Well I bought this nice new (to me) GS400 a couple of months ago and recently realized something, Xenon headlights show scratches MUCH more easily than 'regular' headlights.

I never used to be able to see scratches in any of my other headlights... then again all of my other cars have always had a much less 'clear\jeweled' design to them (kind of like the 'frosted' look of a bathroom window, they showed light, but you couldn't see straight into the housing clear as day). My GS4's headlights not only show scratches easily in the daytime because of their clear\jeweled nature, but for some reason it seems to me that the actual beam produced by Xenon lights also makes scratches and even dust very visible on the surface of the lense.

I'm not sure why, but on my other cars if the lights were on you couldn't see anything on the actual light housing unless it was huge like a bug or something. With these Xenon lights if you look from above the light and not directly in front of it, you can see every single little blemish and piece of dirt on the surface.

So my question to you is, what's the best product on the market for not only cleaning and polishing the surface of the light housings, but also protecting them from scratching in the future?

I have Zaino "Plastic Magic", but from the description of it I wasn't sure if it was advisable to use this on my car's headlight housings.

So is the Zaino I already have my best solution for both cleaning, polishing AND protecting, or should I be using a different product for one or more of these things?

The protection of the lights is my #1 concern... I'd like something on the surface that would keep them from getting scuffed.

Thanks in advance.

 

AFAIK, I believe the Zaino Plastic Magic will work fine, however there are a few other plastic lens products that are good and provide a layer of protection as well as polishing to remove light defects. One of the best known is Plexus. http://www.properautocare.com/plexus.html

Other alternatives are Meguiar's...... http://www.properautocare.com/meplplclpo.html

And Mother's..... http://store.yahoo.com/rodi/ch06208.html

I've heard great reviews on Plexus and good reviews on the Mother's product. I think the Meguiar's product is relatively new as I've not seen it before.

To be honest I don't believe any of these products would keep the lenses from getting scuffed, just like a car wax won't prevent scratches to the paint. If you want them really protected you might look into one of those clear films that applies over the housing, kinda like a clear bra for the lenses. I think 3M is making a good product for this....

[edit]
Here's something similar to the 3M that I've heard of some folks using.... http://www.autogeek.net/xlipr.html

HTH!

Mike

 

How hot do the housings gets? Hotter than Zaino Z-2/Z-5 can withstand?

Because I've had good results on my Camaro by using the Zaino plastic polish followed up by Z-2.

 

Zaino polish will hold up to temps over 500 degrees, it is good to use on your headlight covers.

 

I just did some checking around, and you can get Plexus at some of the major cycle shops in town. I called Kawasaki of Memphis (located at Summer and Alturia) earlier today and they carry it for $8 a can. I'm probably gonna pick some up this evening ( they close at 6pm). I always like to find things locally if I can b/c I can't stand the wait (and hassle) of internet ordering when you can just buy it in town. The Plexus will clean, restore, and protect the lenses, and afterwards I'll probably add a little Zaino polish to them. I need to treat mine too, and I don't want to place a Zaino order for one product right now, especially after just getting a $300 order recently.

Just thought you might want to check it out sometime.....


Mike