240 and other headlight covers

markvt · Post by **markvt** » 01 Feb 2007, 21:36

Has anyone ever tired the polish that's made to polish the headlight covers on cars like the 240's? Mine are not clear like they were years ago and i keep wondering if I should try the polish. Does it really help visibility?
Mark

LaRy · Post by **LaRy** » 02 Feb 2007, 13:45

If the headlights look a little bit smokey you can definitely polish the inside of the headlight glass. I've done it with my 740's, and the glass will look like new. The good thing is that you can take out the headlights and separate the glass from the reflector. You will find a thin film of dirt at the inside of the glass. You polish the inside with ordinary polish for windows and dry it with a hair dryer. Don't do anything to the reflector, don't even touch it.

markvt · Post by **markvt** » 02 Feb 2007, 14:45

Is it glass or plastic? I thought it was plastic. And...you polish the inside? I've never seen the direction, but I guess i assumed that it would be the outside that would be polished.
Mark

LaRy · Post by **LaRy** » 03 Feb 2007, 01:52

Your question made me start thinking. Could it be differnt with the headlights used in USA. You have the twin beam type and I have been polishing the European "big headlight". The European type is made by glass and I have been polishing the inside, giving good result.

markvt · Post by **markvt** » 03 Feb 2007, 07:02

Maybe some other listers can help us with this, but I think my US versios are plastic. And, I assumed that it was the outside that needed polishing. They just begin to fade and gloss over.
Incidently, we don't talk much on how good the Volvo headlights are. I'm not sure about the other models, but my 92 240 has about the best headlights of anything that I have dirven. The Ford products here are terrible. Chrysler is also poor and General Motors is a little better. My 240 is still better than my Mercedes.
I tried putting off road-high wattage bulbs in my Ford a few years ago and it didn't help things at all. Seems that the wattage isn't as important as the optics in the lens or headlight cover.
I would be curious to know others' experiences in this area.
Mark

Post by **billofdurham** » 04 Feb 2007, 10:27

For several years I have had caravans and motor homes with plastic/acrylic windows. These are prone to scratching so, after much research, I started using a brass cleaner (wadding type). This was successful in reviving the windows but took an awful lot of energy.

I have now progressed to Xerapol plastic polish and Fenwick's Windowize plastic/acrylic polish. Both are extremely effective and I know that Xerapol is available in the US. I'm not sure about Windowize.

I have used both on the plastic lenses on the rear lights of the 850 and, without too much effort, have cleaned off all scratches and ingrained dirt. I won't say they are as good as new but there is a definite improvement in the light emission.

Bill.