Refurb Headlights

Does anyone on here refurb headlights? After getting the car washed the state of my headlights both inside and out have made me feel sad.

Would love to get some new ones but budget will not allow so any help much appreciated.

Cheers.

It's easy mate...should only take one afternoon...just give it a go yourself

Do UK Spec headlights fit JSpec cars??

yes mate they sure do I put them in mine

Just do it mate its not that hard once you take the plunge

The hardest bit is actually putting it the oven and then attacking it with a screwdriver

I have to admit to having gone wildly over budget on this tho,

I've had to buy a second tube of Asda smart price toothpaste!

I did do a scrub on the outside to start with but then it became obvious that i'd have to split em and do the inside as well.

Cheers Matt

Just do it mate its not that hard once you take the plunge

The hardest bit is actually putting it the oven and then attacking it with a screwdriver

 

I have to admit to having gone wildly over budget on this tho,

 

I've had to buy a second tube of Asda smart price toothpaste!

 

I did do a scrub on the outside to start with but then it became obvious that i'd have to split em and do the inside as well.

 

Cheers Matt

Matt, what's the procedure? take lights off car, whack in oven, take apart, polish with toothpaste inside and out?

How do you reseal to stop rainwater getting in after?

You can reuse the original sealant by reheating in the oven again or you can scrape that out and replace with black silicone.

To be honest I haven't put it back together again yet

but that is the plan this weekend, having put it in the oven once I've now got a feel for how long to get it to the right consistency.

honestly if I can do it to get my 20yr old sup one step further away from chavdom anyone can,

any q's you got do a search or put in here and me or someone will answer I'm sure.

I got lots of info just browsing around and also here was useful for the actual splitting, http://mkiv.com/techarticles/headlights/index.html

Other materials can be used but bang per buck, hand polishing with 25p a tube toothpaste takes some beating.

hth,

Matt

Quick run-down of the process:

Heat lights in oven

Split lights (clips & sealant)

Clean up inside / outside of lens

Paint inner if wanting to "facelift look" the insides

Heat up both parts of light (lens & housing)

Push back together fully

Back in oven for sealants to merge back together

Clips on

Unfortunatly with any splitting of headlights on any car, there is a element of risk that a tiny gap is left in the sealant & moisture can get in, but usually if fine if they havent been split too many times.

Hmm I should apply to start offering this as a service with the amount of times ive gone through this process myself & ran through for others >

Halfords rubbing compound is very good for this job. Cleans the yellow staining straight off. It's in the paint section for about £3 a tube I think.

I found with mine most of the staining was on the outside. I would clean the outside off first mate.

Cheers guys. Great help and support

I was lucky enough to pick a set up that were already split, just need to put them back together now :-)

Where in yorkshire you from mate?

Lucky you. Shipley.

Huddersfield here, Shipley is not too far from my uncle's house in Nabwood.

Not too far apart at all then.....even in Huddersfield!

Did mine, not hard at all just take your time, key is the heating up, good luck.

When I get my car running we will have to have a mini get together.

I might have a set of refurbed lights for sale by then if you have not already done yours.