yellowing head lite lens

Forum Forums Tractor Operation And Maintenance yellowing head lite lens

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    • #30734
      DavidPrivett
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        has anyone tryed to restore the plastic lens on these tractor headlites.Mine are yellowing and I was wondering if the automotive restorer will work on this type of plastic ,or is this stuff pretty much all the same? This is for my 2005 lenar dong feng 204.I guess there must be some difference in materials my 2006 foton 504 lens are not yellowing.

      • #35788
        Tinbender
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          Mine are yellowing on a 2008 Jinma 284, and I'm not holding my breath that polishing will help. I've restored a lot of headlamps and this plastic just has a different look, as though the yellowing goes all the way through. I hope I'm wrong, I guess there's only one way to find out.hmmm

        • #35793
          DavidPrivett
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             your right, we shall see,or not .what a good excuse no night use.

          • #46454
            daka
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              A friend of mine says there is a product sold in motorcycle shops for fairings that removes scratches and restore clarity to the Perspex might be worth a go

            • #46458
              Tinbender
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                Meguiars  sells Clear Plastic Polish #M1008, and Plastic Cleaner #M1708, as well as a Headlight restoration kit, don’t have the # off hand. Mothers has 3 different headlight kits, surprisingly Home Depot sells the same one step kit as Northern Tool for half the price, and 3M’s kit is part# 39008. I sell all of them in my store.

              • #46459
                DavidPrivett
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                  have you tried them on the Chinese tractor lens with any luck? I used a Sylvania product on my 96 dodge with good luck it was slow process about 1/2 hr per lens but it worked well, I kinda figured the plastics used are different for manf. to manf. since I have a 2005 that is real bad but the 2006 is ok so I guess the plastic formulation are not the same.

                • #46460
                  Tinbender
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                    I never seem to have the time, maybe I can try this weekend :unsure:  I’ve heard good things about the Sylvania kit, the other brands don’t come with any UV stabilizers to put on when you’re done, but my vendors don’t carry it. Amazon lists it as their #1 seller. The Chinese aftermarket headlamps for your Dodge are definitely different plastic than the factory ones  so it’s quite possible they source them from different places year to year. When I worked at a GM dealers bodyshop I remember reading there were parts from some 10-15 countries in a Delco radio!

                  • #46461
                    Tinbender
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                      Sorry David, after re-reading your post I see you’re talking about 2005-06 tractors. But yes there are at least different quality grades of plastics, amount of UV resistant chemicals in the make up, thickness, etc. I’m really not expecting any difference after polishing the tractor headlights, they aren’t damaged on the surface other than a thin clearcoat appears to have peeled off, they aren’t dull or cloudy, rather they appear to be thin plastic that has yellowed all the way through. I hope I’m wrong, but I doubt it.

                    • #46462
                      DavidPrivett
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                        I got a generic lens polishing kit next time it rains I will try to remember to try cleaning them up, maybe I will get lucky.

                      • #46481
                        Tinbender
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                          I never realized how expensive some of these products can get. I had a detailer come in for a UV clearcoat product good for about 20 sets of lights:

                          http://www.prestaproducts.com/Headlight_Sealant__6_5_oz___137306-details.aspx    I’m bringing a few cans in to keep in stock for him or anyone else that would otherwise have a 30 mile round trip to get a can.

                          SEM products has a similar OEM product: https://www.semproducts.com/refinish-uv-cured-clear/solaraytm-uv-clearcoat     I can see the need for these even at the high price since you shake a can, squirt, and put it back away as compared to mixing catalyzed clear, putting it in a spray gun (which needs a compressor) then cleaning out your gun after 10 seconds use, all while parked in a dealers lot. :good:

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                           

                        • #46482
                          Bob Rooks
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                            This may be slightly off topic, but is there a fix for crazed headlight lenses? My ’08 Ford truck lenses have this issue. New lenses are pricey.

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                          • #46483
                            Tinbender
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                              Once the plastic is crazed there is only so much sanding and polishing will do. It will help but….  And you’re right about Ford being insanely proud of their parts,  thus the price of aftermarket headlamps…http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,2008,f-250+super+duty,6.4l+v8+diesel+turbocharged,1440007,body,headlamp+assembly,10762

                              Keep in mind that as long as they’re CAPA certified insurance companies will use aftermarket lamps whenever they can get away with it, i.e. deer hit, your fault, the other guys fault if you let them, etc. For a model year 2008 I’d guess around 1/3 0f the trucks on the road have at least one aftermarket exterior lamp on them. :unsure:

                            • #46484
                              Bob Rooks
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                                Thanks. Appreciate that. :good:

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                              • #46485
                                DavidPrivett
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                                  the one requires u/v light either natural or artificial ,I wonder if a halogen light with the glass lens u/v light filter taken out would work?

                                • #46486
                                  Tinbender
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                                    the one requires u/v light either natural or artificial ,I wonder if a halogen light with the glass lens u/v light filter taken out would work?

                                       Or a Black light bulb?

                                  • #46487
                                    jmayo
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                                      Certainly not a body guy, but been doing some work on a 96 car. The lenses were pretty hazy and yellow. Saw where sand them with 400 grit then 800 grit ( I then used 1000). After that use some clear coat. I used rustoleum gloss clear coat (Most any hardware store has (3-4 dollars a can in the spray paint section). I must say they look absolutely beautiful, almost like new. Really impressive.

                                    • #46488
                                      jmayo
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                                        Here is pic. Cost to restore, maybe $5.

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                                      • #46491
                                        Bob Rooks
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                                          Wow, that’s impressive. Very nice work. Were they crazed at all before you began?

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                                        • #46492
                                          jmayo
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                                            I had a professor who’s favorite saying was “define your terms”. If you mean by “crazing” hairline cracks and yellowing, then I would say no. I did not see any hairline cracks at all, but imagine a 20 year old headlight. They were very yellow and very hazy. The sanding dust from them was yellow, and after sanding one would wonder if they did the right thing. But apply the clear coat, things just popped.

                                            I imagine that if there were hairline cracks, they may still be visible after this process; maybe they would look better I don’t know. This was the first time I did this. Took about 15 minutes of effort, a couple of different grades of sandpaper, and a can of clear spray. The spray has uv protection in it. All I can say is that it was quite a change with minimal effort and a low cost.

                                          • #46493
                                            Bob Rooks
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                                              I just noticed that the crazing isn’t visible head-on, only from an angle.

                                               

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                                            • #46496
                                              Tinbender
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                                                I would expect 3-4 buck clear to have zero UV protection and last 6 months tops before turning flat and dull. Crazing in plastic is usually caused by excessive heat, or a cheap formula (no UV inhibitors)  of plastic. Do the lenses have Ford logos or something like “TYC”? Maybe a Google search to see if it’s a common problem?

                                              • #46497
                                                Bob Rooks
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                                                  I have the regular Sylvania Super Star bulbs, not the high performance ones, but I suppose they might be a higher temp than the OEM bulbs. After reading up on this issue some more, I find that happens even with OEM bulbs, and that it’s not exclusive to Ford. Seems just about all brands have this issue with polycarbonate headlight lenses. I think it’s just a cosmetic issue for now since it doesn’t seem to impact performance. I’ll just see how long they last.

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