cleaning headlamps

[Linda]

My headlamps are filming over, what is the best thing to clean them with. Linda

[mike020150]

With the almost universal use of headlamps with plastic outer lenses, all the major polish companies, like Autoglym, Holts, Turtlewax etc, offer headlamp restoration kits to polish some clarity into clouded lenses. Some kits are for use with mechanical polishers. Others can be used simply with good old-fashioned elbow grease. Mike.

[Astromorg]

For me, that's an unexpected question about an X100 Jaguar as I've always thought the headlight lenses to be real glass and needing no special treatment even after many years!

Both our X types had plastic lenses and they did fog over needing an occasional weekend's time allocation of an appropriate 'restoration kit' to get back to clear and sparkly , but the XK8 has only ever had intermittent internal condensation problems that generally self-dissipate. Am I missing something in Linda's query?

[JimMann]

The headlamp covers on the X-150 are plastic, although a very good plastic that can look like glass to some. Perhaps Linda is referring to her X-150?

Jim Mann

[BrianG]

Cloudy plastic headlamps didn't happen on my previous X350 XJ but I have this on my current X350. However this is definitely preferable to earlier XJs I've owned where one stone hit and the glass is gone, with a bill for a few hundred pounds for a whole new headlamp. I guess it all depends on the mileage that you do; over my ten years of ownership of this XJ I have had a couple of goes at buffing up the plastic lenses to make them better, and they seem good for about 3 years before needing another go.