So I just bought a clean set of DB9 headlights to open up, and they look great. When I checked em out up close I noticed the area just under the highbeam projector on both headlights has some bubbling and signs of excessive heating on the black plastic bezel there. I'm curious if this is just an isolated case, or if these headlights are known to have this issue?

I'm painting that area, so ill get it smoothed out before paint, but I'm concerned the plastic will be thinning out over time and look bad if the high beams are used very often. Here's some shots of the lights. Ill get some of the bubbling too.

 

Bought my vehicle with just under 7500 miles and already there was some melting which looks like a smoothing ripple in front of the lens. Not noticeable to most, but it was/is to me.
I know that this phenomenon, however, is not unique to AM. Because of this I was surprised to see the poor match of material to the job. The melting point ofthe plastic and heat output of the lens should both have been known characteristics. Nonetheless, it's a minor disappointment.

 

Thanks! I was pretty sure that was going to be the case since the lights are otherwise perfect. I really wonder if its something that happens quickly, or if its from prolonged high beam usage. Check out the bezel. You can totally see how the heat penetrated the plastic from the discoloring on the other side. I bet this will eventually turn into a hole!

I'm thinking either new Xenon projectors for the high beam side since they dont get nearly as hot as halogen, or otherwise just an LED bulb (which would suck, but take away the chance of further damage).

 

The melting inside is caused by the sunlight thru the glass lens of the high beam. Acts like a magnifying lens. Common on older cars that have seen lots of sunshine. If you look at a V8 Vantage with the simular lamp set-up you will notice a "tin" plate installed to prevent damage to plastic.

 

LOL fail. That's pretty crazy, I'm sure Aston Martin didn't do sunlight baking tests. Its that massive 3.5" lens. The image of kids burning ants comes to mind, hahaha.

 

Is it easy to see when mounted on the car or would you have to really look for it?