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Thread: D3 headlight clarity & Bi-Xenon globes

  1. #1
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    D3 headlight clarity & Bi-Xenon globes

    Morning folks,

    my MY08 D3 is fitted with the adapative Bi-Xeon headlights. I have noticed they do not seem to be as bright / clar as they used to be.

    Have read that the Xeon globes can fade.
    I have noticed that teh headlights themselves appear to be losing clarity with a general milky dullness starting to show. I have read and think it was on the UK forum that they bake the headlight assembly in the oven at certain temp for a few minutes which cooks the impurities out of the glass.

    Have also ready of other applying some sort of goop and polishing them.

    Any thoughts as to the truth? Loking for some solid advice.

    thanks in advance.

    cheers
    P

  2. #2
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    I have a similar issue with my D3 where the headlight lens is starting to be UV affected. The common internet fix is to use an abrasive on the lens and then polish, however from what ive read using abrasives will remove the UV protetive layer in the plastic and it wont last nearly as long as originally before the UV fade comes back. I tried a meguirers product on one of my driving light clear covers and I wasnt impressed with the results. Tried a turtle wax headlight polish on my D3's lenses and it didnt really do anthing spectacular.
    Shane
    2005 D3 TDV6 loaded to the brim with 4 kids!
    http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members-rides/220914-too-many-defender-write-ups-here-time-d3.html

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    A friend just went through this on his wife's car. Bought a kit from autobarn, took the headlights out and followed the instructions. They look brand new, amazing.

    The kit's final step is to wipe on a self levelling uv stabilised coating.

    Previously he has just cut and polished but they dulled fairly quickly again.

    Time will tell on the longevity of the kit from autobarn, it was about $35 and was the dearer of the two on offer.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by inertia8 View Post
    A friend just went through this on his wife's car. Bought a kit from autobarn, took the headlights out and followed the instructions. They look brand new, amazing.

    The kit's final step is to wipe on a self levelling uv stabilised coating.

    Previously he has just cut and polished but they dulled fairly quickly again.

    Time will tell on the longevity of the kit from autobarn, it was about $35 and was the dearer of the two on offer.
    It will last no more than 12 months and then be worse than before hr "fixed" them. Its a temporary solution for anyone wanting to sell a car, the only real fix is new lights
    Discovery 1 4.6, true trac front and rear, superior engineering arms,old tourer now bush toy
    Discovery 4 3.0 HSE MY13 ECB Bull bar, winch, spot lights, aux fuel tank, Kaymar rear bar, duel wheel carriers, 18 tuff ant wheels 265/65/18 BFG KO2's for play

  5. #5
    BradC is online now Super Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by discomatt69 View Post
    It will last no more than 12 months and then be worse than before hr "fixed" them. Its a temporary solution for anyone wanting to sell a car, the only real fix is new lights
    Taking off the oxidation with wet and dry, then a couple of coats of UV stable acrylic lacquer works very well. Certainly lasts longer than the temporary "fix in a bottle", although I'm unsure as to how long as I've never had to redo it.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by BradC View Post
    Taking off the oxidation with wet and dry, then a couple of coats of UV stable acrylic lacquer works very well. Certainly lasts longer than the temporary "fix in a bottle", although I'm unsure as to how long as I've never had to redo it.
    That sounds like the Philips product, a few grades of abrasive paper then a polishing compound with application of UV treatment.

    Think I have found the D2S xenon globes I will be trying.

    OSRAM Xenarc Night Breaker Laser D2S | Xenon Headlight Bulbs Twin Pack | PowerBulbs

    Now for the H7 and H11

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by inertia8 View Post
    A friend just went through this on his wife's car. Bought a kit from autobarn, took the headlights out and followed the instructions. They look brand new, amazing.

    The kit's final step is to wipe on a self levelling uv stabilised coating.

    Previously he has just cut and polished but they dulled fairly quickly again.

    Time will tell on the longevity of the kit from autobarn, it was about $35 and was the dearer of the two on offer.
    Quote Originally Posted by discomatt69 View Post
    It will last no more than 12 months and then be worse than before hr "fixed" them. Its a temporary solution for anyone wanting to sell a car, the only real fix is new lights
    When I started in my last job, I was given a hilux ute that had seen better days as my company vehicle. There was nothing wrong with it - just need a bit of TLC and a bloody good tidy up. One of the first things I attended to was the headlights - they were very yellowish and milky in appearance - so much so that you couldn't see the globe inside them. I purchased a kit like the one described by inertia8 from the local Supercheap Auto and followed the instructions. A bit of elbow grease was involved, but the headlights came up looking like new. At the same time, I purchased and installed a decent set of LED hi/lo beam globes which both significantly improved the light output and quality and reduced the temperature at the lens. This is a mine-site vehicle, and is wired so that at least Low Beam is ALWAYS ON when the engine is running - I cannot turn the headlights off.

    That was over a year ago. I wash the vehicle regularly and occasionally give the headlights a wipe over with the same polish that I use on the paintwork. The headlights still look like new and perform as well as the day I gave them a birthday. Replacement of headlights is definitely not necessary - just find a decent product, use it properly and then keep on top of normal vehicle maintenance and you won't have a problem.

    The kit I used ..............

    Headlight.jpg
    Cheers .........

    BMKAL


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    thank m funny othes have rubbished that product. Mione are not that bad really, passenger side had the whole assembly replaced a few years back by LR under warranty.

    Drivers one is I'd say maybe 85% as clear as the passenger side, maybe a bit better. I did try the tooth paste trick on the weekend, maybe a little better but I ran out of patience after 10 mins or rather my elblow did.

    As you can see the drivers side one has quite a bit of murkiness through it compared to passenger side.

    lights 1.jpg lights 2.jpg

    cheers
    P

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMKal View Post

    The kit I used ..............

    Headlight.jpg
    Thats the kit I used on my spotlight cover to test before I did my D3's lights - I didn't like the results and so didn't use it any further
    Shane
    2005 D3 TDV6 loaded to the brim with 4 kids!
    http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members-rides/220914-too-many-defender-write-ups-here-time-d3.html

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by shanegtr View Post
    Thats the kit I used on my spotlight cover to test before I did my D3's lights - I didn't like the results and so didn't use it any further
    I've never bothered trying to clean / restore a spotlight cover. If they get that bad, I throw them out and buy new covers.

    Headlights are generally not made from the same material as spotlight covers, so I would not be surprised to see different results.
    Cheers .........

    BMKAL


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