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3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001) Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001 Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.

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Old 01-30-2008, 10:39 AM   #1 (permalink)
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3rd Generation how to clean headlights

I bought some stuff at kragen that its supposted to clean the headlights. But they are still yellowish and dirty. how can i clean them? thanks
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Old 01-30-2008, 10:48 AM   #2 (permalink)
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wetsand and polish
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Old 01-30-2008, 10:50 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Wet sand with 1500. Wetsand with 2000. Polish with mothers polish. I heard mothers mag polish works great on headlights too. You can also use meguiars plastix
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Old 01-30-2008, 10:54 AM   #4 (permalink)
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If the problem is on the outside, you can clean them up pretty nicely with Meguiars PlastiX or other polishes, but it takes some time and elbow grease. I spent at least a half hour on each lens doing multiple applications on mine and they weren't as bad as some I've seen to begin with. If they're really bad outside, then yeah, wetsand first then polish.

If the problem is inside, there are posts on the forum detailing how to bake your headlights open and clean the insides as well. Just do some searching. For me, if it came to that, I'd just buy new headlights.
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Old 01-30-2008, 10:56 AM   #5 (permalink)
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I used my toothbrush and toothpaste... Worked just fine.
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Old 01-30-2008, 11:37 AM   #6 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eddie926 View Post
If the problem is inside, there are posts on the forum detailing how to bake your headlights open and clean the insides as well. Just do some searching. For me, if it came to that, I'd just buy new headlights.
At $300 a pair on average for new headlights, I think it would be a wiser choice to try and clean the old ones first
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Old 01-30-2008, 11:39 AM   #7 (permalink)
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I wet sand with 800 1000 2000 then polished it with 3m. after polishing with 3m polish I used some nail crystalizer and spread on the entire lens then after the nail crystalizer is dry I spray on some clear coating 2 protect the lens and they look just like new.

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Old 01-30-2008, 12:21 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IvanHoe View Post
At $300 a pair on average for new headlights, I think it would be a wiser choice to try and clean the old ones first
Is that dealership pricing?

I can buy brand new DEPO clears with clear corners included for $130 on eBay for a gen3. For gen 3 or 3.5 you can get regular replacement headlights on eBay for $40 a piece.

I would definitely try cleaning them up as best I could before I bought new ones. That's why I offered advice on cleaning, and mentioned the threads on baking them open. As I said, I cleaned mine up and am happy with them for now.

All I was saying is that for me personally, I'd probably buy new off eBay before I would mess with baking mine open. Just a personal choice between time/hassle and money.
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Old 01-30-2008, 12:26 PM   #9 (permalink)
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do you have a buffer? Use it with the meguires. Let me find the vid on how to do it... posted by one of the venders here.

When I did my civic lights, I did the wetsand and clear coat method...try what I post first.

Posted by a member by the name of PolishandWax

Here you go:

http://video.google.com/url?docid=-7096474108600349975&esrc=sr5&ev=v&len=452&q=polish andwax&srcurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch %3Fv%3DnYRCZZ8eiuk&vidurl=%2Fvideoplay%3Fdocid%3D-7096474108600349975%26q%3Dpolishandwax%26total%3D1 1%26start%3D0%26num%3D10%26so%3D0%26type%3Dsearch% 26plindex%3D4&usg=AL29H20gTVkroVDvHYqEbHnIUrCg-pREBA

http://video.google.com/url?docid=-8...1KqI-TGM773DDQ
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Old 01-30-2008, 02:03 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IvanHoe View Post
At $300 a pair on average for new headlights......


HaHaHa!! Sorry..but whoever pays that much for new headlights for our cars....is a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
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Old 01-30-2008, 02:15 PM   #11 (permalink)
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^^^ hahaha..
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R.I.P. Black95Camry..
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Old 01-30-2008, 04:50 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xtremeskier97 View Post
HaHaHa!! Sorry..but whoever pays that much for new headlights for our cars....is a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
on .com, the Solara lights were $142 a side....but I went on eBay today and I see they are half that price and include the side markers as well!!........Way way cheaper......maybe the quality of the ebay ones are shit, but still
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Last edited by IvanHoe; 01-30-2008 at 04:51 PM.
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Old 01-30-2008, 04:54 PM   #13 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IvanHoe View Post
on autowarehouse.com, the Solara lights were $142 a side....but I went on eBay today and I see they are half that price and include the side markers as well!!........Way way cheaper......maybe the quality of the ebay ones are shit, but still
I bought DEPO clear bumper lights for my '95 Camry, and clear corner lights that were not DEPO. The quality of the DEPOs seemed somewhat better than the quality of the clear corners that were not DEPO brand. Neither one seemed to be quite as good quality as the factory parts, but they certainly weren't junk. I'd say they were only slightly less quality. For the difference in price, I feel they were a MUCH better deal. I would assume aftermarket headlights would be similar.
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Old 01-30-2008, 05:35 PM   #14 (permalink)
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If they are plastic.. Plastic-x from Meguiar's....
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