Headlight downgrade question

My '04 headlights are cloudy and pretty much beyond further repair. Currently have the xenons (presumably) since I have the washers within the assembly. Acknowledging the halogens are inferior, is it still worth considering downgrading to the halogens assuming I can find a new set for a decent price relative to the xenons? Are the two assemblies readily swappable, or would rewiring be needed IF I downgraded to the halogens?

Have you had the lenses sanded and polished yet?

I have been trying to sand and polish my headlights with little success. I have tired the Mother's restoration kit. I tried sanding down and finishing with 2000 grit wet sanding and polished with orbital polisher and plastic polish fluid. Also tried polishing with paint polish and just a polish pad. Can't get them clear and shiny again. So the polish part is really hard.

Have you tried clear coating at the end?

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They have been done one time quickly (not by me) but the improvement was temporary. Short term, yes sanding/polishing may help, but after getting some painting touchups, the lenses will definitely be cosmetically the worst part of the car.

I tried that once without sucess. I also had someone from Dr Headlights come over and do it, didn't turn out great. I have ordered the Dupli-Color headlight restoration kit so I'll give that a try and finish off with the UV clear coat. Sorry NJS_04_996, didn't mean to jack your thread. Sanding is possible, but I have not had success with it. I'm thinking of buying a new set of headlights for my MKI.

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not a problem...what did you try w/o success- interchanging headlights, or just the sanding/polishing as you have described?

sanding/polishing the headlights. I haven't tried interchanging them. I thought the headlight assemblies were complete, so the litronics come with the ballast inside the assembly and they only connect with one plug. So I would think they could be swapped. But I don't know, I'm just assuming here so don't take my word for it on interchangeability

I have seen amazing things with headlight restoration. If you got nothing to lose, the go really aggressive with sanding. Get the 3M kit with the 500 grit paper or go to the store and get 400, 800, 1200 grit. Be aggressive and I bet you can fix them. There is a post here somewhere where Particlewave (headlight guru) sanded of a full millimeter or 2 to remove the amber lens and he made it shine.

The key to a good restoration is the finish coat. If you need something easy and DIY, a 50/50 mix of Helmsmans Spar Urethane and mineral sprits works pretty well. There are tons of DIYs online. Unfortunately, the process of removing the old UV coat is very time consuming. In order to get an even finish, all of the old UV coat must be removed. This will require aggressive sanding, which will in turn require more fine sanding. Once you get down to 1500 grit, you can go straight to the urethane coat, no polishing needed. If you just polish them, they will yellow and haze again very quickly. The UV coat must be replaced. Sanding it off sucks, though Because of how time consuming it is, I don't usually offer this service. Sanded, 700, 1000, 1500... And urethane/mineral spirits mix applied.

Not on a Porsche, but shows you that it can be done. I used 1000 grit, 1500 grit, 2000 grit, followed by rubbing compound, followed by plastic polishing compound. Very pleased with results.

Mine were pretty fogged and yellow, had a pro do it after trying it myself and they came out looking brand new. He said it would come back in a few months unless I had them cleared or covered so I found a tint company local to me that ordered a pair of headlight covers (can't remember the brand). It's guaranteed not to yellow for years and it's super thick stuff (protects against chips/cracks). It's been about 3 months and they still look brand new. I'm pretty pleased with the results and it was a fraction of a single assembly.

I have been restoring headlights professionally for several years now. We are now starting to see the failures in some of these restoring systems, specifically the sealant or coating that is applied to the finished lens. I have used most of them and they have performed great in the short term. Many of the coatings are new technology so there has been very little long term feedback...until now. I am starting to see customers return after the 1 year mark with previously reconditioned lenses starting to yellow again. Even using dedicated products like Opti Lens, the lenses are still failing over time. The failures are much more prevalent in Porshce's and Corvettes since the lenses are almost horizontal and are exposed to more UV. However, I don't always know if my clients are protecting the lenses on a regular basis with sealant or at least some form of wax. Post polishing maintenance is a huge deal. Sealant should be applied everytime the car is washed. It doesnt take much time to do. With that said, my cohorts in the industry have found that the only product that has proven successful is a dedicated clear coat that is sprayed on. Lenses treated with clear coat are the only ones truly holding up over time. Of course, every car is different and some are kept in garages or not exposed to the elements for extended periods. Those lenses may last a bit longer with the sealant type of coatings. But, there is no permanent solution except to buy new lenses. It is a matter of chemistry. Long story short, the sanding and polishing process will absolutely produce great results if done correctly. I will only be using clear coat from now on as my clients expect positive results. Clear films are also showing a few years of success as well. Just my .02.

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I haven't read up lately but wondering if there have been any updates on "lifetime" sealants like CCquartz and such that you know of?

I have noticed that a lot of marketing materials from the manufacturers are more guided to "semi-permanent" instead of permanent these days. Here is my issue with coatings from a customer standpoint. CQuartz, OptiGuard, 22PLE, etc are fantastic. But, they do attact surface contaminents just like paint will. The customer has exceptional beading and hydrophobic properties for 6-8 months then sees the appearance of degradation. The coating is still fine but there are now surface contaminents attached that affect the hydrophobic properties. A simple clay bar treatment will restore the coatings abilities and appearance. Too many detailers have been marketing the coatings as apply and walk away with no maintenance. The coatings abilities have been grossly oversold. They still require maintenance for them to be effective. All of my cars wear CQuartz or Opti Coat since I do find them easier to maintain, I like the look and they do have slight scratch resistance. I hope that answers your question is a roundabout way.

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I agree with this too. Thanks!

Well. looks like the question of whether the halogen and xenon assemblies can be swapped gets a reprieve (although I would still like to know!) - I currently have my car in at the paint shop to paint the mirrors and bumpers, and while there was some discussion last week about replacing vs polishing the headlights prior to Schatzi's "checkin", they went ahead and worked on the headlights and it came out very nicely. So replacing them has been tabled for the moment. However this thread does bring up the question- should I go ahead and clear coat them? We don't drive the car often at night, and wife said she would forego using the headlights in the daytime as DRLs (I sometime use only the fogs for DRLs), so maybe a coating could last a bit longer? (the painter said the clear coat could be subject to blistering from heat from extensive headlight use) What do you think?

If it were me, I would have them clear coated. I just can't see the DRL's causing a major heat issue. UV rays exposure is the bigger concern. The cost of clear coating is peanuts compared to new or even used assemblies. My previous 996 was a Canadian spec and the inner, horizontal lens is what got toasted. Over watt bulbs didn't help either. Any heat from the DRL's should theoretically stop at the inner lens.

The car doesn't have DRLs per se....so my wife would use the Xenons in the daytime, and has noted how hot the lenses get when using them. Hopefully, using the fogs as DRLs should be a bit cooler and not contribute substantially to aging the coating. But I think I'll go ahead call him in the morning and ask for them to be clear coated.