY pieces. You can likely do better at an auto paint supply store, or maybe a friendly auto body shop.

I would recommend you to try Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polish

The folks at Rigid Steel sell the export glass housings.

http://www.rigidsteel.com/y65pC4tIGk0.html

$95.00 new headlights with bulbps shipped frome ebay. i just got mine today. i tried polishing them but in order to keep up i had to do so about once a month so i finally got new ones. i suggest you do the same. it's easy to swap, takes 10 min and you don't have to worry about them. they may be from tiawan but they look better in some respects than the oem. but that's my two pennys