Hi, The headlight lenses in my dad's '96 Sierra 1500 are really cloudy and need to be replaced. Anyone know how you remove the existing units? I'm told you can just replace the 'capsule' and don't have to replace all of the brackets. If anyone knows where an article on the subject is, that would be great.
Thanks!

 

You can take them apart and clean them if its on the inside. If its on the outside you can use steel wool and scuff it clean and clear coat it. They sell a pack of three different types form rough to fine. I got it at Advanced Auto.

 

Take the lower turn signal off first. There should be 4 screws if it is the composite style and then twist the bulbs out. You have to take the grill off or undo several screws and then unbolt the headlight unit. It isn't that bad of a job. I got my replacement composite lamps atautopartsway.ca It was worth the money and I could not find them cheaper anywhere else.

 

Well, I tried cleaning both inside and out but looks like it's really bad. I will make a purchase now at autopartsway.ca. Thanks bradburn, they're pretty cheap.

 

HI, i have used Headlight Restoration Service (www.hrslights.com ) in the past. They have the best prices and free US shipping. I hope this helps.

 

hey im a mechanic and i restore them all the time for customers...all u need is 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper, 2000 grit wet/drysandpaper, 3m super duty rubbing compound, a buffer w/ wool pad, a bucket of soapy water, 3m plastic polish... leave em in the vehicle and tape off around em with somethin like ducttape or masking tape whatever u have around to protect the paint from the sandpaper and the buffer... soak your headlight with soapy water, and soak the sandpaper in the bucket. start to wet sand the headlight with the 400 grit paper, do it only in one direction, preferably side to side... be sure to keep the headlight wet while ur sanding, never too much water . once u have it smooth dry it off and it will look worse, dont panic... use the 2000 grit paper to smooth it out more and get the deeper scratches out from the 400... if u do this enough it will help u when u go to buff... if uve sanded enough it will be white when its dry and look really bad, but you wont see a line where the sandblasting/aging can be seen, u should have just sanded off that layer of the headlight. now u r ready to rub a heavy layer of the rubbing compound on, now use the side of ur buffer sorta on the side so you are using just the edge and go the opposite direction than u sanded (ie: u sanded side to side ur gonna use the edge of the buffer to fub the compound in up or down) now buff the headlight, being careful not to go at too much of an angle, i use it at about 45degrees, with a little pressure (be carefull u dont get the headlight too hot and leave melt marks!)... now u will repeat this step numerous times until the cloudiness goes away (this is where the sanding with the 2000 makes it easier , because the 200 leaves light scratches that buff out easier than the deep screatches the 400 left, but you needed the 400 to take off the bad layer of headlight) ive buffed as many as prolly 20 times... then you use the 3m plastic polish to seal it to help prevent discoloration... this can be done by rubbing on and letting dry then rubbing off or u can wipe it on then buff this off also...

go try it... i know it can sound intimidating sanding ur headlights but its really not that bad, they come out awesome... just an example of how they come out... my girlfriend was in an accident and her old headlights were really sandblasted, i ended up having to replace the drivers headlight when the guy hit her and i ended up sanding and buffing the old headlight on the pass side to match it, you couldnt even tell which one was new or old if it werent for the dirt inside the headlight...

 

Thats great info snowboardman!! Its a more detailed job than just taking a powerball to it. Thats my next chore for this weekend. But I know how it is. A lot of people dont know even after shooting clear coat on fresh new paint, you still sand it and then buff and polish. Thats what really brings out the mirror shine!! Just thinking what it could do to some lenses. Thanx!!

 

hey just tryin to help out... we charge $20-$40 a headlight at the stealership so i figured thats why we're all here is to help each other out... someone might wanna sticky this cause someone else may need this in the future due to this being very common...

 

Toothpaste with a power ball will do the trick or use a high speed buffer. It even works good on glass like on watches and so on.

 

Thank you for the great info. Just ordered parts from www.autopartsway.ca and there service was excellent. I am a happy customer.