How to Clean your Yellow Zenki (S14, 95-96 240sx) Headlamps

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

OK, so its been a while since I posted anything here, so I'll start again with de yellowing the Zenki Lights.

The reason for "How to Clean your Yellow Zenki (S14, 95-96 240sx) Headlamps" in the title is so that if anyone in the future searches for it, they can easily find it.

Ok, lets get started. Apart from being unsightly, cloudy/yellow headlight reduce light output, and since my eyes are bad anyways, I need all the light I can get.

Tools needed -Philips Screwdriver10mm socket wrenchSandpaper grits 100,220,320,400 & 600 (from homedopt)Novus 3,2,1 plastic polisher (from ebay)Bucket, warm water, dishwashing soap (for grease removal), washcloth.Elbow power and some patience.

Here are a few before pics.These were taken July 2005, but it got slightly worse since then.









Yellow enough for ya?

Well the first step is to get the suckers off.

1. Remove the corner lamps by taking out this screw, in the blue circle, then pulling the corner lamp out. Be careful here because the corner lamp is attached to the headlight by a ball and socket thing. If you pull at the wrong angle you'll break it like i did, so use a little WD-40 on it.

2. Now, remove the two 10 mm nuts, in the red circle.



3. Remove the grill by taking out the screws/bolts in the yellow circles. The grill comes off by pulling straight up. There are three tabs, green circles, that hold it to the bumper cover. Be careful not to break any off.4. Then remove the bolts in the red circles, use a 10mm socket.



The headlight can now be removed, but you have to remove the bulbs first. Rotate the black thingy counterclockwise, then squeeze the rubber connector that holds the lowbeam intact. The highbeam is easier, just turn it to unlock it. See image below.



Repeat for the other side and you now have a gap tooth grin!

Take the bulbs out of the housings and put then somewhere safe, don't touch the lens because the oils from your hand will cause a hotspot on the bulb which will shorten its life.

This is what they looked like on the kitchen floor. It's time to wash them, but be careful not to get any water inside.

Washed.

After washing is done, wetsanding takes place. This is messy so you may want to do it outside. I did it on the kitchen table but I covered the table with black trash bags. Start with the 100 grit and work your way to the higher/finer grits. Sand back and forth in one direction. Dip the sandpaper in water ever so often. I spent about 10 to 12 minutes on each grit of sandpaper, and I used 1/2 sheet of each grit for each headlight.

After the first sand with the 100 grit, they looked like this.

This is a fully sanded lens bbeside the untouched yellow. I must admit, the sanded headlight is smooth as new glass, but i was a bit skeptical about the lens clearing up.

Time to polish the units now. Start with the Novus 3 and apply it perpendicular to the direction you sanded. Basically, you're buffing out the mini scratches you left with the 600 grit. Once it hazes over, wipe it off with a clean piece of cloth. Move on to the Novus 2 and appy it in a circular pattern. Wipe off the haze when done. Lasty, the Novus 1 is sprayed on and buffed off. Very nice!

Here's the finished results.



Start on the other headlight.

Here's an intresting titbit. I spent more time sanding the headlight on the left than I did the one on the right and I think it made a difference.

All done, pose for the money-shot!

Reassemble the car in the reverse order that you took the stuff off.Final results.

So go forth and be yellow no more!!! Unless you're like JDM tyte!

Modified by MAXIMUS Nismo at 10:12 AM 4/11/2007
Modified by MAXIMUS Nismo at 10:30 AM 4/11/2007

[bt2s14]

Been done, but quite thorough.

[Accord-240sx]

if you used a higher grit like 1000 or 1500 wetsand sand paper you would not have deep scratches and polishing would be much easyer.Just a one step polish with any type of plastic or metal polish.

I did a DIY on the headlights too.

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

that's the thing. couldn't find any previous info on NICO and when I found an old write up somewhere else, it was very vague. Didn't mention the possibility of breaking the corner lamp tab.

Also, i couldn't find any 1000 or 1500 grit in the Home depot that's near my home.

As stated, I'm not the first to do this, but I hope this can help some other people.

If i can find some 1500 or higher grit, I'll go back and redo them.

[ILikeMy240sx]

you fine high grit wet-sand papers at an automotive stores.. not home depot.

BTW, the thing that sucks about doing this is that after few months.... it all comes back.

[Accord-240sx]

what if you put a coat of wax on the headlights to keep it from yellowing? will that work?

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

I'll get some of that higher grit sandpaer and give em a go again later. It wont be so hard the next time.

As for wax, I don't know if it will help.

What makes them yellow in the first place? Isn't it Oxidation? If so, what fights oxidation?

Time to go Wiki it...............

[slipstream_pnoy]

nice good bro, now i can clean my head lights

[NW 240sx'er]

Looks good..

I would also recemend "Blue Magic Plastic & Plexiglass Cleaner"..comes in a bottle like this..and this is how my headlights came out..

[mval123]

Awesome write up, I like the big-rig horns

[ThuG LyFe]

^^^i dono what i used, it was a blue substance but it had a different label.

it made the lens more clear but didn't really take care of the yellowing...i'm too lazy to sand out the headlights though so i'll prob. leave htem in...they're not that bad anyway

oh btw,awesome write up man! thanks for the detailed carefully labeled pix if i ever decide to do it in the future i'll surely look this up.

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

To those that appreciate the write up, you're welcome.

Hey NW 240sx'er, your looks great. They look better than mine. Did you sand yours at all?

ALso, why is the top of your headlight black? Or is that the housing? Did you paint the inside of the housing black for a smoke effect?

[yessir240]

I use a mothers powerball on a drill, and meguiars scratch X and get great results, along with the sand paper.

[95.240AZN378]

Looks good..

I would also recemend "Blue Magic Plastic & Plexiglass Cleaner"..comes in a bottle like this..

What is that black thing around the headlight?

[cmfireman]

That looks nice, and would go with my gunmetal grille.

[m tr4nch]

I'll get some of that higher grit sandpaer and give em a go again later. It wont be so hard the next time.

As for wax, I don't know if it will help.

What makes them yellow in the first place? Isn't it Oxidation? If so, what fights oxidation?

Time to go Wiki it...............

from what i read a while back, its from the plastic drying out over time and forming little micro cracks which cause the yellowness. an easy fix that i use on my dd (91 escort gt) is to spray some brake cleaner on a paper towel and wipe the headlights down LIGHTLY (do NOT rub or it will get messed up). basically the brake cleaner melts the plastic a little bit and fills in the micro cracks. it doesnt look as good as sanding/polishing but its quick and easy.

great write up btw

[LiteraryCannon]

Pretty nice! A+

[NW 240sx'er]

Wish I had some pics of my headlights before I cleaned them, they were pretty faded.. anyways, I used that blue magic stuff for a good half hour or more on each headlight and thats what it came out looking like.

also as for the black thing that goes around my headlights.. If you pull your headlight completely free of the car you will notice a fine edge in the plastic that runs around the entire headlight housing.. I just got bored one day and masked off the outer portion and sprayed it with a 5 dollar can of duplicolor spray paint. couldn't be happier with the results either, gives the zenki headlights a more defined look.

[petcopark95]

For the Blue Magic - do you need to remove the headlamp? It seems like I could put tape over the paint and polish without removing the headlamp.

[SketchyRollin564]

^ im wondering that one too

Another thing im wondering tho, you got rid of the yellowing, but now there white, as in, not clear

is it the polish you used, or what?

Even tho my headlights are pretty clear and white, im starting to see a slight slighty small tiny tiny tiny bit of yellowing starting to grow when i look at it from different angles, and ive seen plastic headlights that are polished so clear they look glass, so i wouldnt mind that

[captainfalco]

I'm thinking of putting on a protective film on after all of that wet-sanding and buffing. I would think that this would prevent the yellowing from appearing again.http://enjukuracing.com/xpel-h...=2_92

[ChampaignSilviaS14]

I did this on mine, except used 1000grit, then 1500 grit, and THEN 2000 grit.. to get a better result you need to use these very high grit sandpapers. I also used meguiars stratch x polisher and it worked great!

[SketchyRollin564]

Pics of yours? like i said, mine are in pretty good shape, so i dont wanna make em look worse than they already are, but if i can make them clear enough to see through em, that would be sweet!

Does the protective film ever start to bubble or peel off or anything, or can you not even tell its there?

[240rhd]

Great job!!! Great info!!

[Mudvayne]

toothpaste works good to try it with a rag and a warm rag to wipe off. if you have a buffer it will save you time

[ArcherV20]

Unfortunately for me, most of the dirt and grime are INSIDE the housing it seems. I assume baking / heat gun is the only way to fix this problem.

[ag240]

damn, posted last year.... but thanks petcopark95 for bringing it back so i can do this to my lights too

[assassin7420]

Not to piss all over the parade, But thats WAY to low of a grit. Thats why the lights are still a little cloudy. If done correctly they should come out like this...



then up close looking into the housing.

Thats the OEM plastic that comes on our cars, NOT the glass that many people thought I had. My lights started out the same if not a little worse the the OP.

[IanS]

Not to piss all over the parade, But thats WAY to low of a grit. Thats why the lights are still a little cloudy. If done correctly they should come out like this...

Thats the OEM plastic that comes on our cars, NOT the glass that many people thought I had. My lights started out the same if not a little worse the the OP.

I wouldnt use anything lower than 1000 grit. When I did mine I used 1500 and 2000 grit. I sanded, then washed, then I polished using Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish with a buffer. Mine started out way worse the the OPs, and the results were better. After 2 moths or so, they had yellowed again, I just broke out the polish and they were back to clear. After doing this three or four times I got sick of it and tried something new, I polished the lights and then cleaned them using dawn dish soap, I then layed them out and sprayed them with three coats of Rustoleum crystal clear acrylic enamel. The results were better then I could have ever hoped for. The enamel filled in all the imperfection and made the plastic way shinier and a lot smoother to the touch. Its been three months and they haven't yellowed a bit, and they are much easier to keep clean now.

I would post up before and after pictures, I cannot seem to find a single good one of the headlights.

/edit, I found a picture.




Modified by FlatBlackIan at 4:14 PM 7/17/2008

[direktdrive]

nice writeup and thank you.

btw, I love the comic style bubbles.