redzoneos

hey question, first time posting here

okay so I'm planning on buying new headlights, so I decided to mess around with my current headlights by following the gunmetal spray paint DIY you guys have...

well I didn't use gunmetal but my paint didn't come out as well as I had hoped, it left a few streaks and some dark spots, etc....

anyway, so my question is, instead of buying new headlights, is there any way to just buy the various parts??? meaning can I buy and replace just the clear lens, or maybe buy and replace just the chrome reflector sheet on the inside of the headlight??

the reason I ask is because now I'm kind of interested in having something other then the standard black/chrome/titanium/gunmetal colors, and I would like to experiment but not by buying different headlights every time for around a 100 bucks a pop!!!

If you know where I can get brand new clear lens/chrome plating that would be fantastic... otherwise I'll just buy a new set of headlights to use and keep repainting over my old set I have until I get them perfected... problem is the inside reflector is cracked and I need it replaced :\

94jdmcivic

go to a junkyard...what year civic do u have? if its an older civic, u can find headlights all over the place at a junkyard

redzoneos

mine's a 98 civic... won't the junk yard pose the same problem I'm having now?? my headlight clear cover is dirty, yellowish and nasty, when I have my headlights on I can't even tell that they work!!

I tried taking it apart to clean it and tried everything but the improvement is negligible...

so wouldn't the ones at the junkyard be dirty and nasty too? I'd rather just buy a replacement clear plastic cover if possible to do so without actually replacing the entire assembly.

Line7

There's a way to clean the lenses. Search around. im sure youll find a DIY. You could get a buffing ball drill attachment and some compound and they'll look as good as new.

94jdmcivic

what i did to mine was got some rubbing compound from walmart and a rag and scrubbed it on the headlights a few times then wipe the compund off the headlight and they look awesome. u will have to do it so often but its cheap and works

when i had my civic i found some headlights on the ground that were in awesome condition still and never oxidized or anything but then i sold the car so dont know what they look like now...its worth a shot

redzoneos

all right thanks for all the suggestions everyone! well I tried the compound and it didn't work that well... it's definitely better but not better enough, they still look like crap!

I haven't tried the buffing suggestion but I think at this point since noone seems to know if I can just buy a replacement lens instead of the whole assembly Ill just go out and buy a brand new set of headlights from ebay...

what do you think of these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-...ht_3581wt_1195

dieneverknowing

You're going to get the same crappy, yellow haze look to the lenses on those, but just quicker then oem.

If you're already at the point of just giving up on your current lights, why not try and sand them?

Wet sand with a 2000 grit paper then buff/polish them. If there is still a haze, then step down to a 1500 and then back to 2000. You'll have to clean and treat them often as sanding them will remove the 'protective' coating on the light. But hey, if the coating was that great your lights wouldn't be in bad shape (in theory).

But a quick question, is the crap on the lens on the inside or outside?

94jdmcivic

you cant just buy the lens...everywhere sells the whole headlight assembly unless you got a friend who has an extra pair just lying around. ive seen bad aftermarket headlights on ebay and they get water in them and look crappy but me and a friend but some black halos on a rsx and its been 2 years and they still look in amazing condition. we took a risk knowing he might get water inside the headlights but that didnt happen.

Line7

You probably didnt clean them enough. Like someone said, use sandpaper first. This is what I did:

1. Wetsand with 1000 grit

2. wetsand with 1500 grit

3. wetsand with compund 1500 grit

4. wetsand with compund 2000 grit.

5. rub with cloth and compund (AT LEAST 10 min each)

6. hand buff until smooth.

When you're doing this by hand, It takes a very long time, it took me about 1 hour to do just two headlights, outside only.

Rubbing with compound and cloth takes the longest, because you have to smooth out all the scratches left after sanding. Compound alone wont take the oxydation off, the sandpaper will (unless you're using an orbital buffer).

As someone mentioned, this proceedure will take off the protective coating and the problem will come back. However, theres a kit the sell autoparts stores that restores headlights. It has a silicone applicator which you put on at the end, which is the protective coating.

Give it another try, good lkuck.

gingas

If you don't want to do it yourself. You can go to some tint places & gas stations are doing headlight reconditioning. You might pay like $80-100. I believe dealerships are doing it also now.
Just a suggestion.