Cleaning the inside of headlamps or driving lamps.

OK, I'm still fairly new at this but I am interested to find out if it is possible to clean the inside of the lamps?

My four lamps are still original Hella's and I would like of course to keep them but two of them are 'foggy' white inside. One headlamp and one driving lamp, on opposite sides (not that it matters).

I don't want to start messing around until I'm sure of what I'm doing  :dontknow:
It's not as if I can just chuck them in the dishwasher.

I looked for posts on this but maybe my search criteria was wrong but I'm sure I'm not the only thinking about it

Thanks for looking!

Mike  

i did my hella spots, i just removed the electric part that holds bulbs put them in a bucket of soaps water washed the water round in side, tried to get bit of cloth on end of screwdriver and then put them in airing cupboard to dry all water out

i think some people have popped them in dishwasher before, but if doing that i thinks its better to heat up lamps so you can remove lenses, wash lenses and then seal lamp units back together

richyhill said

i did my hella spots, i just removed the electric part that holds bulbs put them in a bucket of soaps water washed the water round in side, tried to get bit of cloth on end of screwdriver and then put them in airing cupboard to dry all water out

i think some people have popped them in dishwasher before, but if doing that i thinks its better to heat up lamps so you can remove lenses, wash lenses and then seal lamp units back together

Cheers Mate, this is why I love this club so much.
You can't buy experience at any price   

If I remove the lenses, what should I use to glue them back?
They are in excellent good and to be honest I don't trust much of the materials like adhesives I've found over  here in Austria.

Mike.

i think some stuff cant remember the name of it , maybe stickaflex, or the black stuff they use to seal double glazing should do the job, like adhesive / silicone in a pump gun type thingy :-)

if you scroll down here you can see my spots and them after , when i had cleaned them and they were on a tray in airing cupboard drying :-)

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=769456#769456

Put a bit of of silver sand (type used in fish tanks) into the lights with a small squirt of washing up liquid and water, swill around until the lens is clear and then rinse out sand & dry. Viakal limescal remover also works well.

The sand method can also be used to clean up the coolant tank too, top tip from my spray shop owner.

Obviously you need to take the parts out of the car!?  

I used a tent peg bent over with a piece of cloth taped on, so it was like a giant bent cotton bud and it worked a treat.

wow love both those idea's above, love this club!

learn a new trick every day :-)

richyhill said

wow love both those idea's above, love this club!

learn a new trick every day :-)

Well they all sound great ideas and the best thing is now I know it can be done  
The sand idea sounds great and that's what I'll try on the water tank but I'll try the tent peg (coat hanger) idea first on the lamps I think!

Not going to be trying it for a couple of week so please keep the ideas coming and as always thanks for sharing your expertise with me.

I'm a good distance away from you all but through this club I feel like I'm just round the corner and could join you for a pint anytime (none alcoholic of course)  :wink:

Mike.

Tigerseal would stick them back together, They use that for sticking bodywork on too!

Also those Milton tablets are good at getting rid of mold and stuff like a light bleach

If sand doesn't work use dried rice, then shake it like a poloroid picture! Just don't use too hot water or you'll end up cooking it!

Dishwasher is always a good start and also a can of coke.

I just cleaned out my brake fluid resevoirer with soapy water first, then coke and now it's in the dishwasher, with the dishes, lol!!!

Chris

Never thought about coke but yep that will do it, my Mrs buys the cheap stuff and throws it down the toilet overnight, man that stuff is evil! 8O

Massbad69 said

Dishwasher is always a good start and also a can of coke.

I just cleaned out my brake fluid resevoirer with soapy water first, then coke and now it's in the dishwasher, with the dishes, lol!!!

Chris

From “Cleaning the inside of headlamps or driving lamps.”

Now that's something I have to try Chris.
Thank God the Wife doesn't read this website as we have just replaced the Dishwasher.
Mind you she didn't spot the other VW parts I've put in there over the last few months.
She like's to sleep in on Sundays and I like to get up early.

Yes! Mike 

ive used baby bottle brushes before now and good old fashioned fairy liquid

dik-van-dub said

ive used baby bottle brushes before now and good old fashioned fairy liquid

That sounds like the easiest, I'll give that go!
Baby days are over for us, so I'll pop down the shop and buy a baby bottle brush.

Should get some interesting looks though.  

Mike   

I was having a play with some of these yesterday… Great success with:
Limelite spray through the bulb hole all over the glass.
Leave a minute for the magic to happen.
Rinse.
Rice, washing up liquid, warm water.
Shake.
Rinse (cold water, to save the washing up liquid from keep frothing up!)
Dry on radiator.
And then the magic bit:
Slosh round with meths to get rid of water marks inside (seems to take any remaining water out and dry VERY quickly too - ready to refit after a few mins!)

fonzooorooo said

I was having a play with some of these yesterday… Great success with:
Limelite spray through the bulb hole all over the glass.
Leave a minute for the magic to happen.
Rinse.
Rice, washing up liquid, warm water.
Shake.
Rinse (cold water, to save the washing up liquid from keep frothing up!)
Dry on radiator.
And then the magic bit:
Slosh round with meths to get rid of water marks inside (seems to take any remaining water out and dry VERY quickly too - ready to refit after a few mins!)

Nice one!
Keep this up and we can write, all be it a small book on the subject.

Cheers Mate.

Mike  

Ok well I decided I'd try the suggestion made by 'Rolyberkin', cheers Sir!  

First of all you need one Smokey headlamp.




Hard to see in these pictures taken from my Handy but the Lamp looks like it needs a Cataract operation.  

Now apart from fairly hot water but not too hot, you'll need some normal house hold washing up liquid and one of these!  



No it's not just a section of coat hanger and a bit of plastic sponge on the end, it's a high tech design.
Which took all of five minutes to think of and build.
I can supply a limited number (that makes them even more special) for 7.99 INCLUDING POST!      

Following that excellent purchase you will need one of these.



No, sorry wrong picture   and NO we don't take the perfectly designed cleaning device and put the two together (We love animals).  
This should be the picture.



This Chinchilla sand for bathing the cute little Rodents was the finest I could find and washes out with water really easily.

Now put a teaspoon full of the sand down into the lamp, a squirt of washing up liquid and about 100ml of hottish water.
Swirl it around and then take your high tech brush and shove it down inside. Bend it around from time to time to make sure your covering the whole area.
Wash it all out and do it again if necessary.

Once you happy that the lamp is really clean, turn the water to cold for a minute or two to cool the lamp down.
Empty as much of the water as possible and then use the Wife's hair dryer (low heat) to blow dry the drops that remain.

Finally hang the lamps up by whatever method you choose in a warm place for a day or two and they should look something like this.

Here's one I made earlier!




And yes it really is the same lamp, just that I've added the 'Hella' sticker.  

So off you go and get your Lamps but don't forget to order the 'High Tech Lamp Brush', taking orders now!  

Just a quick update, here's the finished article. AA badge needs adjusting slightly but apart from that I'm pleased anyway.  
Brand new Grill Badge as is the AA Badge, well Happy.  





These lights were fairly smokey but now as clean as a whistle.  

Oh, not all the tools in the top picture was used to perform this job!