Hi All,

After some advice please. Both headlights on my V8 vantage have dust in the housing that can be seen through the lens. I suspect someone has tried to blow the moisture out of them in the past and blew some dust in.

Is there a quick/easy way to remove the dust?

I will need to remove them in the future, as neither of the washers work so not adverse to tackling it away from the car.

I didn't want to blow air into them if there is a better way of removing.

​​​​​​Also, curious if anyone has removed the rear of the headlight as seen in red below:



Thanks in advance.

 

To remove the part shown (or the lens cover) the optimum way is to place the entire headlight in a low temperature oven (about 100 degrees centigrade) this will soften the sealant and the plastic tabs enough to make the rear section (or lens cover) easy to remove.
You would then need to remove any existing sealant and install new sealant when putting back together.

I built my own oven to do this using a heat gun and insulated wall boards.

 

Thanks Paul,

I did wonder if that was the only way to go about it.

Once the are warmed up, how much of a hassle to separate? I've done the rears already, I'm guessing these a little more fiddly due to the size of the lens?
​​​​​​

 

I've done a few of these on other cars, pretty much bonded all the same way.

When I lived in Phoenix, rather than using an oven, I literally set the lens up outside in the sun on a 110*F day for 2 hours and they separated the same way as an oven would.

 

Thanks, BWings.

110°F will certainly do it! It’s unlikely to reach that here on the south coast of the UK, unfortunately.

The red looks great. Do you have any photos of them on the car? I bet it looks fantastic.

Am I right in thinking that removing the back portion of the unit would also remove the bulbs and fittings? I'm trying to figure out if I could use a heat gun on the rear of the unit to access and clean the interior, rather than removing the clear lens.

Thanks.

 

Wife wouldn’t let you use the oven in the kitchen?

 

Hi @scubalee

Funny that you ask about accessing the interior via the back through the lens openings as I was looking at that same approach before I ever removed my first light cover. The problem is - much like glass, but plastic is even worse, the inside of the clear plastic cover will streak even if you can find a cleaner of some sort to clean it through the bulb openings. It will need to be physically wiped off otherwise it will look worse.

The red set above, I actually replaced the clear plastic covers with brand new ones, so the finished pic is new clear, not cleaned old covers.

This particular set went on a C6 Corvette which I haven't owned now in a dozen years. I'll see if I can find a pic for it in my archives.

Best with your project!

 

We have a lovely old Aga and it has 4 separate ovens, unfortunately none of them large enough for a Vantage or DB9 headlight.

With the rear part of the headlight assembly removed, you can remove the bulbs, projectors, mounting bracket etc.


This is an opened up Vantage headlight, the projectors are withdrawn through the back, sitting on my homemade oven.

These are my upgraded headlights, with Bi-LED projectors, the difference in light output and quality and cutoff of beam is incredible. The dust is on the outside, photo taken during harvest!

 

Carbon look interior

 

Thanks Paul - they look awesome!

Definitely putting mine to shame. I think I'll have to knock up an oven like yours.

How long did they spend in the oven?

Thanks,

 

About 10-15 minutes, open the tabs first and start levering it back, if it takes a long time and starts to cools then may need reheating.

I use plastic trim removal tools and two pairs of trim removal pliers, shown below.

 

Thanks Paul,

Really appreciate it. I will pick up a set.