Hey guys, so I was trying to get some adhesive off on my headlights, and I found some goo off sitting in the garage. I put some on a cloth and rubbed away, and within seconds I saw the hazy cloud and noticed that it ate away part of the plastic off the headlight. I've been searching trying to find a way to get this fixed.. but I didn't really find much. I googled as well and found out that some people were "wet sanding" but were saying that later on the headlight could turn yellow. If any of you guys know a way of fixing this, all the input would be appreciated. I'm not** trying to drop a whole lotta $$$ on a new headlight.. I do have less than 36k on the car and I was thinking about somehow getting them to replace the headlight, but not sure how I would approach them :/

Thanks in advance!

 

huh, didn't think goo off could eat through the headlight lense. Isn't that stuff usually safe on most surfaces? Maybe its the headlight material.

I would suggest wet sanding then polishing it. Dunno where you heard that it could turn yellow. Anyone know if this is true?

 

ugh... I used it once on some plastic & it had a chemical reaction with the plastic... Started smoking & everything... There's a warning about it on the bottle.

There's a meguiar's headlight restoration kit that might work. once you're done with it, buff it out with some wax & an orbital buffer & see what happens.

Do you have pictures?

 

Here is what it looks like..



and this.

 

no prob man, take it to any good detail shop, theyll have it looking brand new again, promise, about $20 here in SC, not sure what they charge there, all theyll do is wet sand it etc...and your good to go...like 5-10mins of work, or u can try yourself but theyll have it like new again

 

Yeah just wet sand it and you'll be fine. I'd recommend some 1500 grit or something along those lines. Then after you wet sand it for a good while, use some rubbing compound and just rub it all over the headlight. It'll look like brand new! Did it on my headlights about a month ago and they look great.

 

I'd try a adhesive remover before I would do any wet sanding etc.
Best stuff I've used is 3-M GENERAL ADHESIVE CLEANER PART # 08984.
This cleaner is used by body shops to remove 3-M tape(which is pretty tough stuff!).
You can buy it at auto body/paint supply stores.Some auto parts places may handle.
Comes in a qt. can.
This will work.

 

i use goo be gone on several set of my headlights and i didnt get any hazing. are they different products?

 

^ Yes.

+1 on the sanding

 

Woah woah woah! What you are seeing is the adhesive on the headlight, which you havent removed. Buy some Goo Gone and use it lightly with a microfiber cloth until the adhesive/glue is gone. You will see the glue gradually disappear and ball up, just wash it afterward to get back to a factory look.

 

Wait, I didn't read that he had adhesive on there before. If it is the adhesive, and not hazing like he said, then all he needs to do is rub a little WD-40 on it until the adhesive goes away. Then clean the grease off with soap/water.

 

wet sand with a 1000 grit then 2000 grit then use plastic-x with a power ball with a corded drill. your lights will look like new again. if its too screwed up buy cheap ebay 150$ head lights and switch the lens. gl op

 

Thanks for the input guys. And its not the adhesive you see thats the actual plastic... i rubbed the goo off where that piece of adhesive was in a circular motion.. i tried with my fingers to scratch it to see what it does.. and nothing.. im going to try and find someone locally to get it wet sand/polished and then recleared! thanks for the help!!

 

Also pay frequent visits to the "for sale" threads on here. You might come across a cheaper used set that will save you the work of restoration.
They make it sound like it is so easy to use the restoration kit. I did it on one of my vehicles but will never want to do it again

 

Zeemy, OEM factory plastic headlight covers have a UV resistant coating. Minor scuffs and such can be polished out with auto polish or ‘plastiX’ plastic polish. These won’t remove or rub all the way through the factory coating. However if you must wet sand the defects then you will remove the coating and ultraviolet light will quickly yellow the lens. 3M and other car care companies make special UV blocking sprays for this exact usage.

Double Horn makes one of the best polishing and restoration kits for use after wet sanding. It includes a good Sealant and UV blocking spray coating.

If you get a detailing shop to sand and polish your light make sure they also apply a proper UV sealant.

 

bust out the buffer and 2000+ grit sand paper...it will look as good as new.

 

goo gone, goo off, etc will indeed eat up head light lenses. depends on how long you put on it.

 

Goo Gone is what removes adhesives, glue, tape residue.

Goof Off is a paint remover, a destroyer of finished surfaces. It explicitely warns of using it on anything you don't want to ruin. I'm guessing this is another example of somebody not reading the instructions before use.

 

actually.. i did read the instructions, and it did say removes adhesive from plastic..

 

^ Regardless of all that, the label still warns you to test on inconspicuous areas first.

http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=93&prodid=181

Just chalk it up as a lesson learned.