Thread: D4 headlight care

I use Plexus Plastic Polish on my motorcycle helmet visor & the polycarbonate windscreen on my bike, and it's great. No scratches & cleans the crap off very easily.

I think I got the last can off eBay from memory.

Just had a look and this is one of the listings:
161361669467

Does Vuplex work on headlights with that surface abrasion? I've been quoted $400/headlight to rub them back and recoat them so am interested in DIY alternatives. But in my experience there's a lot of snake oil out there...

tooth paste and/or cut and polish

Originally Posted by rocket rod

tooth paste and/or cut and polish

Yeah, but that's the easy bit. The hard bit is finding an appropriate UV protective coating that lasts longer than a year or so if your car lives outdoors. I've had 2 years from a UV stable acrylic lacquer, but that's about it.

Originally Posted by BradC

Yeah, but that's the easy bit. The hard bit is finding an appropriate UV protective coating that lasts longer than a year or so if your car lives outdoors. I've had 2 years from a UV stable acrylic lacquer, but that's about it.

Yes - I gather it's the coating that wears off? And then the plastic/polycarbonate is unprotected. Mine sadly does have to live outdoors...

Did the acrylic lacquer perform ok in headlight terms and would you say it's worth it, or is it now a new headache to remove and reapply?

Originally Posted by Stuart02

I've been quoted $400/headlight to rub them back and recoat them so am interested in DIY alternatives.

Cheaper to just replace.

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Originally Posted by Stuart02

Yes - I gather it's the coating that wears off? And then the plastic/polycarbonate is unprotected. Mine sadly does have to live outdoors...

Did the acrylic lacquer perform ok in headlight terms and would you say it's worth it, or is it now a new headache to remove and reapply?

I don't know that it wears off, but it certainly stops protecting the underlying plastic from UV. I've done a couple of our cars, and others for family members over the years. Initially we rubbed back the headlights with wet and dry, starting with 800 and progressing to 2000 to remove the oxidised surface before applying 2 coats of lacquer. The headlights looked like new. After a couple of years they started to oxidise along the top edge, so I rubbed them back with 2000 wet and dry again and re-coated. I found the lacquer degrading rather than the plastic that time so it was a relatively quick and painless exercise rather than having to sand away the oxidised plastic surface the first time.

I haven't done the lights on the D3 yet, but as they are now looking pretty ratty and someone has fairly viciously keyed the lens on the passenger side light I'm looking at doing the same thing, but I was toying with prepping them and having a panelbeater apply a proper UV resistant 2 pack. As the D3 lights are so easy to remove and work on I'll probably end up just using acrylic. Like anything, nobody ever said "Gee I wish I hadn't spent all that time on prep".

I've looked at the PowefulUK replacement lenses, but at ~$400/pair landed and with an unknown around any protection they have and longevity I've been a bit reticent to try them. The UKs idea of Sun and ours is slightly "different".

Originally Posted by 101RRS

Cheaper to just replace.

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Yeah right, thanks - It's a good thought although I'd love to hear from someone who has bravely and successfully cooked their headlights to loosen the adhesive and get the old lenses off! (anybody?)