How to prevent headlights from yellowing?

KDR83

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My 97 GTS headlights are perfect and I want to keep them that way, what is the best way to keep the lights from yellowing? My car sits under a covered parking spot but at certain points in the day the sun shines on the headlights so I want to do some preventative measures. Will applying 3m or laminx keep the headlights from yellowing/hazing?
 

Dom426h

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How many miles are on your Viper?
Are they perfect because she was a garage queen or because you just recently polished them?
 

Mopar Steve

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There is a UV coating on the lens from the factory, as long as that is not disturbed you should be Okay. Trying to apply a UV protectant wax might help, but as discussed here in the past that has little value. Just try to keep them clean and out of the sun as much as is reasonable.

Dom asked an important question because the long term result differs if they have been previously polished or if they are still original.
 
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KDR83

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Viper has 28k miles on it, I saw a couple pics of yellow lights on a viper, shoot there is a local orange srt10 viper that has hazy yellow lights
 
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KDR83

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I guess maybe not yellowing but hazing should be the more appropriate question, i want them to remain looking great
 

dave6666

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Explaining Viper things to you
i want them to remain looking great

Then sell the car to someone else please and spare us your ridiculous concerns. It's a car in case you had not noticed, and between dirt, humidity, rain, ozone, abrasion, airborne corrosives, salt, UV, oxidation and so on, you are going to be miserable while you own it posting threads on how to circumvent these uncontrollable phenomena.
 

Sybil TF

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Then sell the car to someone else please and spare us your ridiculous concerns. It's a car in case you had not noticed, and between dirt, humidity, rain, ozone, abrasion, airborne corrosives, salt, UV, oxidation and so on, you are going to be miserable while you own it posting threads on how to circumvent these uncontrollable phenomena.

Having a bad day?:rolaugh: Cranky, cranky!!!!
 

Dom426h

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I purchased my Viper with 40k miles and the headlights had cloudy scratched plastic from all the highway miles. I sanded em down to a good clean base then polished out to a sharp clear finish. Now i just hit em with plastic polish on my mothers powerball once or twice a year to maintain the clarity. Over 70k miles now and they look like new.

I have seen other higher mileage Vipers with pretty crappy looking headlights(Bonkers...;-) ) An hour of polishing can go a long way in freshening the old girl up :)
 
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Everybody has different ways that they take care of their babies. Simple solutions for keeping these cars in great shape is never a bad thing - whether it is for that 2043 Barrett Jackson auction or just because you want it to look as new as possible. Some don't care and will head down the nearest gravel road while others will race home at the first sight of rain clouds. To each his own.

For those that have hazing, Mopar makes a good headlight kit that will polish them up nicely:

https://www.viperpartsofamerica.com/index.php/products/mopar-headlight-restoration-kit-68043526aa

And besides looking good, it also provides better lighting at night which is never a bad thing. Good luck in your quest!
 

Grisoman

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I use the 3M film cut to fit. Not just on the Viper, but all my cars. Great protection from flying objects and surface oxidation (hazing). Good investment IMHO.
 

agentf1

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I use the 3M film cut to fit. Not just on the Viper, but all my cars. Great protection from flying objects and surface oxidation (hazing). Good investment IMHO.
I have seen C6 headlights crack from the heat after putting clear bra type of material on them. Not sure if the Viper does that also but I would be careful using it.
 

Grisoman

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I have seen C6 headlights crack from the heat after putting clear bra type of material on them. Not sure if the Viper does that also but I would be careful using it.
I've used this stuff on many vehicles with no issues. Perhaps it is an issue unique to the C6. But appreciate the heads-up.
 
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KDR83

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Then sell the car to someone else please and spare us your ridiculous concerns. It's a car in case you had not noticed, and between dirt, humidity, rain, ozone, abrasion, airborne corrosives, salt, UV, oxidation and so on, you are going to be miserable while you own it posting threads on how to circumvent these uncontrollable phenomena.

Calm down dude, my car is a daily driver, sees rain all the time in south florida, sees salty air since I work right on south beach, just seeing if there are any preventative measures since I saw an 05 with completely hazed over headlights the other day, just trying to take caution since unlike most people here, my car is my DD so its always exposed to the elements
 

Sybil TF

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Calm down dude, my car is a daily driver, sees rain all the time in south florida, sees salty air since I work right on south beach, just seeing if there are any preventative measures since I saw an 05 with completely hazed over headlights the other day, just trying to take caution since unlike most people here, my car is my DD so its always exposed to the elements

Ha, ha, ha ,ha ,ha.
 

jwolf

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When I got my it was from Florida and the headlight were badly oxidized, The dealer had a professional polish them up for $200.
I install the protective film I hope that stops and additional oxidation.


No signs and anything the last 3 years but my Viper is a garage queen, not my daily driver. it has seen it's share of rain when I take it out but it doesn't set outside all day in the sun.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/DrJ4TIfPaOg
 
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KNG SNKE

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I have seen C6 headlights crack from the heat after putting clear bra type of material on them. Not sure if the Viper does that also but I would be careful using it.

Are you sure it was in direct response to the 3m material or age of the headlight? I ran all season with a clear bra material on my headlamps with zero issues and I run HID's.
 

Dom426h

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I have seen C6 headlights crack from the heat after putting clear bra type of material on them. Not sure if the Viper does that also but I would be careful using it.

I assume you are taking about Crazing. Google it:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&tbo=d&...50,d.dmQ&fp=20c4163a263cdd37&biw=1170&bih=901

If a cars headlights are prone to this and it happens after a 3M or LaminX film is put on then i don't think you could positivly blame the film. Could be related to it though if the installer is using a heat gun to install and has it on a higher temp than the headlight is designed to handle. or he uses some harsh chemical to clean the light before install. In that case its the human's fault. Not the Film.

Comment from a Film installer on the G35 forum:
"That is called "crazing" and I have seen it with numerous cars... mainly Nissan/Infiniti and Corvettes. You need to remove the film and take the car in to get them replaced. it will get worse over time... and the dealer will blame the film for whats happening. I have been installing kits for 6 years and have never had a car get this issue. Yet I have seen numerous headlights WITHOUT film get crazed... and every single time the dealer tries to blame film as the cause. I personally beleive it has to do with what is used to clean them. You havent used rubbing alchohol on them have you?"
 

Bo knows

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I got tired of polishing mine all the time so I bought new ones for $650.00 each. I know it sounds like a lot but I sold the old ones on ebay for $325.00 each. That made feel a lot better about it !
 

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