Headlights getting milky looking.

I think there's a caution in the owners manual about not waxing the headlights (at least in the 3rd gen book).

 

I saw an ad recently for a product designed for headlights. I think it was Meguiar's, but I'm not sure. An internet search should turn up something.

 

Such a dirty title.

 

My wife thought the same thing about ours. After her cataract surgery they looked much better.

Tom

 

The Meguiars restoration kit will improve the appearance about 80% if they are very cloudy.
Our vehicles always got this way when we lived in FL.

 

Do a search in this forum for headlight restoration. I did a write up on the process using Meguire's.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ubleshooting/91945-headlight-restoration.html

 

hahahahaha

 

Hey triumph, just fyi, it's from the sunlight, you probably park it outside, right?

 

This has happened to several of my vehicles I have owned. It's the UV coating that eventually starts to peel/flake. This happens more so to vehicles that are parked outside in the Sun, instead of inside a garage. But yes you can buff off the damaged UV coating as you have done, but now the plastic lens will ultimately be damaged by Sun exposure turning foggy and brittle.

 

3M makes a great kit that includes a pad and "sandpaper" with polish.

Works great, It goes for under $30.

You could probably do 2 cars with it.

 

Automatic car wash disease.

 

I've used the Meguiar's on my '03 Subaru Legacy last year and it was like driving a new car. I was shocked at how much more light clear headlight lenses put out. Oncoming traffic appreciates it a lot too because there's significantly less glare from your low beams.

But as someone here already stated, buffing out the lenses does pretty much destroy what's left of the UV protective coating on the lens, which means you're going to have to re-do the treatment every 6 months or so to keep your visibility unfortunately. Mine are already foggy again and I need to re-do them.

You can blame the DOT for setting lousy standards that allow plastic headlight lenses to be used, because this wasn't a problem on cars back in the 70's and 80's when they were still glass (although breakage, weight, and manufacturing expense certainly were). I may be out of date, but I know at least up until the early 2000's the European equivalent of the DOT still required glass lenses for headlights.

So I guess the real question is, does anyone know of a product similar to ZAGG's InvisiShield, or some kind of optically clear spray that blocks UV rays? Something like that applied to the lens after buffing them clear again would be ideal I'd think.

 

Your auto parts dealer should have "BlueMagic" Headlight Lens sealer for new and restored lenses. Just tried it, so time will tell.

 

The more expensive Meguiar's kit has a UV protectant product included in the kit. I believe it was $29.95 for the kit.

 

Can't you just apply a sunscreen with a high spf?

 

Bullfrog Sunscreen so it's waterproof!

 

I'd rather have glass headlight as well. Sometimes I had a cracked glass lens but rarely because they were pretty strong. Yes weight might be an issue, although slight. I have a hard time understanding there being a manufacturing expense higher than with plastic headlights. If that's true then certainly consumers are getting fleeced, because plastic lenses cost way more than glass ever did.

 

The old glass lenses were small, square or round. They didn't have the intricate shapes that modern lenses do so to try and compare cost is kind of ridiculous. A glass lens in the shape of the Prius lens would be more expensive to manufacture than a plastic version. With so much surface area the glass lens would be subject to fracture and you would be hard pressed to buff out the scratches and chips. lol