MyE28.com

Pulled euro headlights for some work, would like to take care of the problem. The glass looks milky on the inside. What are some safe solutions for this? No, I cannot reach in and clean it.

Thanks

I'd like to find out too!

I have heard that Acetone will work....

maybe someone speak up who has done it...

Don't use anything as strong as acetone. All you need is mild, soapy warm water. I use a bamboo chopstick and some small pieces of cotton jersey (i.e., old tee shirt) to do the scrubbing. Dump in a few tablespoons of soapy water, poke in a chunk of jersey and swirl it wround with your chopstick. Drain over the sink, the jersey should slip to the opening where you can pull it out. Rinse well with warm water, then you can use a dry piece of jersey to mop up most of the remaining water. I borrow the SO's blow dryer to do the final dry, or you can put them in a warm oven (nothing over 175 f).

Did it ever come back?

Awe man I used to have a link on the ooold mye28 site that had a great solution for the milky lenses... it used vinegar or something....

Tjn182 wrote:Awe man I used to have a link on the ooold mye28 site that had a great solution for the milky lenses... it used vinegar or something....

Correct! I've used a warm vinegar & water solution on old Volvo 240 headlights (large plastic type). Works on glass lenses also.

Mark

I've had success using isopropyl alcohol as a follow-up to water & dishwashing soap. It seems to dissolve the haze and it dries streak- and spot-free (which was a problem when I used water & dishwashing soap only). I let the lights dry naturally, with the bulb end facing down, and supported so air can freely flow.

Isopropyl alcohol with some qtips worked. Just flushing with alcohol didn't. Thank you all.

I used rubbing alcohol and rock salt to clean my milkyness.. it looked like the glass was not even clear! The rock salt worked goor to scrub it off.. Dry the lights the way shawn did..

I used lacquer thinner on one and it worked great. I tried it on another and it stripped the reflector off. These were both H1/H4's but not the OE headlights. So beware of the strong stuff.

Manny D. wrote:I used rubbing alcohol and rock salt to clean my milkyness.. it looked like the glass was not even clear! The rock salt worked goor to scrub it off.. Dry the lights the way shawn did..

how clear was it afterwards??

Considering they looked like frosted window glass before hand, I think anything would be an improvement eh?

Jay3

I mixed some Jet Dry with my solution to help with the water spots.

Vance

bimmerpwner wrote:

Manny D. wrote:I used rubbing alcohol and rock salt to clean my milkyness.. it looked like the glass was not even clear! The rock salt worked goor to scrub it off.. Dry the lights the way shawn did..

how clear was it afterwards??

Pretty clear.. Not exactly like new but 90% better than before..

ElGuappo wrote:Considering they looked like frosted window glass before hand, I think anything would be an improvement eh?

Jay3

Lol you got that right.. they looked prety much exactly like they were frosted before I cleaned em.. Now they look just fine.. Just make sure you dry em out fully befor putting em back on or they will get condensation again!

vance wrote:I mixed some Jet Dry with my solution to help with the water spots.

Vance

Do you have a Jet Dry dispenser? I guess they're rare since I've never seen a dishwasher with one.

I'll bet it's a Euro-only thing...

wkohler wrote:

vance wrote:I mixed some Jet Dry with my solution to help with the water spots.

Vance

Do you have a Jet Dry dispenser? I guess they're rare since I've never seen a dishwasher with one.

I'll bet it's a Euro-only thing...

It's a 745 thing, you wouldn't understand.

Vance

wkohler wrote:Do you have a Jet Dry dispenser? I guess they're rare since I've never seen a dishwasher with one.

I'll bet it's a Euro-only thing...

Uhh... all of my dishwashers have had one.

Shawn D. wrote:

wkohler wrote:Do you have a Jet Dry dispenser? I guess they're rare since I've never seen a dishwasher with one.

I'll bet it's a Euro-only thing...

Uhh... all of my dishwashers have had one.

See, that wasn't what I was getting at. In the ads, it's not labeled as a liquid detergent dispenser, but as the Jet-Dry dispenser. Uhhh... <--had to work that in somehow, but it got messy.

wkohler wrote:

Shawn D. wrote:

wkohler wrote:Do you have a Jet Dry dispenser? I guess they're rare since I've never seen a dishwasher with one.

I'll bet it's a Euro-only thing...

Uhh... all of my dishwashers have had one.

See, that wasn't what I was getting at. In the ads, it's not labeled as a liquid detergent dispenser, but as the Jet-Dry dispenser. Uhhh... <--had to work that in somehow, but it got messy.

Do what? Jet-dry isn't liquid detergent. It's a liquid rinse agent, generally labeled as such. But I guess I see your point in that respect. Somewhat.

I had a fender bender a few years ago with my 01 740i which had clear turns in the rear (factory). The left was replaced. a year or so later, I noticed that the older one looked yellow in comparison. I used (based on a friend's recommendation that restores British cars) 50/50 ammonia and water and it worked well.

Shawn D. wrote:I've had success using isopropyl alcohol as a follow-up to water & dishwashing soap. It seems to dissolve the haze and it dries streak- and spot-free (which was a problem when I used water & dishwashing soap only). I let the lights dry naturally, with the bulb end facing down, and supported so air can freely flow.

I'm performing this thread necromancy to add to the discussion of what processes/procedures/products to use.

I was cleaning up some Euro lights I got from Ivo and I was unable to get the insides clean using the process I quoted. I used Manny D's alcohol & salt recipe and it worked great! The process:

1) With headlight facing down, pour in ~1/4" of 100% isopropyl alcohol and let sit for five minutes. 100% isopropyl (no water content) can be found at electronics shops (including Fry's, etc.).
2) Add coarse kosher salt (1.5 tablespoons for 7" headlights, 1 tablespoon for 5.75" headlights) and shake back-and-forth, in a star pattern, and with a swirl motion.
3) Blow out alcohol/salt mixture with clean compressed air (do this with a lot of ventilation).
4) Dissolve remaining salt with distilled water, filling the entire headlight. Rinse thoroughly at least twice. Drain as much as possible.
5) Pour in ~1/4" of 100% isopropyl alcohol and shake vigorously to completely absorb remaining water. I used food cling wrap and a rubber band over the headlight outlet to keep the mixture in while shaking.
6) Pour out remaining alcohol/water and place headlight with outlet/bulb end down and allow to air dry.

RESULT: Sparkling reflectors and interior glass surfaces!

I attempted to clean one of my NOS high beams with the alcohol and salt method, it instantly striped the reflective coating off. Would not recommend!

What ended up working was cotton pads(not balls) with soapy water.
I shoved two pads through the little hole, added a bit of soap and water, sloshed it around and drained most of the water.
Then worked the cotton pads around thoroughly.
Finally retrieving the pads with a small hook tool.

The low beams are much easier.

Hopefully this can save someone from ruining one of there housings.