98-02 Accord Headlight lenses

Anyone else have (essentially) a clearcoat failure on the outer surface
of the headlight lense? i washed the car and thought I hadn't got som
bug smear off and upon looking closer it looks like there is some skin
on the lense that is degrading and flaking off on the outside. Any
ideas?

Kevin

 

The old lenses that sat out in the sun got cataracts. Saw a few peeling
but these are on very old cars.

But NAPA carries new ones for $155:.
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=BK&PartNumber=3804377&Description=Headlight+Signal+Assy+-+Left

 

There is in fact a skin. It's the federally-mandated anti-abrasion epoxy
that all plastic headlamp lenses must have. The skin appears to break down
with exposure to sunlight. Not one of the NHTSA's better ideas.

There are kits available for polishing up the cloudy ones, but if yours is
one of those actually peeling off, there is no cure but replacement.

 

Yeah, peeling apparently. Looks cloudy, but when rubbing/sliding my
fingernail from cloudy to clear areas i can feel and edge where my nail
gets hung. Not so in the reverse direction. Never knew about this.
Very stupid at first glance.

 

Oh, FYI...that's a 1998 Accord I'm talking about.

Kevin

 

I have a similar issue on my 99 Accord - had one of the headlamps
replaced about a year ago, so its lens is nice, clear and shiny, but the
other one is noticeably cloudy.

I was planning to try Mother's Plastic Polish on one of the ball-shaped
polishing tools that fit into the chuck of an electric drill. Are the
specialized kits a better idea?

Dave

 

I understand they are, but have no personal experience with either.

 

So, what's the difference between cloudy and peeling? Sounds the same
if both cases are external conditions of the lense. If they are
different then we are to assume that the skin can cloud before it
peels. true or not?

KL

 

The discoloration means the coating is becoming optically poor, but is
still intact. If not too bad, the discoloration may be buffed out.

If the coating is *peeling off* on the other hand, then it's outright
missing in spots. I guess you could buff up what's left, but I don't know
how the unprotected plastic on the peeled spots would behave over time.

Most of what I've seen on plastic headlights is cloudiness and yellowing.
The peeling thing seems to be relatively rare. Take a walk through a
shopping mall parking lot on a Saturday afternoon and you'll see the same
thing I see.