Foggy headlights

[Alpiners]

Does anyone know of a spray cleaner that will take away the "fog" on older headlights? We were in Las Vegas at Circus Circus last fall and while we were trying to set up a guy pulled up and offered to clean our foggy headlights for $150. I don't like giving in to unsolicited people so he offered to clean one light and almost a year later it still looks good. I would love to find this. He just sprayed it on, waited a minute, wiped it off. Then he sprayed something else over it after. He said it was very expensive and that's why he was charging so much. So now we have one headlight foggy, one clear and a 2003 Honda that could benefit. We've done the commercial cleaners that you have to buff and even toothpaste. This was by far the best and with little effort. Any suggestions?

[DSDP_Don]

"Alpiners'.....As you read through the posts, I'm sure you'll see that the jest of the posts is that you need an abrasive to polish them, be it toothpaste or fine sandpaper. There was a TV add where they used a liquid and just wiped them clean. In the commercial, the person doing the cleaning was wearing latex gloves, which means the cleaner was probably a little caustic.

There are some other ways to go. I'm not sure what headlight lenses your 2003 Southwind has, but if they're off of a car like most RV lenses, you can simply copy the DOT number on the lens, do a Google search and you'll come back with the lens that was used, as an example, off of a 2001 Ford truck. My old Diplomat used a Buick Century lens. These lenses are relatively cheap online, usually $70-$100. If you have the old automotive replaceable lenses, you can just replace them with a higher quality new lens, giving you some better nighttime lighting.

[wildmanbaker]

SidecarFlip wrote:
The best and log term solution is to replace the lenses with Gen II polycarbonate that never yellows.

I'd like know more about this "Gem II polycarbonate" that will never yellow?

[hostage]

as said iam just saying condensation is not what the OP was asking about what so ever ; the subject was how to clean tarnished/fogged head lite lenses; obviously he was not referring to moisture on the inside of the lense

[grant135b]

hostage wrote:

grant135b wrote:
It depends on why they're fogged. If like I've experienced it's because of moisture on the inside of the lens (due to a failed seal) polishing them won't do any good. Also, some discoloration from UV exposure can go all the way through the lens. If either of those things are the case, replacement is the way I correct it.

I've had good experience with aftermarket headlight assemblies over the years. These days if I get headlight discoloring or I buy a used vehicle that already has it, I don't fool around with it. A new set of aftermarket headlights makes a world of difference in effectiveness and instantly takes years off the vehicle's appearance.

iam pretty sure 99.9% of us posting here are not referring to moisture content in the lense and is NOT what we are discussing here
just saying !

99.9%, huh? Even if that was a real number (eye roll), I'M pretty sure that like with any other open advice forum where ideas and experienced-based suggestions are solicited from the members, if a particular situation doesn't apply to you, rather than oddly trying to suppress it you're quite free to ignore it. It may be outside your limited range of experience, but believe it or not there's a chance the advice just MIGHT be helpful to someone else. So if it's ok with you (and even if it isn't), the advice stands.

As long as we're handing out unsolicited commenting advice, before jumping in as the self-appointed suggestion enforcer you might try enlightening yourself with a Google search of the many articles and videos that address the problem of headlight condensation fogging. Imaginary 99.9 percentages aside, apparently it's not an uncommon problem. Just saying!

[hostage]

grant135b wrote:
It depends on why they're fogged. If like I've experienced it's because of moisture on the inside of the lens (due to a failed seal) polishing them won't do any good. Also, some discoloration from UV exposure can go all the way through the lens. If either of those things are the case, replacement is the way I correct it.

I've had good experience with aftermarket headlight assemblies over the years. These days if I get headlight discoloring or I buy a used vehicle that already has it, I don't fool around with it. A new set of aftermarket headlights makes a world of difference in effectiveness and instantly takes years off the vehicle's appearance.

iam pretty sure 99.9% of us posting here are not referring to moisture content in the lense and is NOT what we are discussing here
just saying !

[grant135b]

It depends on why they're fogged. If like I've experienced it's because of moisture on the inside of the lens (due to a failed seal) polishing them won't do any good. Also, some discoloration from UV exposure can go all the way through the lens. If either of those things are the case, replacement is the way I correct it.

I've had good experience with aftermarket headlight assemblies over the years. These days if I get headlight discoloring or I buy a used vehicle that already has it, I don't fool around with it. A new set of aftermarket headlights makes a world of difference in effectiveness and instantly takes years off the vehicle's appearance.

[SidecarFlip]

The best and log term solution is to replace the lenses with Gen II polycarbonate that never yellows.

[hostage]

GHOST1750 wrote:
I have found almost any good auto cleaner and polish will work fine.

not if their very bad at all;; I use 2000 grit wet sand cloth and then apply cleaner cut wax seems to work

[GHOST1750]

I have found almost any good auto cleaner and polish will work fine.

[SidecarFlip]

Has to be Crest Ultra White however. Leaves your headlights smelling minty fresh....

[Dennis12]

2X the tooth paste

[btilfan]

roam1 wrote:
crest toothpaste on my teeth and lenses

X2

[roam1]

crest toothpaste on my teeth and lenses

[bjbear]

I used a 3M kit from Autozone. Came with a buffer/sanding disc with different grits plus polishing compound. Took about an hour to do. Very easy provided you have an electric drill for the disc.