Headlights Peeling

I never heard of this. Where exactly is the peeling occurring, inside the clear lens or on the reflector surfaces?

 

.. i'll assume you mean the clear lens on the main headlamps. there's a headlight posish that's basically a rubbing compound. take the buffing wheel to it and it will be clear and shiny very soon.

 

Maybe try to find replacement from local junkyard?

 

The coating is already compromised.

I'd get a headlight polishing kit, polish them properly, then seal them regularly with 303 aircraft protectant. It protects against UV damage.

I've read here on the Forums that it's quite good.

Best wishes,

Frank

 

Actually there IS a thread on PC showing how do take the whole shebang apart, even though it's a sealed unit. I'm heading out the door for nashville in just a few hours, or I'd post the link. If you find it your self, you COULD spray a UV protectant on the inside of the plastic lens. I got this nifty spray I use on our Sunbrella material for market umbrellas, our outdoor grill island, our boat cover, etc. It's actually made to spray on canval/sails ... but i find it's great for other stuff. Good luck !

.

 

wow this never happened to any of my toyotas, it sounds very weird. the best thing you can do is remove the lense from the entire headlight assembly wash it down clean and wet sand with 1200 grit sandpaper, then use some good clearcoat to seal it from the UV rays, it will look almost better than new.

 

I recently had a windshield replaced, and bumper and hood repainted due to gravel damage. The body shop listed "headlight polish" as a repair item. I didn't think my '06 lights were that bad, but they sure look good now. My wife's 96 Outback has severe yellowing and hasy lenses on the headlights. I tried plastic polishing compound, and even rubbing compound (rated safe for clear coat), but didn't make much difference. I bought some headlight polish from Pep Boys last weekend, but haven't tried it yet. I got the Rain-x product, which was cheaper than Mother's or Meguier's, but according to the Pep Boy that I talked to, was the best.

This seem to be a problem with lots of modern cars, but I never noticed a Prius that looked as bad as my wife's light covers.

 

When you say "peeling" what do you mean, do you physically see something peeling off of the lens itself or it it just blotchy and yellowed in spots?

I have heard from some that Toyota/Lexus headlamps do not have a UV coating.

In any event the headlamps simply need to be polished and perhaps wetsanded if they are really extensively bad. If you aren't comfortable doing this yourself then a competent detailer can do it for you for a reasonable price. I would coat the lenses in a clearcoat afterwards because otherwise they will just yellow again.

This is really no big deal and the lamps don't have to be replaced. The lamps on my '04 that sits outside 24/7 are just ever so slightly starting to yellow at the top corners. I got out the buffer, a cutting pad, and some compound and the yellow polished up great. Right now I'm just sealing them but if they yellow again I will spray them with a layer of clear.

And DO NOT use 303 Aerospace Protectant on the headlamps. It is for plastic and vinyl trim...not for clear plastic. It could stain and cloud the lenses.

 

Thats why you need to apply the coat of clearcoat. The clearcoat has UV protective qualities to it. At least one of those kits, I think its called "ClearView" includes the spray can of clear.

And...eventually they will yellow again. This is a maintenance item...

 

We had 3M clear bra applied to our two Prii and the installer put that stuff on the headlight lenses as well. I wonder if that will keep them from yellowing or peeling. So far, so good.

 

That will help too actually.

 

Are you sure your dealer didn't put some after-market 'protectant' on the entire car -- and maybe that's what is coming off?