headlight restoration

[vtec accord96]

I have seen forums about cleaning out the headlights of a 3000gt, but i never really looked at them because i didnt think about it. Now i cant them again. So does anyone know how to clean the inside of the headlights on a 1994 3000gt? I need complete steps if anyone knows. Thanks

[YogsVR4]

I think this has just what you're looking for.

http://www.moojohn.com/stealth/headlight/

[kelly190]

I ask the same question about 5 mo ago and yogs sent me
that link and it worked great the only thing Is the first one
was not coming apart after the specified oven time so I put
it back in for extended time and on the second light I just
doubled the time right off the bat and it came off very easely
they look like brand new. maybe my oven temp is way off but
just some fyi

kelly

[sLADe781]

I wanna clean my headlights but I'm kinda "scared" that I might break it. hehe Kelly, did your headlights fog up again? How long did it take before they fogged up again (if they did)? Thanks.

[kelly190]

I know I was concerned about breaking them also but
just apply even slow pressure temp is the key like I said the
second light was a brezze because I had it hot enough you can tell
the sealant becomes very pliable and is like thick tar and when
it cools down becomes hard again.I was at the point that if
I broke one I would just have to suck it up [$500] because
it just looked so bad and so far so good they dont even have
a hint of fogging up still like new
Kelly

[sLADe781]

Did the actual glass melt? I'm kinda scared that it would and look all bumpy and deformed after it dries...

[Nesryn]

Glass will only melt under extremely high temperatures... We're talking like 2000+ F. This one is only 250 for 5 (or 10) minutes, so I wouldn't worry about it... It'll just get hot.

[azn3000GTRacer]

Hey yogs can u post that one webstie up were it shows u how to fix alot of things on ur GT. My headlights are peeling really bad and i need to know how to fix em

[sLADe781]

azn3000GTRacer, is this the site you're looking for: http://www.team3s.com/FAQ.htm
Or maybe:
http://www.daveblack.net/asp/3SiFAQ.asp
Hope that helps....

[haaj]

Originally Posted by azn3000GTRacer

Hey yogs can u post that one webstie up were it shows u how to fix alot of things on ur GT. My headlights are peeling really bad and i need to know how to fix em

I just found a bunch of info yesterday on this because my headlights are doing the same thing. Here is what you are dealing with:

LEXAN - Polycarbonate (Resin) covers on the headlamps
Need lexan/polycarbonate polishing kit/compound(s)

One Article: http://www.team3s.com/FAQheadlights.htm
One person's suggestion: http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/

I actually emailed the original poster from the Team3S site and he responded with more info:

---
You can see some pictures on my Webshots account at:
http://community.webshots.com/album/42431213XdAPfP
The stuff I used is called: Scratch Off, OPTICA 4
Fairly cheap and works well.
I purchased mine off of an aircraft supplies website, only about $40
Roger L
F15DOC
---

I found a place to get that exact stuff and ordered it this morning: http://www.chiefaircraft.com/cgi-bin...chRemoval.html

I got the stuff on the bottom, the Scratch Off, since it says it is good for repairing Lexan. You are probably already aware, but if you want to buy new headlamps its like $500 a pop so $35+shipping is a great deal. I don't know how good that site's customer service is but I think thats where RogerL got it.

HTH

[haaj]

Oh yeah one more thing - the instructions I gave above are only for the Lexan headlamps, which I believe are on the 95 and later models of 3000GT - the 94 3000GT had glass headlamps and the earlier models were the pop-up kind. I don't know much about the Stealths.

[haaj]

More info from Roger:

A word of warning.... when you start out, use sandpaper... yep that is right...
I used fairly coarse sandpaper to start with, and after the first go my lenses were almost white they were so opaque.... i thought to myself, "holy schmidt, what have I done!" There was no turning back at that point so I just kept going with finer sandpaper until I finally used a finer grit prior to starting with the scratch off. It looked terrible and I was sure I had ruined this terribly expensive lens.
Then I got out the drill with the buff pads and started using the Scratch Off compounds as described, the lens got better and better, the final compound polished it to an absolutely perfectly clear lens. Amazing, seriously better then new.
Certainly surprised myself that it could ever look that good.
I don't recall the grit of sandpaper I used, but it doesn't really matter, because the scratch off will definitely clean it up nice.
Good luck, and don't freak out like I did
Roger L
F15DOC

Personally I already received my Scratch Off from Chief Aircraft (great service, fast shipping), and I am going to do this restoration over the weekend, so I will post how it went and more details for posterity.

Cheers

[3kgtnewbie]

Wait... maybe I missed it, but what about the '95 headlights? My left headlight is perfectly fine, but the right one gets fogged up ALL the time. Is there a way to re-seal it or get in there and "unfog" it?

[azn3000GTRacer]

ok i dont get it.. i have a 96 and the the light sare peeling like crazy.......so i use a fine grit sandpaper sand it down good and then get a polisher and polish it really good and it should look like new?

[haaj]

OK here is the deal... last weekend I did this to one of my headlights, see the instructions I posted above... and OH MY GOD it took SO LONG. About 6 hours for one light about... but I dont have a workbench or anything so I was doing all this with the damn thing in my lap. But I will tell you this - it looks friggin beautiful. In fact, it did such a nice job, I'm gonna do it all over again for the other headlamp tomorrow (Sat). If your plastic headlamps look like shit like mine did, you should totally do this. I'll see if I can post a pic of before/after on mine so you know what I'm talkin about.

Brief notes on this: You will have to sand for a long time, and make sure to WET sand... that means buying automotive sandpaper (3M WetOrDry is supposed to be the best) in 200, 400, and 600 varieties. I started with 320 but it took so long to sand down the bubbling and peeling in the plastic that I should have used 200 at first. After you get all the marks off, then go back over it with a wet sand of 400 grit, until you can no longer see the pattern from the previous grit. Then go up to 600. After you do the same with 600, follow the instructions on the Scratch-Off. It works really well if you take your time. I did each step 2 times (2 times with each chemical pretty much) just follow the instructions to the letter. They give good instructions and say to repeat the procedure until the previous sanding/buffing pattern is gone each time. Takes forever.

Bottom line - would you rather pay $500 on each new headlamp or have em lookin tits after 6 hours of work? The decision was pretty straightforward for me.

Oh yeah, one more thing, since this was driving me nuts... each headlamp has 4 bolts, 3 are obvious under the hood, and one is actually behind the corner marker light. So you have to unscrew the side marker light with a phillips screwdrive and then you can take that 4th bolt off of the headlamp to remove it.

HTH