Headlights going yellow.

[KannikaP]

Just now, TimeMachine said:

Just starts on surface. Catch it early and less rubbing.

So you are saying 'clean you car properly' yeh?

Why is it only the headlamp glass which are being talked about. If 5hit gets on them, it will get on the surrounding paintwork & bumper  (sorry, fender for you foreigners, 555)

[BritManToo]

12 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Why are the lamps on my 11 year old Vigo still perfectly clear, after 220,000 kms.?

Different quality of plastic, or maybe they're glass.

My 25yo pickup h/ls are still perfect and they're definitely glass.

The newer your car, the more plastic (and less metal/glass) in it.

[KannikaP]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Different quality of plastic, or maybe they're glass.

Yes, proper glass! But will 5hit not stick to glass as well.

[Sigmund]

12 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

Does the WD40 tip work on teeth? Because I've been using toothpaste on them for 50 years and they still look the colour of pilau rice.

quit smoking and the booze....

[KannikaP]

12 hours ago, quake said:

Yes, that would be good if I can find a place to do it.

to that standard. 

Anyone ?

To what standard...Thai?

[Sigmund]

Meguire's glass or plastic polish could and will do the trick, if one can find this in Thailand...if not use vinegar with baking soda. 

[sungod]

13 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Hope you can find Pattaya and get your lights cleaned.

Good opportunity to get your pipes flushed also.

[KannikaP]

I take back what I said about the lights on my 11 yr old Vigo. They are plastic and had a yellowish film on them. A spray of WD40 30 seconds onto a piece of kitchen tissue and  they a back to pristine clearness. They obviously get cleaned when I use my Karcher on the whole vehicle. 

Come on Quake, do it yourself, no chipping or lacquering needed.

 

[TimeMachine]

13 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

So you are saying 'clean you car properly' yeh?

Why is it only the headlamp glass which are being talked about. If 5hit gets on them, it will get on the surrounding paintwork & bumper  (sorry, fender for you foreigners, 555)

I guess this thread is about yellowing of clear plastic. White plastic yellows too. Colored plastic goes off color. But car paint is UV resistant and quite tuff so people don't care much for cleaning their car often I guess. Imagine if it was mandatory to clean your car once a week. Nobody would drive. 

[TimeMachine]

Just now, KannikaP said:

I take back what I said about the lights on my 11 yr old Vigo. They are plastic and had a yellowish film on them. 30 seconds with a piece od kitchen tissue and a spray of WD40 and they a back to pristine clearness. They obviously get cleaned when I use my Karcher on the whole vehicle. 

Come on Quake, do it yourself, no chipping or lacquering needed.

 

WD 40 does a surprisingly good job but it doesn't last. You'd need to spray every morning.

[KannikaP]

1 minute ago, TimeMachine said:

I guess this thread is about yellowing of clear plastic. White plastic yellows too. Colored plastic goes off color. But car paint is UV resistant and quite tuff so people don't care much for cleaning their car often I guess. Imagine if it was mandatory to clean your car once a week. Nobody would drive. 

Read what I just posted. Nothing to do with the plastic, clear or coloured? going yellow, it is simply road 5hit. Proved beyond all doubt 5 minutes ago.

[KannikaP]

1 minute ago, TimeMachine said:

WD 40 does a surprisingly good job but it doesn't last. You'd need to spray every morning.

Rubbish. Just clean the lamps the same as you do the entire car.

[sandyf]

19 hours ago, quake said:

Any recommendations for polishing the yellow off the 

head lights in pattaya area and cost, on a Honda City

Thanks Quake.

I can remember the days when we had to make headlights yellow to venture across the channel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_yellow#:~:text=However%2C selective yellow headlamps remain,wavelengths from the projected light.

[retarius]

It's UV light interacting with the plastic. Buy new headlights and your car will look like new. Then park it out of sunlight.

[KannikaP]

35 minutes ago, sandyf said:

I can remember the days when we had to make headlights yellow to venture across the channel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_yellow#:~:text=However%2C selective yellow headlamps remain,wavelengths from the projected light.

And of course, dip the other way.

Do they still have yellow lamps in France? I drove in Europe for years but never used overlays.

[sandyf]

4 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

And of course, dip the other way.

Do they still have yellow lamps in France? I drove in Europe for years but never used overlays.

Been optional since 1993 so doubt it is standard, probaby available as extra.

With Calais being the most popular port it was necessary when France was mandatory. I always used the Belgium and Dutch ports when stationed in Germany early 70s but never bothered when going into France by land.

[Thailand]

I changed the headlights.

[KannikaP]

5 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Been optional since 1993 so doubt it is standard, probaby available as extra.

With Calais being the most popular port it was necessary when France was mandatory. I always used the Belgium and Dutch ports when stationed in Germany early 70s but never bothered when going into France by land.

Do they have yellow headlights on small boats coming to UK?   555

[Jeff the Chef]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

But if it is dirt & chemicals from the atmosphere through which the vehicle is driven, surely the clear lacquer will soon be yellow again.

Yes, it will but I tend to wash the car regularly and park it out of the sun, hopefully it will last a couple of years.

[TimeMachine]

5 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Rubbish. Just clean the lamps the same as you do the entire car.

Actually I can't remember when I applied the wd40. It may have been just after sanding yellow away and being left with haze. The wd40 made the haze disappear for a short time.   wd40 is not a solution but it is interesting to see the affect. I guess any oily substance would do the same thing and make a hazey roughed up plastic look shiny clear again until of course the oil was removed by rain or whatever.

[DavisH]

On 10/12/2023 at 9:29 PM, Jeff the Chef said:

I prefer taking the light off the car, 1200/1500 wet and dry, then a good polish followed by a spray of clear coat lacquer.

If taking lights off car is a pain, mask up round the light and machine polish with a cutting compound , followed by a good polish and clear lacquer to seal.

I've done this and it works fine. Didn't bother with the clear coat though. Later on, the lamps started to let water in, so just replaced them at 4K for a pair. 

[KannikaP]

On 10/12/2023 at 8:17 PM, BKKBike09 said:

Does the WD40 tip work on teeth? Because I've been using toothpaste on them for 50 years and they still look the colour of pilau rice.

Following up on my post yesterday when I tried WD40 on my headlight glass, it sort of worked. This morning I rubbed them with baking soda. What a difference, perfectly clear.

Last night I saw an ad on Ch4 for Oral B Whitening Toothpaste available for 50% off, at only £9 a tube as opposed to £18........yes, for a tube of toothpaste. I had also known that baking soda was mildly abrasive, hence the clean headlights, so I dipped my Oral B toothbrush into some soda, cleaned my teeth, and what a difference, I open my gob and my teeth shine like my headlights. Bht 40 from Lotus's. 

[KannikaP]

On 10/13/2023 at 8:14 AM, quake said:

Polycarbonate. 

Plastic!

[quake]

20 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Plastic!

No Plastic is the state of the material. 

 

 

[KannikaP]

On 10/13/2023 at 10:05 AM, Jeff the Chef said:

Yes, it will but I tend to wash the car regularly and park it out of the sun, hopefully it will last a couple of years.

So the lacquer is doing nothing, the 5hit is simply sticking to that as opposed to the glass/plastc.

[KannikaP]

32 minutes ago, quake said:

No Plastic is the sate of the material.

 

Sate? 

what type of plastic is polycarbonate - Search (bing.com)

[Rimmer]

Some posts contravening our Community Standards have been removed.  

[retarius]

Move to France but remember to have the steering wheel put on the left hand side. 

[Jeff the Chef]

41 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

So the lacquer is doing nothing, the 5hit is simply sticking to that as opposed to the glass/plastc.

The lacquer is basically a sealer which can also be sealed with a decent nano polish, just another layer of protection.

I did try a few years ago when nano compound first arrived on the scene not doing the lacquer and it worked OK in the UK but over here you get much more sunlight and higher UV.

[KannikaP]

6 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

The lacquer is basically a sealer which can also be sealed with a decent nano polish, just another layer of protection.

I did try a few years ago when nano compound first arrived on the scene not doing the lacquer and it worked OK in the UK but over here you get much more sunlight and higher UV.

OK, up to you, but I would have thought that a good rub every time you clean the car would do the job.

As long as it is not the actual plastic which is yellowing, in which case replacement is the only solution.

This has got to be a very long, confusing post, started by someone who simply cannot be bothered to clean the lights himself.