Haze On Headlight Lens

A fairly common maladay on our Cobras & other models, I'm sure, is the hazing-over of the headlight lens. Mine have been hazed-over (about 30%) ever since I bought it. I was very discouraged about it, and had planned on buying new lenses, until ... "Mothers ..." .

Many thanks to red96cobra (Nick), from the SVT Performance Forum:

SVTPerformance

He steered me to the product for removing the haze.

Apparently, there is a protective coating on the OEM lens, and for some reason it deteriorates, and then allows a haze to form on the lens! If you look closely (and you can feel it with a fingernail), you will see the line where the hazing stops - it looks like the coating has peeled off!

The product I used removed all of the haze, but there are still signs of the line where the coating had deteriorated. This line is not very obvious, and with the haze gone, the lens looks atleast 200% better!

On an aftermarket lens, this may or may not work. All of the lenses are probably some sort of polycarbon, and may clean up.

This is an extreme close-up - the red arrows point to the "line," and shows every defect known to man ...

Here's what I used: "Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish." It comes in a small jar (about 2 x 2 "). I bought it at Auto Zone, for $3.99, and there's enough to last a long, long time. I applied a small amount with a soft cloth, and rubbed it in, then wiped it off - simple, right? I couldn't believe what a difference it made!

See Testimonial #8 - for a different opinion ...

How long this will last, until the haze comes back - I don't know. But, if it returns, I'll have it off again within 3 minutes!

Other owners have used other products, and say the haze comes off too! But, this "Mothers Polish" sure was fast!

"I applied some simichrome (metal polish) to one of the headlights and it's a night and day difference. After several years of seeing those damn yellow lights they now look new."

The photos of my Cobra were taken without a tripod, so the quality is less than best! As you can see - depending on the angle, and being about 3 - 4' away, the lenses look okay - not quality, but the next best thing to putting out $150 or so for a new light!

This may not have the total effect you are looking for ... that's why I've tried to depict the lenses in both good and bad light.

To get rid of the coating that's on the lens, totally, you'd probably have to try and power buff with some product, and hope you don't burn or crack the lens. Myself, I'm satisfied with the way it came out. When finances permits, I'll probably get new lights, and hope this problem never comes again! :-)

You be the judge.

UPDATE: 8 March, 2004

Two Cobra owners on the SVT Performance Forum have come up with two different products that remove the OEM coating on the lens. The photos they have posted look very GREAT. They require sanding, and the use of some power tools (drill). See the product info at the folowing addresses:

"97CasperCobra" used "LensRenew"

"davesbedroom" used "Autosol" Headlight Refinishing Kit, #52267

These guys say the products work great, and don't take very long to use. In both cases, the lenses were removed, for the product appliction.

NEW

December 19, 2004

Test conducted on a new product to the market. I used the product, in a Test, on my Cobra, and it's results were just out of this world. You can read about it on This Web Page

Testimonials On Various Products From Fellow Cobra Owners (I want to be "fair and balanced ...")

2. Low tech method: use toothpaste to polish it. Work it on with a towel, let it dry a little them rub off.

3. "50 Resto.com." Are your headlamp lenses yellowed? Are you having trouble seeing at night because of dull, plastic lenses? Well Latemodel Restoration Supply now offers a cleaning kit to not only clean and renew your lights but to also protect them from any further yellowing. It is an easy 3-step process that takes about 5 minutes per lens to complete. The product is safe for use on any type of plastic safely removes discoloration, light to medium scratches, dirt, and grime.
Kit includes:
- Complete Instructions
- Pretreatment
- Water Based Pretreatment
- Oxidation Remover/Shine Restorer/Protector
- Gloves
- Lint Free Paper Towels.
Works with any vehicle that has plastic headlights! T-Birds, Taurus, Escort, F-150 etc.
Also works on other plastic surfaces such as instrument lenses and plastic convertible rear windows. Price: $31.95

5. I've done everything I could think of.....clay barring, toothpaste, WD40, wet-sanding & rubbing compound.....nothing has given me any satisfaction

6. I finally took a polishing wheel and a dremel tool to work on it. Looks perfectly clear!! Woohoo.

7. OMG!!!!!! I just went out and applied some simichrome (metal polish) to one of the headlights and it's a night and day difference. After several years of seeing those damn yellow lights they now look new and it seems i just saved myself $150+ in new headlights.

8. Ok guys, here's my story on this. About a year and a half ago I was told to use metal polish on my lenses since they were dulling and yellowing. So I start w/ Mother's by hand. First, I reallize that the polish is taking off some sort of coating from the lense. I do some research and find that the coating (which is what yellows and dulls) is actually a UV coating applied to the lense by Ford (or whoever Ford has make them). Second thing I reallize is that by hand this is gonna take some time and serious elbow grease. So I took a sheet of fine sandpaper and sanded off the coating. Then I break out the drill I use for polishing metal and go to town buffing the scratches from sanding off. Good God, they looked like new again! BUT (and here's the kicker), after a year or so, the lenses themselves have began to yellow. I bought some Zaino plastic polish and that stuff really does well....but only for a couple of days. When I first apply the Zaino plastic polish it looks as though I got hold of some fairly new lenses. After a day or two of daily driving, the lenses look bad again.
Moral of the story, polishing the lenses is only prolonging the inevitable...buying new lenses. The lense polishing route will buy you about a years worth of time, if you daily drive your vehicle. In my case, I'm buying aftermarket lenses before the '04 carshow season.

10. "LensRenew" - Removes the haze, OEM protective coating, and polishes the lens. http://www.lensrenew.com

11. "Autosol" Headlight Refinishing Kit, #52267 - Removes haze, OEM Coating and polishes the lens. http://www.eastwood.com Select sub item"Plastic and Glass Repair."

12. Lens restoration kit, from Tom Mosier, of El Paso, Texas. I used it today, and was totally surprised by it's effect. I now have brand new looking headlight lenses. Thanks, Tom. tmos@elpn.com dan walters Note: I've been unable to contact Tom lately ... he may not be in business any longer, or his E-Mail may be down: 29 December 2006.

13. Tom has been doing the headlight lens restoration for us for several months, and not only that he is a nice person, he does an

excellent job restoring our headlight lenses. Restoring the lenses has helped us financially and increasing our profit. I would even recommend Tom to the general public. ricardo gonzalez Make Ready Dept., Rudolph Chevrolet, El Paso, Texas.

14. I'd just like to send my personal thanks to you, for your excellent write-up and tips on how to restore the headlights on my Mustang. I grabbed a little tin of the Mothers polish, and went to work on the headlights of my 1994 Mustang, and after two hours they were looking brand spanking new! I was throughly impressed with the results, and had no idea that they would turn out as they did. The yellowing is completely gone, and the lights are much brighter, look much better and the best part is I saved a large sum of money. Once again, thanks for your top notch advice and tips on your site, keep up the good work ...