Headlight refinishing
 

I took apart my headlights and cleaned inside them over the weekend. Check out my locker under 'headlight refinish' for pics. Let me know if you want me to type out the process in detail.

-mike

Very impressive. Yes, please give a step by step process on how to do this, and the supplies needed. TIA

Ok here we go.

What you need:

Blue Magic Plastic Cleaner
Blue Magic Metal Polish
Terry Towls
Powerful Heat Gun
10MM Socket
Screw Driver

Step by step.

1. Remove the headlights from your SVX. To do this, first remove the grill and the 2 corner lenses. there are then 2 10mm bolts holding the headlight in on each side of it. there is a total of 4 for each light. It will then pull right out.

2. Remove the metal clips that hold the clear lens part of the light to the back black plastic piece.

3. There is now some hard sealer around the joint that needs to be taken care of. Get yourself a good heat gun. You need to get it pretty hot. go around the joint with the heat gun. You will see it begin to melt the sealer.

4. It is best to have someone help you for this step. Have a friend pull the 2 pieces apart, while you continue to heat the areas with the heat gun. The light will get pretty hot, so it is best to wear gloves when handeling it. The clear lens part is very difficult to melt with the heat gun, but the black plastic portion gets very soft, very fast. Be careful with that.

5. Once the lens is seperated, clear the inside of any large objects. There was a lot of spider webs in mine.

6. Soak the lens in warm water. The lens will be hot from the heat gun, so it is best to use the warm water so that the temp change doesnt shock the plastic and cause it to crack.

7. Then, completely dry the lens.

8. Take the Blue Magic Plastic cleaner and apply a coat to the inside and outside of the lens. Wait for it to haze and buff it off by hand with a soft terry towl. Repeat this step till all the yellow is gone.

9. Apply the Blue magic metal polish to the inside and outside of the lens. Again, wait for it to haze, and buff it off by hand. Repeat this step a few times too.

10. Now, you will notice some buildup from the cleaner and polish has formed. Rins the lenses again, and use a Q tip or similar to remove the buildup. Then dry the lenses completelly.

11. Now, use the heat gun to melt the sealer down again, and press the lens back onto the rear black piece.

12. Hold the pieces together until the bonding material sets.

13. Then, replace the clips.

14. Put the light back on your SVX, and admire your ultra-clear headlight.

YOU'RE DONE!

I have photos of how Doug and I did that. I will post them sometime tonight.

Lwin

AWESOME!!!! That looks SOOOOO SHARP!!!!!! WOW!!!!!! I can hardly keep my hands off of my toolkit because I want to do it RIGHT NOW!!!!! that's so incredibly cool. Thanks for posting step-by-steps mike, otherwise I don't think I ever would have done it. I seriously cannot believe how good that looks. I do have a question though.. why do you use METAL polish on the outside of the lens? I can obviously understand using plastic polish on the inside.............but.......well i think you can see where i'm confused. Thanks in advance

-adam

EDIT:

ps.... could you pretty much do the same thing with the center grille????

You use the metal polish on the inside and outside of the lens... sorry if i didnt make that clear :) The metal polish is recommended on the back of the plastic cleaner for making the plastic shiney.

I would imagine you could do the same with the grill, but I didnt take a look at it.

Good luck, and if you have any questions while you're doing it, gimme a call 717.917.2476 :)

-Mike

Alright, now I'm going to have to rent me a heat gun and an extra pair of hands! Any KC area owners want to spend this weekend working on some SVX improvement projects?

KuoH

aredub.....
 

looks like me and you are going to have to get together and fix us some headlights. i will buy the supplies and do all the sanding. you get to take the stuff apart. :D

green95svx i did the exact same thing took the headlights all apart waxed and cleaned it 3 times before puting it, looked like crystal clear but,, after 3 months or so , it turned yellow again on me,, damm u headlights, LOL so i just wax the outside every few months it seems to keep them clear im going to buy new set here soon, if your process last throught the time i would be verry impressed,, and i hope that it does

p.s do they sell headlight covers for svx,,like GTO covers

solar - I garage and cover the car, so the lights dont get that much sun exposure... I hope they last a little longer.

No, noone makes headlight covers for the svx.

-Mike

i hate headlight covers, but for the svx.....
 

i would almost consider it. my headlights are in horrible condition.

They don't but I have an import shop that carry a clear film that you can stick on the hood of the car (for those of you with PDAs, the clear protective covers for your touch screen if you will).

I am going to put a layer of that stuff on my headlight.

Lwin

That looks pretty good. Maybe I should get my ligts out and take car of th inside too. I just wet sanded them over the weekend and then buffed them a few times. Whe I stepped back and looked at them with the lights on, I almost wet myself. What a way to get all the highway pits out. IT LOOKS SO GOOD. :D

SVX Headlight saver part number
 

Subaruparts.com has the pre-cut 3M plastic headlight savers for the 92-97 SVX. They go for $27.94 plus shipping.

Go to http://www.subaruparts.com/catalog/?section=176
and scroll down the page. Part #10800

nice svxceess
 

i wonder if u can use that translucent paint like smoke color or something to hid the yellow lights or i wonder if it will stop the headlights from turning,,