Faded head lights

[runaway parents]

Any body tried 3m rubbing compound on there old faded  head lights?

[Big5er]

I wet sanded mine and they looked great....for a short time. Basically once they reach the point, they are done, in my opinion. I just replaced mine...finally.

[jenandjon]

I have tried several different things. None of them work. I even had a body shop try on one vehicle. Within a coupe months they were foggy again. Aftermarket headlights are cheap enough I am going to replace mine some day. I don't drive at night so I don't care if they are yellow. I just haven't gotten tired of looking at them yet.

[Moresmoke]

Wet sand down to 5000 grit, then polishing compound. Yes they will continue to yellow. I’ve tried aftermarket lights and they yellowed too.

[Wrknrvr]

 I polished mine twice. But they faded again.

 

 Three years ago I sanded them with 400 on front and 220 on the side edge for clear coat to stay in place. Still looks great.

 I have paint equipment with me and had clear coat also. Did another set at the same to save time on labor. He sold his truck so I cannot say what his looks like.

 I did use regular clear coat, not rattle can. But Napa may be able to help with rattle can clear coat.

  Safe Travels,.   Vern

[hone eagle]

new one's are on sale now in Canada ,perhaps in the U.S. as well $599 CDN a set at the dealer ,factory I believe.

 

The only way to go ,because when they are done   they are done.

 

unless its a clean up for selling

Edited September 11, 2019 by hone eagle

[Nuke-E]

If you polish, you have to replace the UV coating that you've stripped off, otherwise you will be right back doing it again.  When the housings were several hundred dollars a piece, I thought it was worth the effort, but with reasonably good aftermarket housings available for ~$300/set, you're probably better off just replacing them. 

I'm a fan of the replacement housings from Depo--they're a good enough housing for the money.  They have a slightly different contour over the top which would make polishing a bit easier if you ever wanted to in the future, and the rest of the components are similar to stock, including the ability to upgrade the projectors.  But be VERY careful ordering online--it's not uncommon to see listings with either the original equipment part numbers or Depo part numbers where the actual parts are a no-name variety with inferior components. 

I'd recommend either buying from Amazon here, or ordering from Advantage Truck Parts in NC (website is currently down, otherwise I'd post a link).  I've run across people that have bought lights at truck dealers where the dealer has used a Volvo box (presumably left over from installing a set for one of their customers) and sold them with cheap housings instead.  Make sure that the Volvo logo is present on the lens if you're buying OE, or that the Depo logo is present if you're buying those--open the boxes before you walk out the door!  Don't get the cheap lights at the premium price.  I've not seen any restyled replacements with LED turn signals, halos, etc., where the quality matches the basic housings--especially when you consider that they're more expensive, less reliable, and can't be serviced.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Nuke-E

[Sculptor]

I hope this is it.  https://www.advtrks.com/new-parts/

I take my truck there for both service and parts.  Pricey, but good deals on batteries and coolant.

[Nuke-E]

13 minutes ago, Sculptor said:

I hope this is it.  https://www.advtrks.com/new-parts/

I take my truck there for both service and parts.  Pricey, but good deals on batteries and coolant.

Yep. That's the place I was referring to. Unfortunately the guy I really liked dealing with in parts got promoted, and no longer does parts sales.  Seems like his replacement hasn't been able to keep the online storefront going...