I was wondering if anybody knew how to make the headlight lenses any clearer using normal things you would find around the house. I was told by someone who claimed to be a mechanic that I could use bleach to do this, but he was some guy I delivered a pizza to and I want to check this out before I do that. I got some Sylvania Silverstars and my headlights are a bit whiter, but my father has a Honda Accord and we got the lights for his car, and they are extremely white because his headlights haven't yellowed or fogged up any. Mine have a bit. Any ideas?

I have not tried this on kid's 94 940 yet since his are not that bad, but my wife has a non-volvo with very fogged over plastic lenses, and this worked very well.

I tried sanding it off, but had marginal results. Then I decided to take a sharp knife blade from a box cutter and scrape the lenses. This removed a good bit of the fogged/yellowed material. They looked really bad at this point. Then I wet sanded them with a little detergent while spraying water on them with the hose. First with 320 grit, then 400, 800, and 2000. Finally, I rubbed the lenses with some 3m fiberglass boat restorer which is basially rubbing compound and wax combined in one polish. The results were amazing. I only had time to do one of them before my wife drove it in the fog at night. She called me saying she thought she had a blown headlight. That was the one I had not cleaned yet. It made that big of difference. (I had also changed the bulb at the same time.)

If you are going to try this you should do it on a small area above the lens area first. (just in case). My wife's were so bad I had nothing to loose.

Good luck,
R Duke

Use POLISHING, not rubbing compound. Same stuff just finer.

Also IPD (and many retailers) sell Meguiars Plastic Polish and Cleaner (2 products) these work well after a little bit of work with the polishing compound. Mask off your bumper covers to prevent white spots.

Do a search on this site (FAQ?) and also look in the IPD catalog.

Rubbing compound---don't give up---it will make the lenses much clearer---keep at it.
Keith
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Keith in Maine 1990 740GL Wagon 245k AW70L B230F Red Block 8 Valve Non-Turbo Rex/Regina Non-EGR R-12 A/C

...? What kind of rubbing compound?

Turtle Wax (or any brand) Rubbing Compound heavy duty cleaner---removes scratches and stains---ask for it at any auto parts store. It's a lot of hard rubbing before you notice a difference but you will be surprised.
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Keith in Maine 1990 740GL Wagon 245k AW70L B230F Red Block 8 Valve Non-Turbo Rex/Regina Non-EGR R-12 A/C

The headlight lenses on my 760 (UK Spec) are glass, I do not know if you have plastic or glass lenses. There have been many previous posts about cleaning plastic lenses, and there may be something in the FAQ section.

Here's what I did with my glass lenses and the reflectors. Dismantle the headlights, Haynes has details. Take the glass lenses to the kitchen sink and clean in hot water and an abrasive cleaner like JIF, using a kitchen scouring sponge. Rinse off with clean water and dry polish. Next, Take a lint free duster, and clean off the reflectors carefully, they should come up shiny again. Mine had been grayed by a deposit from deteriorating bulb fittings, but it cleans off. Next reassemmble the headlights, decide if the clips holding the glass lens and the rubber seal needs replacement, usually it can be cleaned. Put the headlight units back in car, and put in your high output H4 bulbs. I used Philips white light ones, 50% more light.

This exercise gave me very good shiny lights. If you want more, John Sargeant is the man who knows how to rewire the headlights to ensure they receive 12 volts, and not reduced voltage.
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Kjartan Langskog

That sounds great, as far as making sure that the headlights receive enough voltage. Where can I get that info? My headlights are plastic, which I'm pretty sure means they are glued together...

Sorry I have not come back on your query concerning restoring headlight voltage. I had some posts earlier which were answered by John Sargeant.

Please search for "brighter headlights", but the information you require is summarised in the following post:

http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=771160

It reads as follows:

I would install headlight relays as outlined in Danial Stern's web site, http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html. In addition I would install E code rated headlights.

I have installed the relays and E-code rated headlights on three of our cars, and the headlights are outstanding.

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john

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Kjartan Langskog