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Yellowed and scratched headlights 2004 HID

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by labumm, Jan 25, 2013.

  1. labumm

    labumm Junior Member

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    After 9 years and 111k my headlights are yellowed and scratched. Can I just replace the plasic part? Doing so will give me more light on the road.

    The HIDs are working great and I have had no problems whatsoever. So I don't want to risk messing up the HIDs.

    Poking around here I found the suggestion of polishing the the plastic lens. I see how that will remove the scratches and surface yellowing. But I am afraid that will leave the surface of the plastic softer--I assume there is a hard coating on the plasitc.

    I plan to keep this car for another 5 years. If I replace them now, I'll get 5 years of use out of them. What are my options?
     
    #1 labumm, Jan 25, 2013
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    #2 cwerdna, Jan 25, 2013
  3. labumm

    labumm Junior Member

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    Thanks for the link. Sounds like a buffing wheel and a series of grits and polish will do the trick. The choice of which will depend on the type of plastic.

    Are these headlight assemblies polycarbonate or something else?

    I have no idea what the protective coating would be in Sylvania's kit. Any ideas?
     
    #3 labumm, Jan 25, 2013
  4. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    I know it is not designed for it, but never-dull has done a fine job for me. Its basically treated cotton and it removes the yellowing from my lenses without scratching. Afterwards I simply apply automotive paste wax. The lenses on my '06 Prius and '07 Tundra are clear. I have used the 3m on a friends car and it did a good job on her VW.
     
    #4 Mike Mc, Jan 25, 2013
  5. Photau

    Photau Junior Member

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    I used the the kit from turtle wax on my old Echo, worked nicely.
     
    #5 Photau, Jan 25, 2013
  6. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    I used the Sylvania kit on my 05 and got very good results. Took about an hour as it was our first time. Just followed the instructions.
     
    #6 SteveLee, Jan 25, 2013
  7. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    I had my local Toyota Dealership do Ema's eyeballs just a few months ago and the result has been fantastic. I actually had to drive around with my high beams on to have decent visibility before and never got flashed by cars for my lights being to bright. Now I routinely get flashed when just the low beams are on.

    I choose the Stealership because it doubled the length of the warranty on the service over doing it yourself. I also figured someone that does it all the time may have more skill then myslef doing it a single time. It is a pretty in depth process and the best curing for the coating is direct sunlight so it needs to be done on a bright sunny day. I think Toyota's is Service Rite Lens Restoration or something like that?

    Hope this helps,
    Chris
     
    #7 CBarr31, Jan 25, 2013
  8. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Meguiars PlastX is a great tool to use to clean and maintain those yellow/scratched up headlights. It works best if you keep them clean to begin with. However you need to get one of the restoration kits to clean them up as other's have mentioned, then maintain them with the PlastX.

    Ron
     
    #8 dorunron, Jan 25, 2013
  9. maestro8

    maestro8 Nouveau Member

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    Clear coat.

    You can use a wax as a temporary solution, or a laminate as an easy long-term solution.

    Best fix would be to polish, clear coat and wet sand it yourself.
     
    #9 maestro8, Jan 25, 2013
  10. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    It sounds like they messed up the aim when they did the job. (I assume that the lenses are now clear and not hazed.)
     
    #10 richard schumacher, Jan 26, 2013
  11. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    Huh? ... You must have misunderstood. The low beams are so bright now that the headlights have been restored some, not all, people think I have my high beams on when I don't. This was typical when Ema was new in 2006 some 300K ago, lol. When headlights are restored only the lens are cleaned, coated, buffed, etc... nothing is done with the aim.

    Chris
     
    #11 CBarr31, Jan 26, 2013
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