Headlight lense scum

[RIP]

I've got a 96 Gr Caravan with an almost fungus looking scum on the headlight lenses. It's yellowish white and almost impossible to remove. I've used a plastic cleaner/polish that helped only slightly. Does anyone know of a process/kit/product that will get this crap off? Ryan

[digimon]

Although I have not used this product myself I have read in this forum that many poeple do recommend this for clearing up the foggy light problem.
http://www.brightsolutionsinc.com/products.htmIf If you need a new head light check on eBay they sell for around $125.00. Since you have your headlights out (easier to work on them that way) you may want to consider replacing your bulbs with new the Xenon Plasma bulbs also on eBay $15.00. All of us that own these vans know how inadequate the head lights are, these lights are at least 50% brighter a big differance. Ride On, digimon

[Lindacars]

Hello Ryan,
I was just looking for some help with my van and saw your post.
I buy alot on ebay and have just ordered a product there that I know works because a friend out west told me how it worked on her car and her lens were really bad worst then mine. The ebay seller name is ..... britelites2004 and if you just type in britelites2004 in the search it will take you to his items and that is all that he sells at ebay. I am looking forward to getting mine in the mail because when my lights are not on the lens look so faded and cloudy. He only charges $9.95 plus $8.00 for shipping and before I ordered this I also emailed people that bought it from him and ask them how they liked it and everyone answered me and they all said it worked so good. well if you need anyother info my email is ......
[email protected]

Hope this helps you out!!!

[dgm630]

Originally Posted by RIP

I've got a 96 Gr Caravan with an almost fungus looking scum on the headlight lenses. It's yellowish white and almost impossible to remove. I've used a plastic cleaner/polish that helped only slightly. Does anyone know of a process/kit/product that will get this crap off? Ryan

Hi Ryan - were you ever able to get this scum off the headlights of your Caravan? My dad's car has the same problem - we're looking for a solution. Thanks.

[Matimus]

I have a 95 Passat with the same problem. I tried Plastic Polish, by hand, and the results were unsatisfactory. I eventually took regular car polishing compound and used an orbital polisher. After 7 applications, they sparkle and I have lights at night again!

[jagplates]

Following advice I got on this forum, I sanded the headlights with 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper (wet), then polished with Simichrome polish. It made a big difference. However, I still couldn't see at night. Then I replaced the bulbs with Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. That helped, but still not enough. That's when I added the Hella FF75 driving lights (see my post "Driving Lights")

Also, there are Taiwanese replacement headlight assemblies available. There is an eBay seller sellinbg them for $88 per side. see:
http://motors.search.ebay.com/Carava...nQ20headlight*

[timd]

I want to report excellent results after using 800 grit first then 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. This left the lenses smooth but dull. I followed up with "Scratch Off" by Kit. It is a polish that can be used on clear-coat finishes and plastic. The lenses came out nice and clear. Took a lot of elbow grease but....

[berryberrygud]

This seems like the most reasonable place to share this info. I have a 2004 Passat V6 Sedan with 80K miles. During a recent visit to the car wash, the attendant used a power washer to spray off the dirt that had accumulated (it had been a LONG time since its last wash, including a New England winter). Anyway, with the power washer, he managed to get water INSIDE the headlight lens. I gave it a week, and to no avail, the droplets of water stayed on the inside of the lens - covering about 50% of the surface. In trying to figure out what to do, I used Google, and ended up at this thread. There is another thread on how to change the headlight bulbs. I used the instructions there to pop out the headlight bulbs. Then I used a hair dryer and a cardboard tube to direct hot air inside the lens assembly. This started to clear the droplets, but I couldn't get all of them. So, I used the hair dryer to heat the OUTSIDE of the lens. After about 10 minutes - voila - water droplets gone. I buttoned everything up - after checking that I hadn't ruined the bulbs. I thought I would share this here in case some other unlucky soul has the same problem.
I will try the lens polishing soon - I definitely have the scum on the outside of the lenses. I blame road salt and sand on the highway.
All the best!

[mishalah]

I've used polishing pads that I use for polishing the paint and clearcoat on my models, but for all the xtra work it wasn't any better than using the Mother's Mag & Aluminum Wheel Polish. You can do it by hand or with a machine or drill with pad. Takes about 10 minutes; lasts about a year or more depending on your climate.