Clean INSIDE Of Headlights!? It Can Be Done! - 6SpeedOnline

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Cayenne 955/957 Porsche's SUV up to 2011. Cayenne, Cayenne S, and Cayenne Turbo message forum. Community Links Pictures & Albums Members List Go to Page... Clean INSIDE of headlights!? It can be done! Reply Subscribe Thread Tools Rate Thread Apr 20, 2016 | 04:25 PM Share Share Options #1 Wecnside Thread Starter | Registered User Joined: Sep 2013 Posts: 7 From: Ohio Rep Power: 0 Clean INSIDE of headlights!? It can be done! So my '08 CTT came with roached headlamp lenses. Oxidation and yellow outside were laboriously restored, which was a process in and of itself, but then there was the inside crud...annoying haziness ruining my work. After tons of research, I found a guy that had used methanol inside plastic lenses on a restore, some other brand auto. I tried it and it worked amazingly well. BUT FIRST...read about methanol and flammability and safety using it. Gloves, good ventilation, no smoking, etc. SECOND- it must be ultra pure methanol (>99.9%), or you risk getting H2O mixed which can give water marks. THIRD - no substitutes or you are way on your own. Ethanol WILL DESTROY THE PLASTIC (YouTube it and see). FOURTH - I was at a point of paying $2,000 for replacement or laboring 4-6 hours and paying for restoration kits outside and methanol inside. Desperation brought me to this. 😊 Outside headlamps I used one Megiures kit plus one 3M kit. I had to sand about ten minutes at each grit level with corded power drill. The outside was near perfect but the grunge inside the lenses spoiled it. I followed the following plan. Know, too, that I had a professional lense restorer tell me he couldn't help me...& I got them to near original. I poured about 6-8oz of 99.95% methanol with Pyrex cup and inverted the lense sloshing it around gently for about a minute. I then siphoned as much of the methanol out with gas siphoning setup that I got at DrugMart. Position the headlamp with the lense perpendicular to the ground and let the remainder evaporate. It will take about 2-3 days to fully dry, but you can plug it back in once there is no pooling of methanol. Read about methanol safety and keep it far from flames. It worked for me. Saved me about $1850! Sloshing the methanol gently around. Ready to pour methanol into housing through bulb opening. Siphon tube in headlamp housing getting as much methanol out as possible No less than 99.9%!!! After... After... Reply Wecnside View Public Profile Find all posts by Wecnside Apr 20, 2016 | 08:33 PM Share Share Options #2 KTI Registered User Joined: Nov 2015 Posts: 48 From: Southern California Rep Power: 12 I was considering removing the lens off the headlight unit with a heat gun to soften the adhesive, polish and clean it. While I'm at it paint the interior of the headlight unit black then reassemble. Blacked headlights http://content3.eu.porsche.com/prod/...D0002_huge.jpg http://content3.eu.porsche.com/prod/...X0002_huge.jpg Was there dirt and particle in the headlight unit? So the methanol removes the haze inside the lens? Reply KTI View Public Profile Find all posts by KTI Apr 21, 2016 | 08:48 AM Share Share Options #3 Ducatista Registered User Joined: Jan 2012 Posts: 30 From: DC Rep Power: 15 Awesome job. Do you have any before pictures? My GTS headlights have slight hazing which annoys me when I detail it. I will have to give this a try. Where did you purchase the methanol? When you siphoned out the methanol after sloshing was the fluid very dirty? Were there any leftover particles or residue? Reply Ducatista View Public Profile Find all posts by Ducatista Apr 21, 2016 | 10:02 AM Share Share Options #4 Juanna Knowtrooth Registered User Joined: Dec 2015 Posts: 44 From: ohio Rep Power: 12 Additional info... I got the methanol on Amazon: Amazon.com: Torco RC Nitro 100% Methanol gallon: Toys & Games Amazon.com: Torco RC Nitro 100% Methanol gallon: Toys & Games A few little particals were present on the one side and floated, so when I siphoned they got sucked right out. The methanol visually didn't change appearance. The second headlight had particals after adherent to the lense, so I repeated the wash, making sure to keep the remnant solvent clear of the front lense once I siphoned it. I may have gotten even better result with repeat wash on the side I did once, but it's really good and I didn't feel like repeating it. Unfortunately I don't have good before pics, but they were easily as bad as this: Mine were like this... After the outside restore, I realized that inside was hazy, grungy. I took pics to try and show it, but it is very hard to photograph... I'll post those pics in another thread reply... Reply Juanna Knowtrooth View Public Profile Find all posts by Juanna Knowtrooth Apr 23, 2016 | 09:55 AM Share Share Options #5 Brainz Registered User Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 31 From: Houston Rep Power: 15 Wow. Very interesting. I've heard the silver paint is very delicate. I guess it's unaffected by the methanol? Your results are impressive. Reply Brainz View Public Profile Find all posts by Brainz Apr 24, 2016 | 08:04 AM Share Share Options #6 Wecnside Thread Starter | Registered User Joined: Sep 2013 Posts: 7 From: Ohio Rep Power: 0 After pics Quote: Originally Posted by Brainz Wow. Very interesting. I've heard the silver paint is very delicate. I guess it's unaffected by the methanol? Your results are impressive. After. I noticed no change in the silver. It looks basically new. I'm so pumped! Reply Wecnside View Public Profile Find all posts by Wecnside Apr 24, 2016 | 08:11 AM Share Share Options #7 Wecnside Thread Starter | Registered User Joined: Sep 2013 Posts: 7 From: Ohio Rep Power: 0 One additional point... Pointers for future attempts: 1. I would remove bulbs first...simple to do and takes seconds. Potential there to needlessly damage one. 2. I could have removed methanol more easily by inserting paper towels in behind the Xenon component where there is a large area...a communication from inside the lense to this area is under the focusing lense. 3. Having an assistant is always a help. 4. i may have treated both sides 2-3 times...but remember that the enemy of good is better. 5. I would have done it a long time before now...I'm still amazed how they turned out. Reply

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Wecnside View Public Profile Find all posts by Wecnside Apr 24, 2016 | 11:00 AM Share Share Options #8 Brainz Registered User Joined: Nov 2013 Posts: 31 From: Houston Rep Power: 15 Nice. So this can clear the foggy haze from the inside of the lens? I've had ok success polishing the yellow from the outside of the lens, only to have there be a haze/fog on the inside that spoiled some of the results. Looks like I'll have to give it a try. Reply Brainz View Public Profile Find all posts by Brainz Apr 24, 2016 | 02:52 PM Share Share Options #9 Juanna Knowtrooth Registered User Joined: Dec 2015 Posts: 44 From: ohio Rep Power: 12 Before pics... I forgot to post these. The second picture shows decently the grunge...it's where the exterior light source is reflecting. The after is the same area which is grunge free. Inside haze accentuated by external light source Streaks and water run lines Haziness...very noticeable to naked eye, difficult to image. Reply Juanna Knowtrooth View Public Profile Find all posts by Juanna Knowtrooth Jul 20, 2016 | 05:21 AM Share Share Options #10 JAVIERSPAIN Registered User Joined: Jul 2016 Posts: 4 From: Madrid Rep Power: 0 Perfect It worksThank you very much Reply JAVIERSPAIN View Public Profile Find all posts by JAVIERSPAIN Nov 15, 2016 | 09:47 PM Share Share Options #11 8202632 Registered User Joined: Aug 2015 Posts: 42 From: Memphis, TN Rep Power: 12 Thanks for your post on this. I did mine a couple of weeks ago with similar results! Reply 8202632 View Public Profile Find all posts by 8202632 Nov 17, 2016 | 02:47 AM Share Share Options #12 compositeguy Registered User Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 50 From: Dallas Rep Power: 20 As far as the outside goes, how do you keep it in good shape? I had a pro come out and do it and it looked decent (still issues inside). But after about a year, it looks bad again. Maybe you have to repeat it frequently? Reply compositeguy View Public Profile Find all posts by compositeguy Nov 17, 2016 | 06:12 PM Share Share Options #13 Porscheman33 Registered User Joined: Feb 2016 Posts: 405 From: New York Rep Power: 36 Quote: Originally Posted by compositeguy As far as the outside goes, how do you keep it in good shape? I had a pro come out and do it and it looked decent (still issues inside). But after about a year, it looks bad again. Maybe you have to repeat it frequently? You need to add a sealant/ clear coat of some sort. Or Have it done again and then have the headlights wrapped in a clear bra. Reply Porscheman33 View Public Profile Find all posts by Porscheman33 Nov 23, 2016 | 09:58 AM Share Share Options #14 Zuffenhausen955 Registered User Joined: Jan 2014 Posts: 247 From: Palm Desert, CA Rep Power: 22 Next Question: Where do I get the "good" methanol? Will SLX Denatured Alcohol be a viable substitute? Reply Zuffenhausen955 View Public Profile Find all posts by Zuffenhausen955 Nov 23, 2016 | 10:00 AM Share Share Options #15 8202632 Registered User Joined: Aug 2015 Posts: 42 From: Memphis, TN Rep Power: 12 this is what I ordered https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Reply 8202632 View Public Profile Find all posts by 8202632 Thread Tools Show Printable Version Rate This Thread Excellent Good Average Bad Terrible Rate Thread You have already rated this thread Rating: Thread Tools Show Printable Version Email this Page Advanced Search Reply Closed Thread Share

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