how to clean your j spec headlights

this is my first attempt at doing one of these so please be forgiving

also if the spelling is bad i'm sorry..oh and can MOD put this where it belongs please.

Right lets do it,

(step 1) remove the headlights,there are many posts on how to do this.

(step 2) you will see some gold clips around the headlight holding the lense in,remove these by using a flat blade screwdriver in the middle of the clip and twist(you'll see what i mean).

(step 3) using a hot air gun heat up around where you can see the lense going into the headlamp backing, keep the heat on the backing rather than the lense part as the bakcing is more forgiving to the heat,you may see the sealer start to bubble, or look as though its melting thats enough for that area and move along utill you have done the bottom of the light.

(step 4) using a large screwdriver or a wide chisel you will see where the clips were a slanted bit of plastic, place the chisel there and twist the backing should start to move away from the lense part, if not reheat and try again..try and keep a large area heated and then move along slowly with the chisel or screwdriver prising away the lense. do this slowly as not to damage anything. eventually with heat and prising the lense and the reflective part will come away from the backing.

(step 5) you should now have the lense with the bulb surround in one half and the backing and bulb holders in the other.now you will see a small philips screw, undo this and carefuly remove the bulb surround(i found that where the screw is if you pull the lense slightly away the surround comes past the screw hole and out quite easy) you will now have a surround and a lense that you can clean from the inside.

(step 6) to clean the lense i used 3m finesset wich is a non silicon non amonea based very fine finishing compound,but if you know of something else use that! i used wax to clean the shiney bulb surround and the main beam reflector(in the backing).

(step 7) after cleaning up the lense and reflective bit replace the reflector back in the lense and replace the screw(put someware so it get dusty)

(step 8) take the backing and you will see all the horrible sealer that has now gone very hard...using the hot air gun heat up the sealer being careful not to warp the backing and using the philips screwdriver clean out the channel for the lense to go back in(don't foget the two square lugs that the reflector sits in you'll see them on the backing) you don't have to clean it all out, just enough so the lense will go back in..

(step 9) using the windscreen sealer run a bead of sealer into the channel that you cleaned and place the lense back in place pressing all around firmly,replace the clips and clean off any excess sealer..stand back and say god i'm good and have beer

i have put pics up but they are crap and i was not going to take the lights apart again...hope this helps someone as it took a while to write

well done m8,nice bit of info

Nice one buddy, did this a while ago using bits of help from other threads, but top marks to you for combining it all into one comprehensive guide!

wooohoo... weekend project here i come

Oh yes, that's a good job. I'm always impressed when people take the time to do pics + captions.

Nice one mate. This Saturday's project all lined up now. A trip to B&Q to buy the compound and sealer now.

i tried to start this thread in the FAQ section but got a screen telling me i did not have permission???

Did my lights last w.end, took about 4 hours, went for the oven option!! as others have mentioned... the g.f. face was a picture when she saw me putting a headlight in the oven instead of a chicken!!

Did my lights last w.end, took about 4 hours, went for the oven option!! as others have mentioned... the g.f. face was a picture when she saw me putting a headlight in the oven instead of a chicken!!

lol how did they look when they came out?

Its hard to see the difference in the phot, i'd done the passenger side one when this phot was taken, the phots don't do it justice, the drivers side didn't come out as well, though still come out far superior to it's previous state! i believe it's because the drivers side had more crazing and scratches to begin with!

i used t-cut and a plastic/perspex polish for the rear window in a convertible (bought from halfrauds all for about £11.00) you can get better products and use very fine sandpaper, i just didn't have the boll**ks to use it. Im happy with the results all the same. Definitely got rid of the yellowing, and even the neighbour said half way through that it was a big difference.

I reccommend doing it, take your time and use the guide, it may take you less time, i didn't use a guide. Good luck

Great job 'loopy, good write up! This sort of thing will be very useful to alot of members

Michael, I can see clearly.. ones messed up the other you can see through!

Cheers mate. Did mine this morning with a mate and must say it deffinately sharpens them up. Not taken the yellow tinge to them out but has taken the cloudiness out. Before and After pics attached - Best if opened side by side and flicked between quickly, can really see the difference then. We went for the oven method which worked fine.

nice to see you all helped by my post whenever i do some work on the car i'll take pics and if any good will do more how to posts

Why is this not a sticky?????? just taken me hours to find it lol ....

so glad i have, im going to be busy this weekend... anyone know where to buy the 3m stuff and windscreen sealer????

great guide!!!

thanks

n00b

Did my lights last w.end, took about 4 hours, went for the oven option!! as others have mentioned... the g.f. face was a picture when she saw me putting a headlight in the oven instead of a chicken!!

Did the chicken taste of plastic ?

Agree, this should be in one of the FAQ's or the future Wiki. Its a little different to the way I did mine, but will be very helpful for reference.

i've done a few sets of lights now, but thats a good guide and should go into the how to guide for sure, well done

excellent write up dude! Have polished up the outside of mine so far which alone made a huge difference, will be doing the indside when I get more spare time. What's with this 'wax' for the insides? as in normal car wax? Can you use regular silicone sealent to reseal them after?

hehe this threads from 06-06-2005 ... i love bringing the dead threads back to life muwahahahah

n00b

Can you use regular silicone sealent to reseal them after?

Can't answer the Wax question but I didn't need any silicone sealant to reseal the lights. All I did was to read all sections of the light in the oven until the original sealant was quite soft. Immediately remove them, reseal and clip back together.

After over 1 year they've not shown any sign of condensation.

Can't answer the Wax question but I didn't need any silicone sealant to reseal the lights. All I did was to read all sections of the light in the oven until the original sealant was quite soft. Immediately remove them, reseal and clip back together.

 

After over 1 year they've not shown any sign of condensation.

what did you clean/sand/scrub them with homer?

and where did you get it from?

n00b

what did you clean/sand/scrub them with homer?

 

and where did you get it from?

 

n00b

I used 1500 grit paper, followed by tcut glass cleaner, then a dremmel felt polisher. It's not the best finish but still looks the same 1 year later - its certainly a lot better than the yellow lights I had before!

The 1500 grit paper & tcut cleaner was from Halfords, the dremmel stuff from B&Q

How hot doe sthe oven need to be? going to try this today but don't want to melt the lights!

as low as poss, just keep turning it up slightly to soften the sealant, imho electric ovens are best for this job.

How do you get rid of the yellowness?