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2003 XKR - DIY removal of rust stain inside headlight
Greetings forum gurus! I recently joined this forum and would like to thank the creators and guru contributors because I've read various threads over the past few years and it's helped me greatly with any required work on my XKR. (This is my first jag.)
Onto my current question... There was standing water inside my headlight. It is now drying out. Once it's dry, is there a way (preferably EASY) to remove the rust color that's been left behind inside my drivers side headlight? It looks like orange dusty dirt. (See pics of the dirty drivers side vs. clean passenger side headlights, before & after water started drying up.)
I had an issue with condensation build up inside my drivers side HL. Thanks to previous threads, it is now drying out. But at its worst, there was condensation AND about 1/4" of standing water inside the headlight!
I found how so much water was getting in (tiny crack on corner of lens) and have a plan for sealing that up after it's fully dry (tiny drop of clear caulk, covered with new headlight trim). I will also remove the caps on top the lights as needed to allow condensation to escape, park in the sun, & drive with headlights on (to heat & dry it up) as needed in the future.
Old threads suggest wiping out the inside of the HL assembly is NOT recommended for good reasons (the shiny silver finish wipes away). It also seems quite labor-intensive to open up/remove the HL assembly. It seems the lens does not pop off without first removing the HL assembly.
So, one idea I have for addressing the orange colored dust/dirt that's been left behind inside the HL assembly is misting Rubbing Alcohol. My headliner was stained with a similar colored dust/dirt, and -- per jaguar --rubbing alcohol on a towel eliminated it.
Is there a way to spray/mist a rubbing alcohol solution into the HL to rinse out the inside of the assembly? or dissolve the orange dust?
The orange dust looks suspiciously similar to the dust I cleaned off the headliner (from deteriorating foam above the fabric headliner).
Please direct me, as I'm still a newbie with this stuff.
Plan A is to bite the proverbial bullet, and buy replacement headlight reflectors. Not cheap, but a lot less than a complete headlight assembly. This would restore your headlight brightness to standard level. Provided you can do a good job re-sealing the lens, this would be a permanent fix.
Plan B would be to try and do the best you can with what you already have. Looking at the pictures, it seems like your reflecting material is already gone from the reflector for the most part. If you are still happy with the current illumination, you might want to disassemble the whole thing, do a complete (hard) cleanup (probably removing the rest of the reflecting material), and put everything back together. As an option, you could try and find some type of DIY reflecting spray paint, maybe even some shiny silver to try and restore some illumination.
My understanding is that the job is somewhat involved and require some patience, but the good part is that you can do just one side at a time.
For such a beautiful car, I would definitely consider buying a NEW headlight (HERE on eBay for <$300??)... now that the weather is nice up there I am sure you want to drive
Kristen, +1 On above recommendations. That's a peculiar residue, I think you'll be really lucky to find alcohol dissolves it.
There is a product called lime away that works real well for precipitates like this though it is rather corrosive.
Assuming you choose the "try to clean it, I've got nothing to lose since my only other option is replacement" path, I'd try to find a swab with a long stalk - you might need agitation. I'd certainly have a couple of gallons of distilled water nearby to rinse and dilute anything corrosive at end of process (don't forget distilled water leaves no residue).
Thinking out loud- If this stain was water deposit, perhaps it is still soluble. See if it dissolves in plain old distilled water first. You may get lucky.
Have you had a chance to research "removing rust stains?" You may get some tips that you can leverage.
Thank you to blindside and Johnken for your ideas, too! I'll use distilled water and order that $300 part off eBay as a fall back... if I have to. This is so helpful
One of the best ways to remove rust staining is white vinegar, essentially acetic acid. You can also add some ammonia to it which will also rid you of the mold spores which will lead to future problems.
There is a company that can add a mirror finish to almost any surface. You will have to do some searching, but it looked easy enough to do if they will sell you the two part chemical set. Do not have the name, but the process was shown on one of those TV car customizing shows.
I'm very happy to be corrected if I'm wrong but .............. isn't the chrome simply decorative ?? The dipped-beam has it's own reflector which looks OK in the photographs, and the main-beam is a projector design which doesn't need an external reflector. So - you could remove the glass, and clean up the rusty stuff and re-spray it with silver, or matt-black, or indeed pink or green paint with no effect at all on the efficiency of the light.
I'm very happy to be corrected if I'm wrong but .............. isn't the chrome simply decorative ?? The dipped-beam has it's own reflector which looks OK in the photographs, and the main-beam is a projector design which doesn't need an external reflector. So - you could remove the glass, and clean up the rusty stuff and re-spray it with silver, or matt-black, or indeed pink or green paint with no effect at all on the efficiency of the light.
Now that you mention it I do think you are correct... I believe some forum members have painted the inside bottom of the headlight black...
I just found the thread I remember HERE... hopefully that helps you
Last edited by blindside; Apr 25, 2017 at 01:54 PM.
What's the difference between the hid and non hid casings? Just the attached ballast. Can this ebay auction item be converted fir hid by adding the ballast?
DSD, just reread your question. Maybe I misunderstood, I answered the question: can one convert the earlier non HID to HID? Answer = yes you sure can. Around $60 and 45min Of your time to install.
Of course any HID needs a ballast for the high voltage, ballast is included with the purchase I referenced. Hope it helps.
Not trying to hi-jack a hi-jack but (and again I may be wrong) there are different types of headlamp according to destination market of the car.
In the UK, all cars (whatever type of bulb is used) must have electrically adjustable dipped beams, and there's a little knob on the dash to raise and lower them.
I think that US cars don't have this with the non HID lights, and there's a sort-of little spirit level device in the light fitting to make the adjustment. And - obviously - no little knob on the dashboard.
Not sure if this makes any difference as far as any "retro-fit" of HID bulbs - it would not be legal in the UK but maybe things are different elsewhere.
2003 XKR - DIY removal of rust stain inside headlight
but (and again I may be wrong) there are different types of headlamp according to destination market of the car.
