thanks. Its just nasty! REAL bad in person. I would try those cleaning kits but I have heard a thousand horror stories. I dont know

EDIT: The yellowing was there before I bought it, so I know it was not a reaction from the paint/reseal

from the looks of things i would suggest opening the headlight and cleaning the inside very well and reseal it. That would be the only way to clean those water marks that you get. I would also suggest placing one of those desicant paks inside the back of the housing just to absorb any moisture that may get back in. That is what I have to do to one of mine.

I think he is more concerned with the yellowing that is going on. Im curious as to what causes this and what can be done to combat it.

if it is the yellowing that is just oxidation buildup on the lens. a good cleaner should remove it. if it is really bad and pitting has occured then a more agressive approach is needed like a lens repair kit that uses sandpaper. either way once you have repaired/cleaned the lens you will then have to protect it. The best thing I have found is to use a quality cleaner or clay bar to remove any imperfections and then protect it with a quality wax just like you do your paint. :tup:

Dang that would suck if it is on the inside though. I wouldnt want to take my lights apart every time it happens!

yea I actually bought it like that. I guess Ill give it a try when I get a chance. No moisture on the inside that I have ever noticed though so hopefully thats not the case, even after I opened em.

Yesterday I was working on fenders and realized if you had moisture in the light the easy way to fix it is to undo the front fender shroud and open the access lid. You can leave it off until it drys out or use a blow dryer and put the lid back on.

The oxidation Kellys right, would have to open the lights up. I tried cleaning mine when they were apart but that oxidation didn't come off. Any Ideas on what type of products to use?

I used everything I had except sand paper..

I have some stuff from Zaino that we can try. we will give it a try the next chance we get.

I would still like to know what is causing it. Any ideas? The lights on the other car have been modified for over two years with no yellowing. I dont want to take my lights apart every few months to try and fix this if it happens.

Edit: I wonder if it is some kind of fume put off from the heat/paint materials and then it stains the plastic?

usually the yellowing only occurs on the outside of the light. a combination of contimates that you do not see on the paint but can feel. that is why when you clay bar you find the most contaminated part is usually the front. on clear items like headlights it shows better

May be fumes; I put 4 coats of clear on those blue lights, man it smelled good!

I may be able to help out here, I do professional headlight restoration as a side business, I've done around 30 sets of headlights now. I learned on those $20 kits from discount auto parts and you're right, they suck. Here's why.

Your headlight comes from the factory with a coat of UV protectant solution applied to the top of the plastic lens, something like a very hard wax. This keeps the UV rays from the sunlight from oxidizing your plastic lens (as far as I know, this isn't a problem with glass lenses, but then again they shatter and scratch very easily :shakes head:). This UV clearcoat will last for a very long time if your car is garaged, but if it's out in the sun all the time or you're parking it in the driveway like mine :( then after a while your headlights are going to oxidize and you're going to have to refinish them.

The reason the kits are crap is because they only get rid of the oxidation, and they don't provide a good clearcoat for you to reapply. What you really need to do is remove the UV clearcoat completely, even the part that's not damaged yet, and then using 4-6 grades of progressive sandpaper re-smooth the lens and buff it out. Then you want to apply a good quality UV clearcoat, not just something off the shelves of the auto parts store.

The problem is that it's hard to find just a small, affordable amount of the quality stuff. I use the 4.1 system for all my headlights and I absolutely love it, but it's about $90 for the 8oz bottle. There's a lot of other ones out there, like C2P or Shinebright, but they all have drawbacks that I don't like to deal with. For me, the 4.1 stuff has worked really well.

So for those of you that want to do this yourself, here's what I suggest doing:
Start sanding with 320 sandpaper. You have to get all the way through the clearcoat, and you will be able to tell that you've done this when the powder from your sanding starts turning a little bit whiter. That's the actual plastic lens you're sanding then. Do the whole headlight like this. Then you want to repeat the process using 500, 800, 1200 and/or 1500, and then finally a 3000 pad, wiping the lens down with a microfiber cloth or terry cloth between the 1200/1500 and 3000. If the 3000 pad doesn't completely clear up the lens of all scratches, then you can use some Meguiare's PlasticX or some kind of polishing compound. After this you should have a crystal clear lens, and most of my customers are amazed at how much better it looks and try to give me money right then, but you're not done. This is where you apply your UV clearcoat. The 4.1 system is pretty much self leveling, so I just use a blue shop towel that's dirt and lint free and wipe the stuff on there. If you aren't using a UV clearcoat, then I would suggest a coat of wax and a pass with the claybar every single week. I don't know how long they will last like that. I used the auto parts store kit on my mother in law's lights when I first started about maybe 6 months ago, and they are worse than they were before.

Another option that you have that includes a little down time is you can ship them to me, I'll restore them for you the right way, and then I ship them back to you. I recently did a friends G37 lenses for him, he lived about an hour and a half away, he overnighted just the lenses to me while he was doing pretty much the same mod that Nut_n_Much did, and I got them back to him 3 days later.

I hope this helps you guys out. As far as the inside of the lens, I don't know for sure but I think that would be from putting the headlight together to quickly. You might need to let the paint dry a little bit more before you seal it back up. I've always been told 24 to 48 hours to let it air out before you seal the lens again, otherwise you can get a oily, yellowish looking hue on the inside from the fumes. You could probably take them apart and just use a good TSP cleaner or mineral spirits to cut through that stuff, then use a microfiber cloth to get it all shiny again :tup:

Here's a few pics to show you guys the difference :) (sorry for the crappy iPhone pics, I'm investing in a new camera soon)
VW Jetta Before
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0791.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0790.jpg

and after
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0792.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0794.jpg

Toyota Tundra
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0785.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0786.jpg

after
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0783.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0784.jpg

My S10 (RIP)
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33D2CF6C16.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33C3171410.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33DB4223D6.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33CE2F3C00.jpg

Scion tC
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33E98B80B7.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33EE14495D.jpg

Here's my wife's old headlights from her Civic that I was just playing around on to show people the difference, so please ignore the cracks and stuff. This one is purely for demonstrational purposes. You couldn't see into these things AT ALL. This is just to show that as long as plastic lens is still there, you CAN bring it back from the dead. I may use this as a demo lens for my sales pitches to potential customers :)
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0795.jpg

Nice work huck, but to me that looks like it is on the outside of the lens. The pictures Vichtz posted look like the haze is on the inside....maybe its just me.

Yeah I think you're right. That's why I suggested pulling the lens apart and using something that would cut through paint based haze, like mineral spirits. That and let them air out for a few days before putting them back together. All of the work I do is on the outside of the lens, I don't pull them apart unless I'm modding them :tup:

Yep, inside.. Your right about letting them sit and dry. Mr.&Mrs. lights dried for 24 hours.. I don't see why we couldn't do the same process inside..

I'll try it out when I redo my lights with XB's.

Because of the curvature of the inside of the lens, you may have to do it by hand as opposed to a 3" DA or the hand held hook-and-loop thing. If you do have to sand it down, I would only do the 1500 and 3000 grit sandpapers, I can't imagine you needing more than that.

And what's an xb?


Sent from my iPizzle using magic and new-fangled science stuff

So i have a hefty powersprayer, I may just blast the **** out of them then reapply a protectant. I'm about 95% sure its only on the outside, but I guess i'll have to see for sure

It is a style of halo he is putting new ones in.

Yep, Yep, I got a set for Kelly. Been trying to get him to let me mod his lights. XB is a brighter Halo that is thinner, gives off no heat, and is sealed with resin so the thick plastic ring is no longer needed.

I think you can get them now in some basic colors, Blue, Green, White Amber, etc. I ordered a set to use on Roberts, but they took to long to show up, he needed the lights asap so went with what he got.

Alright, Alright, I will pull out the headlights this week. May need your help not to break the front bumper. I want to get ready for the december shows.

Awesome! Finally...

Here are some pics of XB's: Morimoto xB LED Angel Eyes - Accessories from The Retrofit Source Inc :ohsnap1:

Just to double check...

So you order the 60mm for turn signal and 90mm for headlight

do these come with the lenses over the halos?

hahaha I was just about to link you to these exact same ones to get your opinion on them since you guys seem to be the experts. Taking apart the headlights, painting, and these XB's shouldn't be a problem, I'm confident I can do that. But I'll probably need you to go ahead and DIY a set of red demon eyes for me so I can copy that onto my car as well :rofl2: I'm planning on basically doing the blackout housing, dual halo's, new lenses and the quad projector look with red demon eyes in all 4 if I can. I'm not much for landing strips or anything...

i just got the shippment of the amber Morimoto xB halos and the lenses as well. I find it funny that the amber light rings are actually white, and the white light halos are yellow. Here is a preview:

You need 70mm instead of 60mm.

I Am in for results! I was thinking about doin amber or tinting mine purple when I do them. I'm definitely interested in the color look

sir,
90mm for the large shroud and 70mm for the turn signal. 70mm will only work with the turn signal if you modify the lens by inserting the g35 lens. Will not work with stock turn signal shroud. :tiphat:


Ya, they do have a yellow tint to them and there so damn bright... I like them because they fit nice and tight/thin profile.



Thats gonna be nice, demon in all four. These XBs barley give off heat, there thin and encased in resin so no need for plastic rings. A nice clean look.

something i came accross online that i thought would be useful for this thread. The retro fit source is not the only place to get the morimoto xb. This Aliexpress.com : Buy FREE SHIPPING, LATEST CHA MORIMOTO XB LED FULL BRIGHT ANGEL EYE DEVIL DEMON EYE, WITHOUT DARK SPACE, BRIGHTER THAN CCFL HALOS from Reliable LED ANGEL EYE suppliers on Guangdong CH Auto Parts Co., Ltd. site seems to have them as well in a couple of different color versions too. If anyone wants to do Red or Green halos this is probably your best bet. THey have them in 70-90mm as well.

Dare I say I started a new trend of halos? I think I was the first one to use the Morimoto xB angel eyes! :P nothing but compliments on the brightness and quality of these halos!

I dare say 180 has used them but yes sir, you have started a new trend:tiphat:... I plan on swapping mine out.. I got a 70mm set last week. +1 Rep for PaperBoy... Thanks brother..

finally got aorund to doing mine, night pictures really dont work that well, the orange with black is a more of a see for yourself type of thing:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...z/DSC02743.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...z/DSC02742.jpg
With headlights off:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps772c96c2.jpg
I think they turned out pretty sick blacked out entirely with orange morimoto halos. I used black gloss Krylon Fussion it reflects abit more of the orange light makes the entire headlight look like its on fire. Things i found that might be usefull for anyone wanting to do this:
- if you are too pansy to bake or box heat the entire headlight like me, you can still work at opening the headlight with the heat gun just going around it little by little. My tip start at the front bottom of the headlight then once you have the corner work the long top side of it, then the bottom and finally the boomerang. First headlight took 1:30 hours to open cuz i didnt know that. Second headlight only too 30min.
- the 2.5" lenses for the turn signal will have quite abit of a gap to the plastic, because you need to shave off more of it since the Morimoto Halos arent as thick. So use plenty of epoxy.
- I didnt really find information on what to wired them to anywhere but some random threat about doing an led strip here on the forum. When you open the headlight there is a small circuit at the bottom side, right next to the parking light. There are 2 LEDs on it. There are 2 cables running to that circuit you need to hook up your Halos and any other lighting you will have to those. Thats ofcourse if you dont want to drill a hole through the back of the headlight and run the cables outside and hook them up to any of the cables at the back as you please.

unexpected Problems with the mod:
- even thought i ligned up the lens and backside of the light as they were before i opened them and made sure the fit snug back on, my passenger side headlight has a bigger gap between it and the hood, then the driver side. I m not about to remove all the silicone and reheat it to adjust but do keep that in mind.
- For some idiotic reason now i have a Service Engine Soon Light on. Can't quite explain what headlights have to do with that but im hoping it goes away eventually or i'll take it to Nissan for a diagnostic.

Figured out why the service engine soon light was on. The computer in the car got bugged up. When unhooking and hooking the batery on make sure to do it smooth and in one go. If it makes contact and u drop it accidentally wait a bit before making it touch again. The computer stores some electricity for a small period of time and it will bug up if u give it short busts of electricity. How to know if thats the cause? If on start ur gauges except for the batery voltage one dont rev up before returning to the real values. Or any other odd combination of some of them doing it and others dont u know something is up. I also experienced windows rolling down to half way when i unlocked the car. So wierd electronics behaivior is due to computer buggs. To fix unhook batery wait for a minute to make sure its all discharged and hook it back on

that. looks. great.

Holy smokes! That looks amazing!

Man that looks good :happydance: . That color with the all black does look sexy :tup: . Your right about the wiring. I have a couple of sets to do over the holidays, I'll take pictures of the wire process. Posted some info below.

Man that looks good, great job. Its :shakes head: scary cutting all that stuff up for the first time. Especially making the gap for the turn signal halo to fit into the shroud when mounted. I was freaking out when I first did it. Looks great brother, really nice job :tiphat:.


Her you go, another way to wire it into the parking light from inside the housing with out drilling holes. I think Paperboy posted it. Mr&Mrs lights are wire to the parking light from inside the housing. The resisters are 3m double sided taped to the housing under the light shroud away from the heat.

I ran mine outside through a hole i drilled in the housing but used the same parking light wires only connected outside the light. I would try to not drill holes if you can avoid it. It was my first time when I did it.

Different Halos and Kits different color wires. One always ground & power. I tested mine on a battery to figure out which is which. The light harness wires inside the housing are.

Parking Light Wires:
Black - Ground
Yellow - Power
Blue - Turn signal I think

Or you run a set of wires out of the lights into the center console and route the power from the fuse block to a switch. One and off anytime you want. I am a lazy a$$ so I didn't do it, didn't want to pull the console apart or fish wires through the car.

:tiphat:

I just want to make sure that I understand before I start this project. If I just want to put the Morimoto Halos on the headlight, all I have to do is open the light, glue the halos on and wire it, correct? No cutting or shaving of the casing or switching of lenses?

nope. Open. EPOXY (no glue). wire. reseal. good to go. Good luck :tup:

That depends on how many halos u want to do. If you want the top halos around the turn signal u need to do the lense conversion. Which involves shaving the existing plastic to provide a surface for the ring to glue onto as well as the big plastic peice to make it fit snug. If u just want the big halo around the projector the n its a single hole and some glue and thats it

cant you just put the halo around the stock turn signal cone? or is it too big?

That is what I thought, I am just looking to do just the halo around the headlight. Thanks for the help everyone. Hopefully I will order the supplies soon and attempt it.