96 Caravan Headlites,,,Covers are YELLOW !

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Bob G. - 16 May 2005 15:00 GMT

My wife drives a 96 Grand Caravan...which now has 160,000 or so miles
on it...Van still runs just fine and looks fine....HOWEVER the
plastic headlight enclosers are now foggy and yellow... Not nice and
clear... Just looks bad..

I think I would have to buy a new complete headlight assembly to
fix them....not really sure ...but a quick search last evening showed
these things cost more then 200 bucks. each... way too much to spend
on a 9 yr old vehicle with all those miles...

Any solutions? Tried using Nexus Plastic polish..which is used to
clear scratches in aircraft windshields etc...with little luck...

Thanks
Bob Griffiths
.

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John Smith - 16 May 2005 16:22 GMT

> My wife drives a 96 Grand Caravan...which now has 160,000 or so miles
> on it...Van still runs just fine and looks fine....HOWEVER the
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> these things cost more then 200 bucks. each... way too much to spend
> on a 9 yr old vehicle with all those miles...

One of my co-workers has one of these vans with the same problem. He went
out and use acetone on them and made a huge improvement. I don't know where
he got the idea of using acetone, but it seems to have worked well for him.

> Any solutions? Tried using Nexus Plastic polish..which is used to
> clear scratches in aircraft windshields etc...with little luck...
>
> Thanks
> Bob Griffiths
> .

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Nosey - 16 May 2005 17:18 GMT

> My wife drives a 96 Grand Caravan...which now has 160,000 or so miles
> on it...Van still runs just fine and looks fine....HOWEVER the
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Bob Griffiths
> .

The polish creams only work on very light scratches and the spray can stuff
like Plexus is not much more than a cleaning product. They are intended for
daily cleaning and polishing so they can't be very abrasive. I've used
Micro-Mesh kits to remove heavy scratches on acrylic aircraft canopies with
great results. We had a young airman who once decided to scrape the frost
off of a stretched acrylic canopy with the metal polish can. It took him a
while to realize that he was destroying the canopy finish. The Micro Mesh
cleaned up all of the damage from that fiasco. Micro Mesh makes an
automotive headlight kit that I suspect will work very well.
http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/headlight_kits.htm
I've never heard of anyone using acetone until now. I haven't tried it but I
heard mag wheel polish works too so it might be worth trying first.

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Christopher Thompson - 16 May 2005 19:41 GMT

> > My wife drives a 96 Grand Caravan...which now has 160,000 or so miles
> > on it...Van still runs just fine and looks fine....HOWEVER the
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> I've never heard of anyone using acetone until now. I haven't tried it but I
> heard mag wheel polish works too so it might be worth trying first.

ive seen people sand the lens and spray some sort of acrylic over the lens.
dont know exactly what they used but the result was a nearly crystal clear
lens.

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b.clausen - 16 May 2005 18:52 GMT

Try ebay, I saw some new ones on there for around $150 for a pair.

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Bob G. - 16 May 2005 23:11 GMT

>Try ebay, I saw some new ones on there for around $150 for a pair.

Thanks.... to everyone

I went out today and used 1500 grit sand paper (wet/dry) on them
followed by Nexes No 1 paste then Nexes No 2 paste....
Actually worked rather well...(on the outside...)..

Now if I can find a way to get at the inside surface ....

Bob Griffiths

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LJB - 17 May 2005 15:33 GMT

> My wife drives a 96 Grand Caravan...which now has 160,000 or so miles
> on it...Van still runs just fine and looks fine....HOWEVER the
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Bob Griffiths
> .

Had the same problem with my 96 Ram diesel. My parts dude, talked me
into some Head Light Resurfacer/Restorer stuff made by Symtech Corp.
Cost $50 CDN. They say - 3 easy steps and less than 5 minutes to do. I
agree with the 3 easy steps but more like 10-15 minutes a light.
Worked great, they are now as clear as the side lights. They have a web
site www.symtechcorp.net. The insides of the lights are good. Good
luck, and no I'm not an agent or anything of the company, just a retired
diesel driver. LJB

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Wulfdog - 25 May 2005 20:20 GMT

I have personally used the Micro-Mesh with great results. I recommend it,
but you will have to take some time and elbow grease to get them shining.
That micro-mesh works on plastic car models or anything else that needs to
be shined or scratches removed. Would not recommend to use it on Eye
Glasses, Watch Crystals, or window glass, but works good on most everything
else.

> > My wife drives a 96 Grand Caravan...which now has 160,000 or so miles
> > on it...Van still runs just fine and looks fine....HOWEVER the
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> luck, and no I'm not an agent or anything of the company, just a retired
> diesel driver. LJB

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DW - 21 May 2005 06:41 GMT

Yes, I may be crazy, but try Colgate toothpaste in the bottle.

I used it and now I can actually see the lightbulb inside the holder!

The next night trip I took, I could really tell the difference/

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