Inside Yellow

[kenb81]

How do you remove the yellow from inside the lens?
Do you remove the headlight assembly? Or just the plastic lens? How do you reseal?

[GlassStarz]

A lot of times that iside yellow is really outsde and ts the reflector making it look like its inside if you sand more it comes off I know that yellow in Vermont came from the salt on the road I bet you have the same thing there I see a different type of damage here in Fresno that comes from the 40 plus 100 degree days they have with a lot of pollution

[Deacon]

Hi guys. Have any of you ever encountered a headlight that looked like this? It appears to have turned amber all the way through the polycarbonate. I hit it hard with 400 grit on the metabo and I was well into the plastic and it was still amber. I decided to go ahead and finish it out (did'nt want to go through the plastic). I also used a bleaching agent, with no luck. It came out clear and shiny, but still amber. This was an 02 Pontiac Sunfire, not that old of a car. The lens did have a crack in it, right in the center. I wonder if that had anything to do with the amber color? The other headlight had been replaced. Anyway, comments or suggestions please. Sorry about the lousy picture, I haven't figured this stuff out yet. This is a before shot, but the color never really improved.

[Kgobin]

Headlights discolor from various types of road debris and it becomes trapped in the pores over time, leading to discoloration of the lens. In addition, the polycarbonate is a hydrocarbon and it oxidizes over time with the exposure to heat and UV rays from sunlight. The oxidation results in the lens discoloring to a dull brownish/yellow tint. You said that there was a crack in the center of the lens, so in my opinion the lens is discolored on the inside. I have encountered this problem once and the only I was able to fix the problem was to remove the lens from the headlight assembly and restore both sides of the lens.

[harrellbenjamin]

Just curious what kind of lens you cleaned the inside of??? Most seem to be sealed units.

[Kgobin]

A 90 model GMC lens that I got from the junkyard. I encountered that same problem so I decided to remove the lens from the assembly and restore both sides.

[t4k]

A 90 model GMC lens that I got from the junkyard. I encountered that same problem so I decided to remove the lens from the assembly and restore both sides.

And you were able to get sealed again for use?

[Kgobin]

I did not re-seal the lens after restoring it but I have read how to do it and the process seems fairly simple, but I will try it on Tuesday May 26th when I return to work.

[harrellbenjamin]

I think in the case of that 90 GMC or most any lens if you have to split a factory seal to repair , a replacement would be cost effective.A pair aftermarket is less than 125.00 a pair.Big waste of time and really not worth the time and effort.I have yet to see one that can not be fixed from the outside.Maybe I am just lucky ...

[Kgobin]

I agree with harrellbenjamin that it is a

big waste of time and really not worth the time and effort

and that a replacement should be recommended. Keep in mind this was part of our in-house testing. We try to duplicate all of the situations that our customers and members of the forum encounter.