<VV> Headlight lens? Slight Corvair

[Tony Underwood]

At 09:53 hours 01/23/2006, mmcguire at hiwaay.net wrote:

>T"
>
>My 98 Sebring cpe has the outer lenses getting a coating that will scrape off
>leaving the scrape marks.  It is like oxidation and may be. Any suggestions on
>how to clean it? Regular cleaners won't touch it. Or what to buffer/polish it
>with to remove it?
>"
>
>Chuck,
>
>I believe that like most new cars the lens is polycarbanite or some 
>plastic.  I
>think you can take some 2000 grit sandpaper (maybe start with 1500), 
>then follow
>with some polish to remove the scratches.




Been there done that, use lacquer finishing paper and some soapy 
water, sand until the fogging is gone.   Depending on whether it's a 
Ford or a Mopar (Fords were worse) it will come clear eventually, 
whereupon you can buff it back with some rubbing compound and a car 
polisher.  If you wanna get tricky after getting it clear again, you 
can shoot the lenses with some urethane clearcoat  to help keep them 
from oxidizing again.

Interestingly enough, Sunday while at a buddy's place, we sanded and 
polished the headlight lenses of his Chrysler LHS.   A couple of 
weeks ago, another guy and I attempted to salvage the lenses on an 
early 90s Mustang.   They were really bad, surface cracking and 
eroding and so fogged they hardly cast enough light to make a serious 
shadow.   They cleaned up a bit, enough to work "OK" but not what I'd 
call good.   Maybe more sanding and polishing might do more good, 
although some of the surface "haze cracking" seemed to extend pretty 
deep into the lens material which was also getting a bit brown to 
suit my tastes.   And to top it off, they're damned expensive pieces 
of plastic and the ones in junkyards are no better; you gotta buy new 
to get a good one.

The sealed beams on the Vairs are ancient and still clear and 
bright.    My '60 is still sporting what are possibly its original 
headlights.   I've never changed any of them in the 22 years I've 
owned the car and I seem to remember looking closely at them and 
noting that they were all the same.   I'll have to check again...  ;)


tony..