S14 Zenki Headlights Cleaned!

[ArcherV20]

A common problem with the Zenki S14 is that the headlights tend to yellow, fade, and just get kind of ugly. I was fine with that until I got into an accident last year in which they replaced the passenger side headlight with a brand new one. I was tired of having one faded, and one brand new headlight so instead of shelling out another $400 for a new housing, I tried a pretty popular procedure of baking the headlight housing and cleaning it from the inside.

I highly reccomend this for any Zenki owners who are getting cloudy headlights!

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This is after about 6 minutes of baking in the oven, the sealant was gooey enough to just pull the lense from the housing. You can also see the water / dirt / dust / and oxidization on the plastic lense here.



This is the dust on the actual housings, you can see how much s*** and dead bugs build up in there.



Here is one cleaned side of the housing in comparison to the dirty old stuff.



Kinda wish I had taken a before picture, but this is how it all turned out, as you can see the difference between the headlights is pretty minimal. If you look close enough you can tell the passenger side light is brand new, but this really minimizes how noticeable it is!

All in all it took me about an hour and a half. I used Meguires plastic polish, and some CLR! Washed it all out nicely and dried it. Toothbrush was really helpful in getting in the flutes of the headlight lense

[vtund777]

Looks good. I did this to my headlamps but changed them with the FK clear lenses a while back. If you want o keep the outside from fading, put on a clear headlamp protection film. I used some leftover ventureshield clear bra kit that I used on my hood for the lenses and it hasn't faded since (well now the front is converted with an S15 front...).

[s14derrick]

man looks great. never thought about tearing the housings apart to clean them. one question for ya. the shiny reflective plastic on the inside... is that by any chance removable?

[FinkenS14]

Mine were super cloudy/ sandy

What I did:

Sand headlight housing with 180 grit (i used an electrica sander)Use sander scotch pad attatchement and a lot of water and wet sand. Let air dryThrow some clear coat on them b****es

Theyre much much clearer in person, and I can even see my bulbs and the plastic lines inside the headlights.

End result:

[ChampaignSilviaS14]

I used the 3M kit with a orbital sander and buffer, turned out good.

[Nesquick]

WINNIPEG FTW!!!!!!

[Slammed95S14]

Or you get glass headlights, like me!

[ArcherV20]

The reason I didn't want to do any sanding is that I didn't want it took turn out clear...but still painstakingly different than the brand new OEM one. Also I had tried polishing the outside before with little results, I could literally see the dirt, dust buildup behind the lense, so I had to open it up.

[ArcherV20]

Or you get glass headlights, like me!

Glass is expensive!!! Just wanted a freebie fix and I got it

This turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be.

[simmode1]

Finken, who makes this bumper, where can it be bought and can you comment on it's fitment quality and durability?

R33 bumpers on Zenki's are my secret love... I know, I know...

But I it! My wheel fitment will have to be ON POINT to keep the haters away... lol

[sean@z1]

When Cleaning S14 headlight i use Mothers wheel mag polish and a buffer and just go to town the yellow just goes away in about 15 mins

[FinkenS14]

I got it from ebay. Just type in 240sx R33 Bumper. Itll come up.

The one in my picture is the fiberglass one that one company makes. Its horrible, cracks all the time, chips, etc. But fitment was great.

I have since upgraded to another company that makes the rubbery kinda bumpers. Fitment was just as good, its just a tad heavier, but I dont care.

And to boot, thats an old picture. I got a big ol front mount, with an RB25 in the bay, and some properly fitting 5 lug 5zigens

[simmode1]

I have since upgraded to another company that makes the rubbery kinda bumpers. Fitment was just as good, its just a tad heavier, but I dont care.

Is this 'upgraded' bumper still an R33 style? Possibly made of duraflex or euarthane? Where can I find it?

[FinkenS14]

Yes the upgraded one is still the R33 GTR bumper. It is duraflex stuff. I got it from ebay too. Heres a link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ories

[simmode1]

Yes the upgraded one is still the R33 GTR bumper. It is duraflex stuff. I got it from ebay too. Heres a link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ories

Awesome! That is sooo cheap!

/end threadjack