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Headlight Fogging repair (Long)
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Posted by joe carbonaro [Email] (more from joe carbonaro) on Sun, 27 Nov 2005 05:37:54 Share Post by Email
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After trying many of the suggestions posted in SAABnet for cleaning fog from my 1988 SPG headlights, I ended up removing the glass lens from the reflector assembly.

Note that I needed to do the disassembly on just one of my headlights. The other light was cleaned using distilled water and a few drops of liquid dish detergent (Polmolive). The solution was poured into the lens assembly and swished around by rocking the assembly. Distilled water was used to rinse the remaining detergent out. I used a mix of distilled water and rubbing alcohol for the final rinses. That lens came out looking great.

The glass lens is glued into the plastic reflector assembly using a very "rubbery" silicone adhesive.

I used an Xacto knife to slowly slice through the sealant by moving the knife along the joint between the glass and the reflector frame. Take your time on this. When you have broken the seal all the way around the lens, you can carefully use a small screwdriver to gently pry the lens from the remaining glue. Slice the remainder of the glue while prying with your screwdriver.

The fog inside the headlight actually "etched" the glass, much like what see see happen to an old drinking glass run many times through your automatic dishwasher at home.

I used a combination of light abrasives (toothpaste, polishing coumpound, rubbing compound) to remove almost all of the etching. Simple alcohol, dish liquid detergent and distilled water weren't enough to remove the fog. I finished with a windshield cleaning compound called Strip It.

Reassembly required cleaning the remainder of the sealant from the lens and the reflector frame. Don't touch the mirror finish of the reflector. It it extremely easy to scratch.

I used a clear silicone sealer to assemble the frame to the headlight.

OK. The whole process took about 2 hours. I probably could have found an acceptable replacement at a recycling (junk) yard, but I always enjoy the opportunity to fix something instead of just throwing it away...

Joe C.

88 SPG
85 900T

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