MOT failure - obscure headlamp lenses

[mikeonb4c]

Of course!!! Forgot all about brasso. Ideal as it works on CD scratches. Well done!

[Coolhand]

Just checked my headlights as the Bongo is booked in for an MOT on Tuesday. One is OK but the drivers side lense has a horizontal band of of what I first thought was condensation but on closer inspection looks like a sticky residue on the inside of the lense. Is this the same problem that is being discussed here?

Not sure whether it is opaque enough to fail the MOT.

How easy is it to get access to the inside of the lense to clean?

[jaylee]

Double post.
I knocked this one flat!

[jaylee]

Hi Coolhand,
My problem was on the outside of the lens there was what looked like old sticker residue mainly on the top half of both lenses.
I noticed it while i was cleaning the wagon a few months back.
About that same time this topic happened to come up on the forum, i also looked at products & methods on other sites.
Washing would not shift it, i was worried about T cut, & settled on nail polish remover (which someone mentioned on here).
It took a bit of elbow but they came up alright.

However, this issue didn't cause problems with the MOT for me.
They just always looked slightly mucky even after a wash!!

I believe its caused by road film & sunlight, some one else might know the exact cause...?

[Coolhand]

Mine wasn't on the inside in the end, on the outside .

Work in progress with Brasso which is cleaning the lense up.

[jaylee]

Mine wasn't on the inside in the end, on the outside .

Work in progress with Brasso which is cleaning the lense up.

Good news..!
It can give the appearance of cloud in the light unit.
I was gonna suggest training a couple of rodents to do the job from the inside.

[jaylee]

Whats known in the auto vallet trade as Richard Gere...!

[PeetieM]

Well, after a couple of hours polishing and a set of Ultra Xenon bulbs, I've got the pass.
Brasso was the stuff, but I have the feeling that the yellow will return. If so I will do it again and perhaps seal it after with something.

Pete.

[Bored Lizard]

I to have notices this, but I did notice that if I was carefull after preasure washing I was able to carefully peal sections off.
I do wonder if it is multiple layers of wax buiilt up over the years and not wiped off the lenses, whereas on the rest of the vehical it has of course been polished off

Cheers
Mark

[mikeonb4c]

Well, after a couple of hours polishing and a set of Ultra Xenon bulbs, I've got the pass.
Brasso was the stuff, but I have the feeling that the yellow will return. If so I will do it again and perhaps seal it after with something.

Pete.

Well done Pete. Fingers crossed it won't return but you'll know what to do if it does.

[Responder59]

T cut only!! Plenty of pressure and don't hold your breath!
Got about 75% improvement in light output. I kept going until I could see the bulb and it was definitely some sort of film.


Steve

[dobby]

The film comes back, I did mine last year and they need doing again.

[bigdaddycain]

This mystifies me does this!...Time and time again this crops up, i initially thought it was simply a case of a non U.V bulb being used in a lamp with a plastic lens...This seems not to be the case...SO what the fluffing heck is it that keeps coming back? And why are some bongo's completely clear of it, yet other's aren't?

And just to cap it off, i saw a bongo the other day with one headlight crystal clear, whilst the other was yellow!....

[jaylee]

This mystifies me does this!...Time and time again this crops up, i initially thought it was simply a case of a non U.V bulb being used in a lamp with a plastic lens...This seems not to be the case...SO what the fluffing heck is it that keeps coming back? And why are some bongo's completely clear of it, yet other's aren't?

And just to cap it off, i saw a bongo the other day with one headlight crystal clear, whilst the other was yellow!....

Do you think it has anything to do with Japanese smog?
I mean some Bongo's come from the city some from the country, i looked at a fair few bongo's before i found mine & some looked as if they had been used by News paper sellers.
When i asked why some of them apear to be a bit grubby on the trim, i was told smog in japan...
Having said that, i have found general maintenance in the cab can leave it's finger prints too..
I would answer the red highlighted by saying accident repair?

[mikeonb4c]

This mystifies me does this!...Time and time again this crops up, i initially thought it was simply a case of a non U.V bulb being used in a lamp with a plastic lens...This seems not to be the case...SO what the fluffing heck is it that keeps coming back? And why are some bongo's completely clear of it, yet other's aren't?

And just to cap it off, i saw a bongo the other day with one headlight crystal clear, whilst the other was yellow!....

Do you think it has anything to do with Japanese smog?
I mean some Bongo's come from the city some from the country, i looked at a fair few bongo's before i found mine & some looked as if they had been used by News paper sellers.
When i asked why some of them apear to be a bit grubby on the trim, i was told smog in japan...
Having said that, i have found general maintenance in the cab can leave it's finger prints too..
I would answer the red highlighted by saying accident repair?

I've wondered this jaylee. Acid rain would etch plastic. Was tehre some kind of protective 'sacrificial' layer applied in order to protect the headlamp plastic. BUT, if so, why has it become dificult to remove. Without seeing a victim of the disease (which I haven't) close up, I'm a bit unsighted (truism?)