Defogging Headlights - It worked for me!

May 12, 2021, 06:09 AM

My daughter's 2003 Nissan Altima headlights were terribly fogged up. I had tried a number of home remedies with minimal success. Then I tried this:
1. Pressure washed the headlights with a 2000 psi pressure washer using the 40 degree nozzle.
2. Dried them thoroughly. (This is very important)
3. Sprayed Deepwoods Off on the headlamps - thoroughly and evenly. Let set for a minute.
4. Then hit them again with the pressure washer.

You can't believe the yellow foam coming off! When finished drying them, the headlamps were crystal clear with no streaks. It even removed the abrasion marks from previous cleaning attempts. Next will be my Honda Civic.

May 12, 2021, 07:11 AM

MikeinNC

Make sure to hit them with some clear coat that has UV protection in it or you will be back at zero in a few months

May 12, 2021, 07:17 AM

SPWAMike0317

quote:
Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Make sure to hit them with some clear coat that has UV protection in it or you will be back at zero in a few months

Are there recommendations for UV protective clear coat? I used a different technique and the lenses were crystal clear but I can see the fog creeping in.

May 12, 2021, 07:28 AM

BurtonRW

303 Aerospace

-Rob

May 12, 2021, 08:53 AM

tatortodd

quote:
Originally posted by BurtonRW:
303 Aerospace

-Rob

That only lasts about 6 to 8 weeks.

Meguiars Keep Clear Headlight Coating lasts about a year.

Ceramic coatings last longer. I have Cerakote on mine and you can get it from Cerakote on Amazon or Griot’s (Moderate or Severe).

May 12, 2021, 11:07 AM

Southern Rebel

....and yet the headlight lens on my 2004 Silverado are as clear as the I bought it (if I would occasionally wash it!). Did I get lucky or did GM do something different back in that time?

May 12, 2021, 11:10 AM

Flash-LB

The 2003 Ford Ranger I traded in a couple of months ago had perfectly clear lenses also.

May 12, 2021, 11:10 AM

BigSwede

Do you park it in the sun?

May 12, 2021, 11:15 AM

Captain Morgan

My son has that problem but on the inside of the lens.

How does someone know to use Deepwoods Off?

Its so random. I say go back to glass. I am sure there is a downfall to glass too.

May 12, 2021, 11:17 AM

My 1990 C2500 headlights need some help. I can't remember what I used before but will try tatortodd's suggestion of Meguiars Keep Clear Headlight Coating.
Thanks

May 12, 2021, 11:36 AM

jhe888

The DEET in Off is a very powerful solvent. It will dissolve a lot of plastics. The other, and better option, in my view is to use one of the polishing kits with a fine abrasive to remove the cloudyness.

You do need to treat them after that with some plastic headlight coating, or they will be cloudy again in weeks.

May 12, 2021, 11:55 AM

Southern Rebel

quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:
Do you park it in the sun?

BigSwede, you are probably on target. My wife's Mitsubishi has always been parked right beside the Silverado at home and fogs terribly. but then it hit me that her worksite parking is directly in the sun and over the years, my truck has been mostly parked in the shade at home and at work.

May 12, 2021, 11:55 AM

Krazeehorse

We use Mothers mag wheel polish here at the shop with very good success.

May 12, 2021, 12:19 PM

erj_pilot

I have a 1997 Corolla that I use for my "airport car", so it sits out in the sun in the employee lot when I'm flying...up to 4 days at a time. It's garaged at home. I went through 2 rounds of "restoring" the headlamp lenses with a kit (looked good for a while), but this last go-around 5 years ago, I just bought new headlight housings on Amazon. The cost was worth the time savings and I spent $84 to replace the head and corner lights and also the side signal lights.

I know $84 may be a chunk of change for those on a fixed income, but just thought I'd throw it out there. Rock on!!!

"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24

May 12, 2021, 12:45 PM

Flash-LB

quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:
Do you park it in the sun?

Never saw the inside of a garage. Always parked in the driveway with no cover.

May 12, 2021, 01:31 PM

trapper189

Or, for a more permanent solution, rockauto.com has a pair of generic replacements for under $70 plus shipping. The TYC replacements can be had for $105 a pair plus shipping. Shipping was $15 for the ones I ordered for our Honda. It is the sun that does them in.

May 12, 2021, 10:26 PM

tatortodd

quote:
Originally posted by 41:
My 1990 C2500 headlights need some help. I can't remember what I used before but will try tatortodd's suggestion of Meguiars Keep Clear Headlight Coating.
Thanks

If you already own polish/compound and wet sand paper then the Meguiars spray coating is an economical and long-lasting solution.

Meguiars also has kits that include the wet sanding paper, polish, etc. in addition to the coating. However, by the time you spend money for those kits you're at the same money as the longer lasting ceramic kits I linked.

May 12, 2021, 11:49 PM

Aeteocles

quote:
Originally posted by Captain Morgan:
My son has that problem but on the inside of the lens.

How does someone know to use Deepwoods Off?

Its so random. I say go back to glass. I am sure there is a downfall to glass too.

As soon as the OP mentioned Deepwoods Off, I immediately though, "Oh shit, of course!"

DEET is a ridiculously effective plastic solvent. I remember as a kid getting some high content DEET insect repellent on a Casio watch and having it eat all the markings and etch up the plastic watch crystal. I've since banned DEET based insect repellents from my home because of risk of damage to my camping gear (and vehicle interiors). Deepwoods Off can be had in a 100% DEET formulation, I think.

Some of the commercially available headlight restoration kits use a solvent to dissolve the oxidation off of the headlamp. It appears that DEET is effective for this purpose as well.

May 13, 2021, 08:24 AM

randyman

quote:
Originally posted by Aeteocles:
quote:
Originally posted by Captain Morgan:
My son has that problem but on the inside of the lens.

How does someone know to use Deepwoods Off?

Its so random. I say go back to glass. I am sure there is a downfall to glass too.

As soon as the OP mentioned Deepwoods Off, I immediately though, "Oh shit, of course!"

DEET is a ridiculously effective plastic solvent. I remember as a kid getting some high content DEET insect repellent on a Casio watch and having it eat all the markings and etch up the plastic watch crystal. I've since banned DEET based insect repellents from my home because of risk of damage to my camping gear (and vehicle interiors). Deepwoods Off can be had in a 100% DEET formulation, I think.

Some of the commercially available headlight restoration kits use a solvent to dissolve the oxidation off of the headlamp. It appears that DEET is effective for this purpose as well.

First - my thanks to all who have replied. I had tried one of the commercial defogging kits years ago, but I could not get the promised results - I'm sure it was me and my technique. As far as how I found out about using OFF, I found it on the internet, along with many other recommendations that I never tried - toothpaste, WD-40, baking soda, and so on. I had used the OFF before - spray in on and wipe it off - It worked fairly well but the streaking was difficult to control. Using the OFF along with the pressure washer resolved this.
Again, my thanks to the members of the best forum out there!