Car headlight fog..

Topics that do not fit anywhere else. Absolutely NO discussions of religion, race, or immigration!

Moderators: carlson1, Charles L. Cotton

Post Reply
User avatar
x007x
Senior Member
Posts: 523
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:58 pm
Location: Houston-Tx

Car headlight fog..

Post by x007x »

Does anyone know of headlight fog removal products that actually work, and know from experience? I've tried the store products from "Turtle" brand, and my headlights got worse from it. I'm checking at replacing the headlight, but I am in between jobs so replacing it will have to wait.
-CHL-
-NRA-
User avatar
Keith B
Moderator
Posts: 18503
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:29 pm

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by Keith B »

x007x wrote:Does anyone know of headlight fog removal products that actually work, and know from experience? I've tried the store products from "Turtle" brand, and my headlights got worse from it. I'm checking at replacing the headlight, but I am in between jobs so replacing it will have to wait.
I have used McGuire's Plastx product and it worked well. If your headlights have been bad for a very long time it may take multiple sessions and a very fine buffing pad to get them polished out.
Keith
Texas LTC Instructor, Missouri CCW Instructor, NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun Instructor and RSO, NRA Life Member

Psalm 82:3-4
User avatar
flb_78
Senior Member
Posts: 1277
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:17 am
Location: Gravel Switch, KY
Contact:

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by flb_78 »

3m Headlight Restorer. You basically sandpaper your headlights down to fresh plastic and then polish it. I did it to my Grand Marquis.

Image
http://www.AmarilloGunOwners.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
speedsix
Senior Member
Posts: 5608
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 8:39 am

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by speedsix »

...my trusted auto parts guru told me he could sell me a kit that would work OK, but gave me the name of a local shop where for $40 each I drove out with crystal clear headlights an hour later...and mine were so bad I hated to drive at night...I'm glad I paid someone to do it for me...
User avatar
x007x
Senior Member
Posts: 523
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:58 pm
Location: Houston-Tx

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by x007x »

I can't go to my dealership...Their service charge is literally $100.00 an hour, and they will keep your car for days; even though what you are having done will not even take a couple of hours, and try to rob you of your money. If you take your car in on thursday. You will get it back Monday, or Tuesday, just for an insection..This is the Houston location off I-45...Do NOT go there.
For example, I had some sensor replaced, and the mechanic installed it wrong. So, I had to take my car back a week later, and I had this done at my dealrtship..The Rep is asking me who installed in? I'm thinking of the person who did it...He dang well knew they did it..He has my entire work report open on the computer, and he acts like it doesn't say they did it..Man, I was to the point saying do this beacuse you seriously do not want to say you did not do this..I was irritated, and said you did this....OOOoooo i'm sorry sir we will fix that right away...F'er was trying to charge me $400 for their mistake..

NEVER BUY MAZDA...IF YOU NEED A PART REPLACED. More than 3/4 of the time the item will have to be oreded from another location or overseas...
-CHL-
-NRA-
User avatar
flb_78
Senior Member
Posts: 1277
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:17 am
Location: Gravel Switch, KY
Contact:

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by flb_78 »

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... =headlight" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.AmarilloGunOwners.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
speedsix
Senior Member
Posts: 5608
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 8:39 am

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by speedsix »

...wish I'd'a seen that tutorial...your experience would have saved me a lot of $$...I'll be sending that to a few folks...thanks!!!
knotquiteawake
Senior Member
Posts: 772
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:18 am
Location: Rowlett, TX

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by knotquiteawake »

Keith B wrote:
x007x wrote:Does anyone know of headlight fog removal products that actually work, and know from experience? I've tried the store products from "Turtle" brand, and my headlights got worse from it. I'm checking at replacing the headlight, but I am in between jobs so replacing it will have to wait.
I have used McGuire's Plastx product and it worked well. If your headlights have been bad for a very long time it may take multiple sessions and a very fine buffing pad to get them polished out.
My headlights get fogged like that too. I would like to second the Meguiars plastix product too, I've used it several times on my car and every time it's made my headlights and taillights sparkles like clear glass. I've doe it by hand and with a porter cable buffer, both yielded pretty much the same results.
apostate
Senior Member
Posts: 2336
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:01 am

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by apostate »

x007x wrote:I can't go to my dealership...Their service charge is literally $100.00 an hour, and they will keep your car for days; even though what you are having done will not even take a couple of hours, and try to rob you of your money. If you take your car in on thursday. You will get it back Monday, or Tuesday, just for an insection..This is the Houston location off I-45...Do NOT go there.
For example, I had some sensor replaced, and the mechanic installed it wrong. So, I had to take my car back a week later, and I had this done at my dealrtship..The Rep is asking me who installed in? I'm thinking of the person who did it...He dang well knew they did it..He has my entire work report open on the computer, and he acts like it doesn't say they did it..Man, I was to the point saying do this beacuse you seriously do not want to say you did not do this..I was irritated, and said you did this....OOOoooo i'm sorry sir we will fix that right away...F'er was trying to charge me $400 for their mistake..

NEVER BUY MAZDA...IF YOU NEED A PART REPLACED. More than 3/4 of the time the item will have to be oreded from another location or overseas...
Weird. My daily driver is a 7 year old Mazda and never had a problem with parts availability at Jeff Haas. They also have done all the work same day. Fair enough it's usually a half day wait, but it's not a quick lube place. Prices seem reasonable as well. When I got new tires their quote was comparable to the tire shops.

Caveat: I never had them defog my headlights... or my fog lights. ;-)
User avatar
x007x
Senior Member
Posts: 523
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:58 pm
Location: Houston-Tx

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by x007x »

LOL that reminds me of thier prices....My rim was cracked compeltely on my back right wheel..So I went to Mazda to get it replaced..Literally $500.00 just for 1 rim..I went to Discount Tires..4 brand new custom rims for $500.
-CHL-
-NRA-
Rex B
Senior Member
Posts: 3616
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 3:30 pm
Location: DFW

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by Rex B »

I work for an auto parts distributor. We sell probably 6 different kids or products for this. Here's the deal:

The OE units have a UV coating to keep them from fogging. That goes away after a few years and the plastic breaks down.
All the kits remove the top layer of dead plastic untill you have a nice shiny clear plastic surface. If you stop here, as most kits do, your headlights will haze over again quickly because there is no UV protection.

I know of 2 products that restore that protection. Blue Magic Headlight Sealer is the DIY product. I have used it, it seems to work .
http://bluemagicusa.com/index.php/blue_ ... ns_sealer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The better solution is from a company called Cumberland. Their products are made to be used by a shop for multiple cars, so it's a bit more pricey. You also have to spray their sealer like paint, which means a spray gun and masking off the surrounding bodywork. You may be able to find a shop offering this.

Lastly, the headlight assemblies themselves are sometimes surprisingly cheap in the aftermarket. I bought both headlight assemblies, with new bulbs for my Ford pickup for under $30 - for both!
-----------
“Sometimes there is no alternative to uncertainty except to await the arrival of more and better data.” C. Wunsch
leftyonly
Junior Member
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:36 am

Re: Car headlight fog..

Post by leftyonly »

Rex B wrote:Lastly, the headlight assemblies themselves are sometimes surprisingly cheap in the aftermarket. I bought both headlight assemblies, with new bulbs for my Ford pickup for under $30 - for both!
:iagree:

I'll second this one...B4 you get out the elbow grease, look for new assemblies on ebay. If you happen to have a car that the assemblies are readily available for, then you can get them with bulbs and all for the price of one of these "kits"...I bought new assemblies for my son's dodge stratus for $35 each with bulbs...YMMV
Post Reply

Return to “Off-Topic”