Fog light frame ?

[aaasimmons]

Good Morning! I hope someone could help I have 98 ford expedition 5.4 engine 2wd eddie bauer. I recently tried to clean my head lights & fog lights with brake fluid big mistake it look nice & shiny for 2 nights by the 3rd night i started to see white residue build up on the housing for the head lights & the fogs so now im trying to clean them and no matter what i use (hot water, soap, lens cleaners) they just wont get clean the white residue refuses to come off & also the frame thats covering the fogs what can i use to clean that it looks like a old plastic window i would purchase it but i dont know a parts # for it or what it is called help would be appreciated thanks.

 

[Tech]

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but where did you hear to clean the headlights with brake fluid?

 

[Remo]

I wasted hours trying to restore headlights, too. I've tried every trick in the book and it was all just a waste of time/energy. I ended up just buying new lights. I'd go that route if I were you. Check ebay for cheap aftermarket replacement parts.

 

[ELVATO]

Try wet sanding them. Worked for me for my roommate's Mustang. The oxidation still hasn't come back.

If I were to add a step to the process below, I'd use something like PlasticX (found at Wal-mart or Autozone/Advanced) before putting on the wax.

http://www.wikihow.com/Clear-Foggy-Headlight-Covers

Oh, BTW, I wet sand them. The link doesn't mention any water, so I'm assuming he's dry sanding them? Basically, wet the paper, and throw some water on the lights. When it starts to dry, throw some more water on there.

Use the 1000 to get most of the oxidation off, then the 1500 to smooth it out. If you want, you could also use some 2000 to further finish the surface, before doing the rubbing compound.

EDIT: What do you mean the frame covering the foglight?

 

[Remo]

^^^Goodluck with the wetsanding. I tried to go that route, but I ended up making it worse :-/ I'm not saying it cannot be done, it just didn't end well for me. If you have nothing to lose (or know what you are doing), I guess it's worth a shot...

 

[AvroAero]

Sounds more like the brake cleaner ate away at the plastic.

 

[Stoned06]

Do what Elvato said. Wetsanding is probably the only way to correct your mistake, and the most widely used to restore oxidized plastic. Follow it by using a rubbing compound or plastic polish to bring back the shine.