?s about head lights - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Alex Walker · 07-24-2009, 11:47 PM

my 97 Boxster was a little neglected by the previous owner so the headlights had heavy oxidation on the outside and the inside. I polished out the exterior to perfect finish and replaced the trim plates with new ones but now I'm looking into cleaning the inside. Can I expect to be able to restore these to original clear state or should I just get new ones? Can I even purchase just the clear cover or would I have to get the whole assembly?

On top of that the inner lenses are burnt and cracked in the center. Can I purchase those on their own as well? I'd rather not pay the dealer to have this done.

timothy · 07-25-2009, 07:51 AM

Everything I've read indicates that polishing the outer surface removes a hard protective layer and the resulting finish, while it looks good now, will last only a very short time. Rebuilding the lights with donor parts is quite a project and not something typically undertaken. As you can see from the construction the headlights are really a solid unit and not modular parts. Burned and cracked inner surfaces is often the result of brighter (and hotter) halogen bulbs. New lights are expensive but there is a good used market on sites such as ebay, 986forum, and 6speedonline. If your budget allows, Porsche litronics (xenon) are a terrific upgrade to halogen and currently run around $800 - $1000 for a quality used set. They can sometimes be had for less if you look long enough.

JAAY · 07-25-2009, 10:32 AM

I have my stock headlights with about 20k miles on them. There perfect. I have the factory Porsche box to ship them in too. Send me a pm or email me. Djmanjay@yahoo.com

Alex Walker · 07-25-2009, 03:43 PM

Thanks for the replies. Jaay, email sent.

JAAY · 07-26-2009, 07:59 AM

Called you last night. Here is a photo of the headlights. I have the tail lights too if you or anybody is intersted. I am also selling two exhausts in the classifieds section and my old 2.5 motor.

boxster7614 · 07-26-2009, 08:52 AM

You could always bake them apart to clean the inside if needs be. see my thread Removal of chrome inside headlight I have polished headlights before and yes they will turn yellow again but as long as you lightly polish them every now and again (when you wash and wax your car) the'll be just fine.......you polished them once you can always do it again.

Alex Walker · 07-26-2009, 04:35 PM

Those look great, JAAY!