Headlight up-keep and more...

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BBoyd

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Ok so my headlights have the infamous moisture problem, but that is not what this post is about.

One of my fog lights has become hazed and crappy looking due to neglect by the previous owner. Now, I have read this article http://www.lincolnsonline.com/article19.html and I was wondering if anyone knows of a simpler way to get that one fog light to look new again. That seems like a lot of work to just restore one light. And i'm not sure that I like the idea of taking sandpaper to anything on the outside of my LS. There has to be some miracle chemical that I can just spray on and buff off right??? Does anyone have any ideas/comments on this.

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On a completely different note. I have a 2000 LS and the other day some guy was asking me about my car. You know features, specs, the usual. He said so is it an 04 or an 05. I said, its a 2000 with 80K miles. He was like WTF??? It looks brand new!

Stuff like that is my motivation to be as meticulous about my carcare (see picture below). I do have better stuff that I could be doing, but honestly I would rather be washing, waxing, vacuming, polishing, or just riding in my Lincoln Luxury Sedan...
:L

DSC00067-A.JPG


DSC00068-A.JPG
 
I was not aware of that article but I basically did the same thing. Short of buying a new set good ol fashioned elbow grease is the only cure.
 
BBoyd said:
Ok so my headlights have the infamous moisture problem, but that is not what this post is about.

One of my fog lights has become hazed and crappy looking due to neglect by the previous owner. Now, I have read this article http://www.lincolnsonline.com/article19.html and I was wondering if anyone knows of a simpler way to get that one fog light to look new again. That seems like a lot of work to just restore one light. And i'm not sure that I like the idea of taking sandpaper to anything on the outside of my LS. There has to be some miracle chemical that I can just spray on and buff off right??? Does anyone have any ideas/comments on this.

-------
On a completely different note. I have a 2000 LS and the other day some guy was asking me about my car. You know features, specs, the usual. He said so is it an 04 or an 05. I said, its a 2000 with 80K miles. He was like WTF??? It looks brand new!

Stuff like that is my motivation to be as meticulous about my carcare (see picture below). I do have better stuff that I could be doing, but honestly I would rather be washing, waxing, vacuming, polishing, or just riding in my Lincoln Luxury Sedan...
:L
Click to expand...
You could try several different things. One way to go to make it look a little better would be to take some rubbing compound and put some elbow grease into it and see what you can rub out. Then maybe try a lighter compound and work on it some more. I had good luck doing this with mine after i bought a new one for the other side. Otherwise, I would consider taking some 800 grit sandpaper and wetsanding it. Then, I would use some clear coat and apply several coats. I think this would work. I did did this to my sidemarker lenses but painted them black before i cleared and it looked great!
 
DLS8K said:
You could try several different things. One way to go to make it look a little better would be to take some rubbing compound and put some elbow grease into it and see what you can rub out. Then maybe try a lighter compound and work on it some more. I had good luck doing this with mine after i bought a new one for the other side. Otherwise, I would consider taking some 800 grit sandpaper and wetsanding it. Then, I would use some clear coat and apply several coats. I think this would work. I did did this to my sidemarker lenses but painted them black before i cleared and it looked great!
Click to expand...

So using wet sandpaper will not scratch the lens? Only remove the oxidation?
 
I actually started out at 800 grit due to the heavy pitting and worked my way up to 1400 and then moved to a liquid compund. Did it all by hand but they look great now.
 
BBoyd said:
So using wet sandpaper will not scratch the lens? Only remove the oxidation?
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Well, it will put a dull finish on the lens, but if you use a light enough sandpaper, it shouldn't do too much damage. But, eL eS has the right idea.
 
I would suggest against using a polishing wheel. Do it by and and take your time. The final product I used was scratch out.

I had a contour svt and the plastic headlight lenses had a bad habbit of hazing up and I used the same steps on them as I did on my fog laps. My neighbor now owns my old SVT and I have another neighbor with a GL model. We just cleaned the GL this past weekend the SVT is going strong with 18 months since the last poslishing.
 
I'm sorry to get off topic but from seeing those pictures bboyd posted I wanted to bring it up. I am so paranoid that my car is going to get messed up (faded, oxidized paint, yellow headlights ect) because it is an outside car. If I could I would build a garage but I do not have the space in my driveway for one. Is keeping a car outside really that bad? I want my car looking the way it does now, 3 or 4 years down the road. one more question bboyd is that you everyday car that you strap down in the yard like that?
 
keep it out from under trees, wash and wax it frequently and you should be ok. Black and red loose color the fastest. The piment breaksdown much faster but with proper care you should be able to prolong the inevitiable.
 
Thanks for all of the input guys. I guess I will not be lazy here and just do it the right way.

Yep, that is my everyday car. I cover it when I get home and uncover it before I go to work. Its a little inconvenient, but its worth it to me. The canopy keeps the rain and bird $h!t off, and the cover protects the paint and keeps her looking clean. Its probably not as good as being in a garage but its the next best thing, plus I don't have a choice. The garage you see next to the canopy is occupied by a convertible Mercedes; and the two door garage that is connected to my house is occupied by a GMC Envoy and a Ford Explorer with an alleged leaking roof. I say its BS, but I am only staying in this place for the summer so I got out voted.

I say if you wax your LS pretty regularly and try to keep it out of direct sunlight as much as possible your paint will be fine. Also avoid parking under trees. Tree sap is a bit annoying to get off, it requires much elbow grease. My biggest problem is bugs on the front bumper and side view mirrors, dents and scratches. These things are only really evident to me and you can only see these blemishes if you are right up to the car. But, I notice them and it bothers me. A new paint job may be in my future.
 
BBoyd said:
Thanks for all of the input guys. I guess I will not be lazy here and just do it the right way.

Yep, that is my everyday car. I cover it when I get home and uncover it before I go to work. Its a little inconvenient, but its worth it to me. The canopy keeps the rain and bird $h!t off, and the cover protects the paint and keeps her looking clean. Its probably not as good as being in a garage but its the next best thing, plus I don't have a choice. The garage you see next to the canopy is occupied by a convertible Mercedes; and the two door garage that is connected to my house is occupied by a GMC Envoy and a Ford Explorer with an alleged leaking roof. I say its BS, but I am only staying in this place for the summer so I got out voted.

I say if you wax your LS pretty regularly and try to keep it out of direct sunlight as much as possible your paint will be fine. Also avoid parking under trees. Tree sap is a bit annoying to get off, it requires much elbow grease. My biggest problem is bugs on the front bumper and side view mirrors, dents and scratches. These things are only really evident to me and you can only see these blemishes if you are right up to the car. But, I notice them and it bothers me. A new paint job may be in my future.
Click to expand...
I am seriously considering a car cover how fast can you put on and take off that bad boy. and how tedious is it....if anyone cares im thinking of getting this one: http://carcoversdirect.com/custom_c...=624_1&qualifier_id=7&material_name=Evolution
 
stateproperty3423 said:
I am seriously considering a car cover how fast can you put on and take off that bad boy. and how tedious is it....if anyone cares im thinking of getting this one:
Click to expand...

Same one I have, works well and takes around a minute on and off.
 
stateproperty3423 said:
I am seriously considering a car cover how fast can you put on and take off that bad boy. and how tedious is it....if anyone cares im thinking of getting this one: http://carcoversdirect.com/custom_c...=624_1&qualifier_id=7&material_name=Evolution
Click to expand...

takes about me about 2 min to put it on, a few seconds to take it off. That is the same car cover that I use. It is a pretty good cover, only thing is that if you have it on your car and it rains, it leaves water spots. Nothing too bad, but kind of annoying. As you can see from the pics, you can solve that rain problem with a canopy.
 
hm the damn thing said it was water proof. I guess all of them would do that though unless its was a rediculously expensive one.
 
stateproperty3423 said:
hm the damn thing said it was water proof. I guess all of them would do that though unless its was a rediculously expensive one.
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing, but if you notice how carefully they choose their words:
"Naturally Moisture Resistant - Acid rain, industrial pollutants, tree sap and bird droppings will not harm the fabric."

moisture resistant - a paper towel is moisture resistant to a point...
 
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