Polishing headlight lenses / grille removal (1 Viewer)

[bloc]

Hello all,

We could have a discussion on how ridiculous it is that an $80k vehicle has lenses that can't handle UV light, but it wouldn't do us any good. My 13 LandCruiser had yellowing/faded lenses when I got it and I tried a few cheap/easy kits to deal with it, eventually accepting that the right way involves some more work and investment.. but the results speak for themselves.

Unfortunately I didn't get before pictures.. but they were like lots of us. Top third not clear, some yellowing on top, bottom portion a few nicks but mostly good.

I didn't see a way to get at the inner edge against the grille without removing it, so that was the first step.

Remove the top plastic panel with the push rivets. 7 of them, consider getting new ones, as they have a limit on life before the tabs start breaking off. 90467-07217 Not sure if LX needs more. Pretty simple, depress the center button and start pulling up on the panel, they will start popping out. They might fly off. Wear eye pro.

Once that is out of the way, the grille can come out.

Three 10mm screws into plastic that are obvious.

Then, a plastic retaining clip on each end of the grille that has been used on toyota grilles for ages.

It is a bit hidden, but located right under the 10mm screws you removed from the ends of the grille.

In the second pic above you can see how to remove the top edge of the grille, perspective is from the end, near the headlight. You'll be looking at it from the other side. You push the small vertical tab outward toward the headlight toward the slot and the grille will separate from the tab, leaving it in place in its hole. Rotate the tab to remove it from the hole.

 

[bloc]

My 13 Cruiser has Radar cruise control as well as the front camera in the grille. The radar antenna stays in place, bolted to the core support, but the connector for the camera needs to be separated. Unfortunately the radar antenna is in the way, and between that and the connector being tough, it is something of a job.

Here you can see the connector, the tab is on the top.. but in my case depressing it wouldn't separate the connector.. whether it was dirt in there or age, I was worried about slipping off the connector and pulling wires out. It was pretty well stuck. Also in this image you can see the lower tabs holding the grille into the bumper cover.

The first time I had my grille out the camera connector would not cooperate. I had to unbolt the camera from the grill and work on it with more room. Those three scews are obstructed by the lower bracket for the antenna, to the point that a regular stubby philips wouldn't work for me. Either get an ultra-stubby or a right angle bit adapter. The latter has saved my butt a few times.

The camera easily slides out, don't lose the screws.

 

[bloc]

Now we need to handle the tabs that are all around the grille holding it to the bumper skin.

Dead center of this image. There are a number of these, with a couple hidden or reduced access. Fortunately if you get most of them the rest will pull out.

Pry up with a thin screwdriver lifting the center, I started with the one in the above image, then work across the bottom.

There are two or three on the passenger side behind the transmission cooler ducting. If you've handled the rest of them you should be able to swing the grille out and those pop loose. Make sure you already did the little bracket under the top screw on this side.

 

[bloc]

Now you can get to work on the headlight lenses, including the inner angled edge against the grille.

I got the following picture after I had finished the lamps.

There are a ton of how-to videos online, but in general you'll want to use elbow grease and a dual orbital, starting with a coarser sandpaper, and eventually moving to cutting and polishing pads to first take off the yellow, then smooth out the scratches.

AMMONYC is a well-respected detailer posting good stuff on youtube.

I used a borrowed DA with a 6" 3M hookit disk with 800, 1200, then 2000 grit papers and wet sanded through these. Probably got the scratches a bit deep with 800 or too much pressure.. my lamps aren't -PERFECT-.. but they are pretty good now.

Then I used a 5" velcro disk with orange buffing pad and meguair's 105 cutting compound, then a white pad with 205.

Obviously you should mask the fender and bumper paint to prevent damage.

Results

There is still some sun damage that won't come out, it appears to be inside the lens. The top surface is perfectly smooth and some crazing is visible. Basically you'd have to split the buckets and go at it from the inside.. or replace the lamp. For me, it isn't bad enough to bother.

Better pic of that stuff:

The light needs to catch it right to be visible. Yeah, not perfect, but a whole lot better than what I was working with.

 

[bloc]

Edit: this stuff didn’t work well, but leaving the info up.


It is no secret that once all of this is done, the damage will come back over time because the factory UV coating has been removed. I've used a special compound in the past that was very expensive and was supposed to last a year. It didn't.

Consensus now seems to be find a good auto paint sealant "wax" and reapply every few months. It's simple to do, cheap, and if it works, should keep us from having to do all the buffing over again.

This stuff is amazing.. technically not a wax, but a polymer sealant.

Before applying sealant make sure you use rubbing alcohol on the lense to remove any oils left behind from the buffing compounds.

Much, much better.. though I need to wash it to remove the wet sanding debris on the left.

Post or PM any questions.

 

[radman]

Sweet!
I tried to take out my LX grill to paint it, but gave up after one 10mm, 6 push tabs, and 2 Phillips screws. You've given me new hope.

 

[bloc]

Sweet!
I tried to take out my LX grill to paint it, but gave up after one 10mm, 6 push tabs, and 2 Phillips screws. You've given me new hope.

Yeah, LX is probably similar but might be different in critical ways. If you do it, please post pics here of the differences you find.

 

[bloc]

Oh.. and a bonus post with an example of the attention to detail toyota puts into these things.

Simple rubber trim above the headlight and grille to seal the front edge of the hood, right?

Well, one inserts into the other to keep things lined up and sealing despite the potential gap.

Make sure you get those right again before closing everything up.

 

[CharlieS]

Excellent write up!

 

[MTNLIVIN]

Thank you for sharing, great write up!

 

[TimCFJ40]

I've recently done similar to one of my headlights, which was even more annoying because one was replaced a few years ago, so I had a yellow light and a good clear one. It's about 80% but my interior sun checking is worse than yours. I wish we had glass lenses like prior gens, but I guess for complex shapes that's not reasonable. I sealed it with 303 UV protectant. Will see if it lasts or if I should strip and wax next time.

 

[coleAK]

Sweet!
I tried to take out my LX grill to paint it, but gave up after one 10mm, 6 push tabs, and 2 Phillips screws. You've given me new hope.

I made a video when I took my 13 LX grill off to replace a headlight washer jet.

 

[radman]

I made a video when I took my 13 LX grill off to replace a headlight washer jet.

nice... I was trying to take off the chrome grill part without taking off the entire bumper cover. Seems like taking the entire cover off would be easier than just the grill, but that wont really help me paint it

 

[bloc]

Just thought to add a note to this.. not sure if I'm not putting it on often enough or it's just ineffective, but the ultimate polish isn't doing a good job of preventing UV damage. My other car is worse, so it could be a difference in materials.

I saw mequairs makes a spray on product specifically for this that lasts a year and isn't very expensive. I'll be buffing things again and give that a go.

 

[drmwvr]

I’ve used the Sylvania with good results. Going on one years and still looks good. Edit- sorry the pics are out of order

 

[MDK]

I’ve used the Sylvania with good results. Going on one years and still looks good.

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X2 on this kit being absolutely solid. Used it on my old disco 2. Just have to be careful applying the sealant at the end.

 

[bloc]

I’ve used the Sylvania with good results. Going on one years and still looks good. Edit- sorry the pics are out of order

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X2 on this kit being absolutely solid. Used it on my old disco 2. Just have to be careful applying the sealant at the end.

Are you guys still recommending this stuff after some time has gone by?

 

[bgladd]

I’m replacing my headlight assembly on my 09 LC, but I don’t want to remove my entire bumper cover. Is there a way that I can peel back the top of the cover?

 

[bloc]

I’m replacing my headlight assembly on my 09 LC, but I don’t want to remove my entire bumper cover. Is there a way that I can peel back the top of the cover?

In my experience it is too rigid to do what you want.

You could conceivably separate that side more than the other but all the fasteners will still need to be loose, and frankly if you are that far you should just remove the whole thing. Keeping one side engaged while removing the other isn’t easy even without having to replace a headlight on one side. Having a helper will be important.

Really, it’s not that difficult to remove the bumper skin. But I do think it wears the clips as mentioned.. I’d deal with that when I got there, personally. Mine isn’t bad enough to worry about fixing. Maybe 1/8” gap.

 

[Blackford Oakes]

I’ve used the Sylvania with good results. Going on one years and still looks good. Edit- sorry the pics are out of order

X2 on this kit being absolutely solid. Used it on my old disco 2. Just have to be careful applying the sealant at the end.

I'm going to try the Sylvania kit. Can you guys comment on how the treatment held up?