How to: Clean the Headlights

Having owned my car for two and a half years, I thought it was about time I undertook my first real cosmetic modification. Late 80's and early 90's Hondas have headlights which are covered with a clear coating which eventually begins to turn yellow. Often this coating starts to come off completely and can lead to difficulty getting a Warrant  of Fitness and just doesn't look right.

You need:

*Various grades of wet and dry sandpaper, I used 400, 600, and 1200

*Can of Clear Coat spray paint, I used Dupli-Color 'Auto spray' Part number: DS117

*Brasso, Jif or cut and polish.

*12, 10mm Sockets

*Flathead and Philips Head Screwdrivers

*Rags

*Water

 

You can either do this with your headlights on or off, and if you take them off you have the choice of taking the lenses off or not. My headlights were full of moisture so I decided to take them off and open them up. You can also make your fog lights brighter by removing the glare guards in front of them, you need to remove the lenses in order to remove the two screws holding the glare guards in. Some people remove the glare guards with the lenses still on by breaking them with a screwdriver, this sounds far to dodgy to me.

Please note this if for my JDM Integra which has one piece lenses, there may be more or fewer bolts for US models which have 2 piece lenses. If someone writes up the removal method for the US models I'll paste it in here. Email ME

To remove the headlight you have to first remove the bumper, follow the instructions on my resonator removal page here: Bumper Removal

There are two bolts underneath each light and three above, undo these and remove the plugs from the bulbs. Remove the bulbs and keep them somewhere safe, DO NOT TOUCH THE GLASS of the bulb as this will weaken them. The headlights will pull out now.

With the headlights out, there are two ways to get the lenses off if that's what you want to do. The lenses are held on with glue which needs to be heated to come unstuck, some people use the oven method where you heat them in the oven until the glue softens. I didn't have a big enough oven since they are 1 piece lenses so I had to use the hairdryer method.

First give your girlfriend some money and send her on a shopping spree so you can steal her hairdryer. You need to remove all the spring clips holding the plastic clear lens to the headlight by using a screwdriver. There is also a phillips head screw on the end. I found it best to use a flat head screwdriver and jam it in the side of the light, point the hairdryer at the end of the screwdriver so it heats it up as well as the area around it. Move the screwdriver along slowly prying the lens from the headlight. Only pry a small bit at a time DON'T TRY TO DO TOO MUCH  or force too hard or you will break the lens.

I found the inside of my left headlight was corroded slightly due to the moisture, the right hand one was fine. With the plastic lenses off you can begin removing the old clearcoat, start with 400 grit dry then wet, then 600 dry then wet then 1200 dry then wet. Sand the whole area, remove all the clearcoat and TAKE YOUR TIME. Once you are confident you have done the best you can, finish of the bare plastic by giving it a rub with brasso or similar.

Now make sure they are completely clean and dry. Find an area free from dust, cat hair, leaves etc. It might pay to wear a hat to stop a stray hair ending up in the middle of your headlight (seriously). Spray the clearcoat over the whole lens in THIN coats, if you do it too thick it will drip and ruin everything. I did about 6 coats on each, just follow the instructions on the can.

Let them dry for a long time, don't be tempted to see how dry they are by sticking your finger on them. Once dry, give them another buff with brasso if you want, that is what I did and they turned out really shiny. I also removed the glare guards on the fog lights by undoing the two phillips head screws.

Use some silicon sealant to stick the lens back on, make sure you don't miss any gaps or you will get moisture inside. Replace all the clips and the screw. Replace the bulbs and bolt the lights back into the car once the silicon is dry. You will probably need a headlight alignment afterward but this can be done for free at your WOF place.

Remember this whole process can be done with the lights on the car, but you have to watch your paint and you won't be able to remove moisture from inside or the glare guards easily.

 

 

This website has been gradually growing since I started it in early 2002. Originally I was simply documenting modifications and repairs to my car but I decided to publish it when I began to discover others were interested in the information. If you need help or have a how-to relating to Honda B series VTEC engines, or DA or DC2R Integras you can
email me.

While all care is taken to provide correct information, mistakes are occasionally made and I cannot be responsible for any damage that occurs to readers vehicles.