Have I ruined my 2013 headlight, Or are they fixable what do you guys think?

14155 Views 26 Replies 14 Participants Last post by 40acres, Mar 18, 2015

Pcervant136R

Discussion Starter · Mar 13, 2015 (Edited)

5

A couple of months ago I purchased a set of Lamin-X headlight Tint /covers I didn't like how they fit so I removed them Long story short Some of the tints adhesive was left behind I cleaned it and some came off and some was very stubborn. I decided to use Goof off tested a small part of the Headlight for any reactions and it seamed to be safe. So I went ahead and used this goof off to try to clean up my headlights and It was like some kind of chemical reaction or something. To me it looks like the Goof off reacted with the adhesive and caused it to I guess melt or burn through the plastic Or I am just seeing things. I use to be able to run my nail across the headlight and hit the adhesive from the outsidr now I run my nail over the headlight and it's like a crater and my nail hits the outside of the adhesive indentation weird? What do you guys think are these Toast or are they fixable? Reason I think this is because The adhesive is deeper Now instead off on top off the clear headlight hope you guys understand what I mean. I hope I am over reacting and this is all in my head and they can be fixed. What would you guys use to Remove this type of adhesive Any recommendations would be great as they look horrible. Edit I used Goof Off not Goo Gone..

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PowerGroove

· #2 · Mar 13, 2015

Not going to "hurt" them per-say. You basically burned off the clear coat on the lens. As long as there is no physical hole that water can get through then you're fine. But a new set of lights ain't gonna be cheap!

Scorpi0

· #3 · Mar 14, 2015

Are those blotches the remains of adhesive? Cause I dont see anything else wrong with that headlight.

Pcervant136R

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 14, 2015

Scorpi0 said:
Are those blotches the remains of adhesive? Cause I dont see anything else wrong with that headlight.

What you see is what was left after the adhesives reaction with the Goof Off. The adhesive seemed to have turned milky white and these craters were left After I wiped it down. It just looked horrible. I should have just left it the way it was.

Pcervant136R

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 14, 2015

PowerGroove said:
Not going to "hurt" them per-say. You basically burned off the clear coat on the lens. As long as there is no physical hole that water can get through then you're fine. But a new set of lights ain't gonna be cheap!

It sucks as I tested it on a clean spot and I guess it reacted to the adhesive and caused this. I might look into a new or used headlight down the road and have New bi Xenons projectors & maybe some demon eyes / angle eyes . But ya your right about them not being cheap. Not the kind of money I want to spend any time soon .

devildogae

· #6 · Mar 14, 2015

The goof off turns it liquid then it dries up again. You need to use more and keep wiping it off. It should eventually get it all off, then wash with liquid dish soap and clean towel, should be good to go, wipe on, wipe off.

Reactions: 2

dhorcher

· #7 · Mar 14, 2015

As ? said continue to use goof off until it's gone, or try wd40 which is what I usually use to remove adhesive from plastics. Either way when it comes mostly off go to a scratch remover and buff the lights by hand. Then give them a good coat of wax to protect them since they will then be bare to the elements.

greenmeeny

· #8 · Mar 14, 2015

You might be able to get it polished out.

oldninjadude

· #9 · Mar 14, 2015

Next time you want to remove an adhesive, Use wd-40 or goo B gone.

That goof off stuff is way to strong for any soft plastic, shits as strong or stronger than carb/brake cleaner.

Pcervant136R

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 14, 2015

devildogae said:
The goof off turns it liquid then it dries up again. You need to use more and keep wiping it off. It should eventually get it all off, then wash with liquid dish soap and clean towel, should be good to go, wipe on, wipe off.

It did more than turn it into liquid I think it did exactly what "PowerGroove" said it burned through the clear on the headlight. I don't want to use this stuff on them any more as I don't want to make them worse then they are.

Pcervant136R

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 14, 2015

I will try WD40 and see what that does but like I mentioned I think it burned through when the adhesive came in contact with the Goof off as I put some on the area without the adhesive and it didn't do anything so I applied it to the adhesive and that's where it messed up I will try a headlight restoration kit maybe go to a friends detail shop & see if he has one he can trY to polish it out. Thanks guys. Lesson Learned NEVER use Goof Off on ANY thing on my Bike. I was even going to try 3m Adhesive remover but they told me it could mess it up.

40acres

· #12 · Mar 14, 2015

If all else fails, wet sand and Maguire's polish:O

Or if you aren't comfortable with it, you can have a body shop do it and lightly smoke your headlights for under $100. That is the look you were going for anyways, correct?

Reactions: 2

NitrusReigns

· #13 · Mar 14, 2015

40acres said:
If all else fails, wet sand and Maguire's polish:O

Or if you aren't comfortable with it, you can have a body shop do it and lightly smoke your headlights for under $100. That is the look you were going for anyways, correct?

Even just try some rubbing compound on it rather than heading straight to wet sanding. That's what I've done on old plastic headlights in cars that have gotten foggy from sun damage over years of exposure and it's always worked great.

Reactions: 1

40acres

· #14 · Mar 14, 2015

Yep, that too!

rkt14

· #15 · Mar 15, 2015

I haven't tried this on the headlights, but when I'm removing sticker gunk from windows and such, I use windex ..

I'm not sure how it will be on the head lights, but I have used it to clean my Jeep's headlights and nothing has happened.

Up to you to try !

svandy224

· #16 · Mar 15, 2015

I did the same thing with my windscreen, had a track day sticker I wanted to take off. Peeled the sticker off and there was adhesive left behind. Put that goof off stuff on there and it ruined my windscreen. Lesson learned.

Pcervant136R

Discussion Starter · #17 · Mar 17, 2015

svandy224 said:
I did the same thing with my windscreen, had a track day sticker I wanted to take off. Peeled the sticker off and there was adhesive left behind. Put that goof off stuff on there and it ruined my windscreen. Lesson learned.

Yup that hella sucks but a windscreen is alot more cheaper than a headlight even a aftermarket headlight is about $199 lol I wish it was my windscreen & not my headlight though.

Sixx

· #18 · Mar 17, 2015

oldninjadude said:
Next time you want to remove an adhesive, Use wd-40 or goo B gone.

That goof off stuff is way to strong for any soft plastic, shits as strong or stronger than carb/brake cleaner.

This, pretty sure if you read the label on Goof Off it says that it can damage plastics. It's mostly acetone, around 60-70% iirc.

Goo Gone is what you should have used, it's a lot lighter and won't damage paint or plastic. Many people confuse the two and well, this happens.

Also, if you ever remove stuff like this in the future, apply some heat with a hair dryer or heat gun first to minimize the amount of adhesive residue left behind.

Pcervant136R

Discussion Starter · #19 · Mar 17, 2015

Sixx said:
This, pretty sure if you read the label on Goof Off it says that it can damage plastics. It's mostly acetone, around 60-70% iirc.

Goo Gone is what you should have used, it's a lot lighter and won't damage paint or plastic. Many people confuse the two and well, this happens.

Also, if you ever remove stuff like this in the future, apply some heat with a hair dryer or heat gun first to minimize the amount of adhesive residue left behind.

I guess I wasn't thinking hard enough I just wanted it Gone. The adhesive had crystallized goo gone did nothing so I tested some of that goof off on a small corner and it just wiped right off with No problem, so I thought it was cool to try. But It was the adhesives reaction with the Goof off that messed it up . I didn't think of using my heat gun since it was hard crystallized adhesive just figured I could loosen it up and rub it off Big mistake. :O

Sixx

· #20 · Mar 17, 2015

You can probably salvage them if you use a headlight restoration kit. They are typically for headlight haze or scratches, but it wouldn't hurt to try. The chemical damage doesn't look that deep.

Amazon.com: 3M 39008 Headlight Lens Restoration System: Automotive

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