Separating lens from headlight assembly
 

How do you do this? I follwed the directions in that de-yellow, da haze... thread but I couldn't figure out how to do this. I took out all the clips that connect the lens to the assembly but it wouldn't budge and I didn't want to force it.
Thanks.

Use a heat gun to melt the bonding material like this...

Then pull it apart like this...

Thanks Mike. How do you put it back together? Just with the clips? If so, will that be secure?

Heat gun takes forever. Just put it in the oven at 250 for 7-10 minutes.

To put it back, heat it up a bit, put the clips on and heat it up some more for a tight seal.

Lwin

Lwin... I would be concerned about harmfull gasses being given off by the baking plastics and adhesive. If baking in the oven, I would be sure to use one you're not cooking in. :)

Mike

You don't want to bake the adhesive, you just want to melt it a little. Just make sure you don't melt it too much. I am alive so far and I just did another cleaning on my headlight the other day and I added a yellow filter for the fog lights inside the lense so I will not get pulled over.

Lwin

Lwin,
Are you sure I won't melt anything I'm not supposed to at that temp with that amount of time?
And how easy is it to separate after I do this?

http://www.svxworldnetwork.org/resou...ing/index.html

Dave,

Check that link out.

Lwin

Thankyou Lwin.

Re: Separating lens from headlight assembly
 

I'm sure mine don't look quite as good as Mike's (and it shouldn't considering how much more work is involved with his method) but I did mine in about 10 minutes while my lights were on the car. If I spent a touch more time they might even look as good.

All I did was take a cloth diaper, preferably an unsoiled one (unless your child's poo resembles rubbing compound), and rub some rubbing compound into each lens for a few minutes. Then I took some McGuire's White polishing compound I had laying around and spent a few more minutes polishing the lens with that. Viola! (or Cello or whatever instrument you prefer) Sparkly clear lens without the fuss and muss. My headlight assemblies, unlike my center grill, are free of condensation and I'd like to keep them that way by not messing with the seal. If I had the spare time and an extra set of head light assemblies (in case I FUBAR them) I would tackle the more adventurous route. Give it a try before you rip them apart. You might find that it meets your expectations. If not then you've only wasted 10 minutes of your time. ;)

Thanks very much for the suggestion, but doesn't the haze accumulate on the inside of the lens and not the outside? Or am I mistaken? If it's the outside, I'm all about not going to the extra trouble. The way I see it, the less I mess with things, the less they get broken. :)

I noticed very little haze on the inside of mine. Most of it is caused by weathering on the outside. Like I said, give a try first. I was thrilled with the improvement I saw. It might or might not be enough for you but it is worth a try :)

Some headlights have issues inside, some don't. Mine had a real thick haze on the inside that needed to be cleaned off, but a set I bought from Florida had next to no haze inside.

I guess it depends on the environment.

Doug

Mine were worse inside than they were outside, but ive seen some that have had no inside issues.... Maybe it's a problem in the manufacturing process?

Mike