Ok. I'm officially an idiot.

Last night, I used VHT Niteshades on my tails. Awesome. Looks great.

Then, I had the brilliant idea to do a light coat on my headlights. Fine. Looked ok. Still smooth as glass. Then, my dumb@$$ sprayed clear on top of that. Rustoleum Crystal Clear Indoor/Outdoor. Very not good.

Aside from the fact that my headlights now look very hazy, my headlight cutoff is horrible. Months ago, I baked my headlights and blacked out the inside, and removed the squirrel finders. Now, the nice crisp cutoff i had is gone. since the light gets refracted off of the now ugly and hazy lens/cover of my headlights, it just washes out everywhere.

I called the dealership and asked if they sell just the lenses, not the whole headlamp assembly, and they say they don't. They want $280 per headlamp assembly. I asked them what they do if a customer cracks a lense from something flying off of the road, and they said they replace the whole entire headlamp. Pretty shady in my opinion. That's a lot of cash.

I know that if i hadn't clear-coated them, i could use alcohol to get the VHT off without a problem. Now that I have clear coat though, i can't use the alcohol to remove the VHT, as it won't cut through the clear coat.

Can i use nail polish remover? I know that should cut through the clearcoat, but my question is will it screw up my lenses? I really don't want to have to wetsand and polish and hope for the best. that's a lot more time and energy than i have. I have also never wetsanded before, so i'm a little hesitant. I guess i can try out the nail polish remover and see what happens. Worse case scenario I'll end up having to buy new assemblies. Maybe I'll try out the aftermarket CCFL halos, since they cost a few hundred less than OEM.

Has anyone here used nail polish remover (or any other solvent/acetone) on their headlights, and what were the results? Any help or input appreciated.

Thank you guys and girls.

 

i used this to sand down my friend's headlight. It took me 1 hr instead of 5 minutes on the label.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGMBGQUMtOo

I think u should give this a try. or you can buy the parts your self.
The package contain:
2 piece 1000 gridt sand paper
2 piece 2500 grit sand paper.
2 pack of rubbing compound.
6 piece of cloth (they are very small, i would use my own terry cloth next time)
4 packages of headlight sealant. ( i don't really know what is in them, I would use PlastX by Meguiar or something similar. )

 

It may be risky but why not just try some mineral spirits/paint remover. Worth a shot maybe...

 

i a (single) lens i could send you. the whole headlight assembly, actually. it wont work as a headlight though cause all the parts where the bolts go in are broken. PM me if you're interested

 

Thanks vertex. I actually bought a 'permatex headlight restoration kit' and it actually worked out pretty good. $20, as opposed to $600 for new ones from the $tealer$hip. I really appreciate your offer though. Those are hard to come by. you should use it to try a retrofit. it's already broken. theeeen, if it works, you can really retro your other working ones. Just a thought.

btw, your xb2 is sick, man. I like what you've done to it.

 

glad to see it's worked out gracias on the props
I was thinkin of trying something, but yaa knoww, the cutoff is just fine stock, not really worth the effort and $$$ ;)