I may have discovered something

[skipper1]

I have done 2 cars that have been in wrecks where one of the headlights was replaced and the owner decided they wanted the other light to be clear and match the other. One car was a Honda, the other a Checy SUV (hard clear coat). Both headlights that I worked on cleared up nicely but up against the new one that was installed, it looked a little hazy. The other one looked new (because it was).
Has anyone else experienced this and if so is there anything to do about it?

[Old Bear]

Re: I may have discovered something

One option would be to look at getting another new headlight for the hazed side.

[skipper1]

Re: I may have discovered something

Very helpful, thanks Old Bear.

[Old Bear]

Re: I may have discovered something

At about $60, your customer would not have one fogging fast while the other stays clear.
With the cost of polishing each year, you could be saving them money be getting a new one.

[skipper1]

Re: I may have discovered something

This is an older car, I think 09 Honda. I don't know when it was in a wreck but the left headlight had to be replaced while they kept the original in and it had since gone bad because of UV and it is the older one that looks to be fogged or hazy inside. I'm guessing I didn't explain it very well in the first post, forgive me.

[Lydia]

Re: I may have discovered something

Yes, I've seen that before on headlights. They can get foggy on the inside. The best fix for it is to replace it as well. From what I hear you can disassemble the headlight itself to clean it up but if it's for a customer, it would probably be cheaper for them to just buy one. I've never done it so can't give you any advice on it.

I detailed my sister's car recently and found that one of her headlights had far less oxidation in the factory UV coating than the other. We knew the previous owner and don't think either headlight was replaced, but aren't sure. I was doing a rather quick job for her and didn't have my sandpaper with me so I just hit it with M105 several times on a MF pad. I'll have to go back later and sand the remainder of the UV coating off and apply new. Even that aside though, it looks like she's got some moisture on the inside so it won't be perfect. She's also got a couple little dead bugs inside.

Did you remove the OEM UV coating and reapply a coating?

[skipper1]

Re: I may have discovered something

OEM was sanded and then buffed with compound and polish. It's not real bad but you can notice it isn't as clear as the new light. I'm thinking that when you replace just one headlight, this will be the norm.