Truck Headlight Options

ribber

Senior Member
Are there options for brighter headlight bulbs? I have a 2003 F150 that's good enough, but my wife and daughter's newer cars light up the world. Maybe I'm old and my eyesight is slipping.
I see all the young guys around with their super bright, fancy LED headlights, but I don't know much about them.
 

GoldDot40

Senior Member
I've been using Sylvania Silver Star headlights for about 18 years now. They light up the road pretty well. Keep in mind, all these "brighter than OE" bulbs burn hotter so the life expectancy is shorter in most applications.

Also consider other drivers. These aftermarket bulbs have a blinding whiteness that are a nuisance to on-coming traffic. So maybe consider changing just your high beams over to a brighter bulb.

My truck was set up to where the low beams turn off when you hit the high beams. I modified it to where all 4 stay on with my high beams. It literally looks like daylight in front of me.
 

rospaw

Senior Member
Are there options for brighter headlight bulbs? I have a 2003 F150 that's good enough, but my wife and daughter's newer cars light up the world. Maybe I'm old and my eyesight is slipping.
I see all the young guys around with their super bright, fancy LED headlights, but I don't know much about them.

I found most of the time it the lens that is discoloring/fading making the light dim. I have 2 fords with that headlight set up. Both have had the wet sand / polished treatment. Cheap and easy! Works wonders and takes about an hour or less.
Take a picture of one of your headlight lens and post it if you think that might be the issue
 

lbzdually

Banned
I love LED's, but without the correct housing, they will blind oncoming drivers. I had a pair of HIR bulbs in my dually and they were far brighter than stock and lasted over 3 years with lots of night driving. the HIR bulbs are just like regular bulbs but brighter, so they don't blind traffic. I don't think you can get them anymore, but the Silverstars like GoldDot40 said are brighter than stock.
 

tad1

Senior Member
There are led conversion kits widely available and they aren't very expensive. I put a set into an old sedan and it made a remarkable difference. The kits usually include the bulbs, wires and a thin ballast. I also agree that many times the cloudiness in old headlights is the issue. They make kits that basically polish or sand them to clear them up. they are a bit of a PIA though and do require a bit of elbow grease and time. It might even be worth to getting some new replacement lenses if cost is reasonable.
One thing to note is that when I installed the new LED conversion I marked the center of the old light bulb pattern on the garage wall prior to installing the new bulbs so that the pattern wasn't too high and blinding to other drivers. I had previously installed a super bright H4 conversion in my old pickup and didn't pay attention to the light pattern and I was getting flashed by other drivers because I was hammering them with the new lights. Had to go back and lower the beam pattern and all was OK.
 

ribber

Senior Member
I found most of the time it the lens that is discoloring/fading making the light dim. I have 2 fords with that headlight set up. Both have had the wet sand / polished treatment. Cheap and easy! Works wonders and takes about an hour or less.
Take a picture of one of your headlight lens and post it if you think that might be the issue

Foggy looking lens could be an issue. I assumed this was normal and mostly on the inside of lens.
Seems I read somewhere once that you can use toothpaste?
 

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rospaw

Senior Member
Foggy looking lens could be an issue. I assumed this was normal and mostly on the inside of lens.
Seems I read somewhere once that you can use toothpaste?

Yep! That is why you can't see at night.
You can buy kits or special polishes ect if you like. Or go buy walmart to the tire/oil change area and they will polish them for you. (friend had it done and worked well)

You can do it yourself with some elbow grease and sand paper and tape.

Wash the lens very well and dry so tape will stick.
Tape off the painted area around the light with some 2" tape. I use the blue painters tape. Get a pack of assorted wet/dry sand paper. 180 / 220grit to 600 grit. I started with 320 and it wasn't enough so i went with 180. Sounds course but wasn't. Dip sandpaper in water always keeping it wet. Go 180 to 320 to 600 grit. If you have higher like 1000 grit use it also. The 180 is the key to getting it clear so sand it well with 180. After you finish the 600 /1000 use some clear type car wax to finish the process.

Side note for folks with air/elec type tools. A DA or sander will make the task very easy. Still finish with a high grit hand wet sand and polish/wax. If using air or electric sanders double or triple the layers of tape. If you bump the taoe with a sander, stop, wipe off dust and tape it again.

I have tried this with a cheap electric car buffer and it works ok for light discoloring. Using a rubbing compound then a cleaning wax and followed by a polishing wax.

I have even tried the heat gun on a junkyard Ford lens and MB len. That is a art to not over heat. It looked good when done but was not clear like the other methods.

Lipstick on a pig:

Brake fluid .... doesn't work
tire shine..... doesn't work
Silicon spray.... nope
Baking soda.... nope
 

1gr8bldr

Senior Member
The good ones have little fans in them to keep them cool
 

normaldave

GON Weatherman
I used to always use the Meguiars heavy duty restoration kit with the yellow polishing bonnet and drill to polish. Worked great, but never lasted more than about 4-6 months and they were cloudy AGAIN!

I then did the wet sand and clear coat method on my Montero and the Ford van headlights (looked alot like the OPs). The results were astounding, and it appears it will last.

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This video pretty well covers the process, BUT, I didn't' use the Duplicolor or SEM brand aerosols. I went to the local auto body supply and was able to buy a spray can of ultra clear coat with UV protectant built in. The trick is the can has the hardener/activator in the bottom, and the clear coat in the top. You press a puncture button on the bottom, releasing the hardener into the upper chamber of the can to mix with the clear coat. Shake properly, then spray ~ 3 coats on the prepared headlight surface, allowing a cure time in between. Don't worry, the clear goes on milky yellow at first, then dries as clear as glass if you did the prep work right.

I paid $ 20 for the clear coat in a can from the body shop supply, well worth it. The shelf life on the mixture in the can is only about 3 days, so be ready to clear coat all your stuff at one time. It was much easier and cheaper and easier than prepping/cleaning a HVLP touch up gun! I carefully sprayed the clear coat using full passes with the headlights removed and sitting on a work table, I did not have to wet sand afterwards, they look great.
 
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GoldDot40

Senior Member
You can do it yourself with some elbow grease and sand paper and tape.

Wash the lens very well and dry so tape will stick.
Tape off the painted area around the light with some 2" tape. I use the blue painters tape. Get a pack of assorted wet/dry sand paper. 180 / 220grit to 600 grit. I started with 320 and it wasn't enough so i went with 180. Sounds course but wasn't. Dip sandpaper in water always keeping it wet. Go 180 to 320 to 600 grit. If you have higher like 1000 grit use it also. The 180 is the key to getting it clear so sand it well with 180. After you finish the 600 /1000 use some clear type car wax to finish the process.

I then did the wet sand and clear coat method on my Montero and the Ford van headlights (looked alot like the OPs). The results were astounding, and it appears it will last.
I did my wife's car about 4 years ago. I used UV resistant clear coat. No polishing...It's a waste of time. Simply sanded and cleared.
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ribber

Senior Member
I'm pretty sure I have some wet/dry sandpaper & a can of clear coat in the shop, so I will try that. Was at Walmart earlier today and picked up one of the light restore kits. Not sure if it works, but it was called Wipe New. I'll report back later.
 

FootLongDawg

Senior Member
I changed out all the existing lights in my little Ford Ranger to LEDs. That includes headlights, taillights, side lights, license plate, overhead, dash, climate control/ radio cluster. Was not cheap, but the difference was beyond night and day.
 

rospaw

Senior Member
I'm pretty sure I have some wet/dry sandpaper & a can of clear coat in the shop, so I will try that. Was at Walmart earlier today and picked up one of the light restore kits. Not sure if it works, but it was called Wipe New. I'll report back later.

The few "wipe on coatings" i have seen tried, look pretty good for a used car salesman but not for someone wanting to see at night. The "cloudiness/discoloration is still in the plastic. Looking forward to your updated on the wipe on in a few weeks.
I never did the rattle-can clear coat due to it will "yellow" with time. (At least that is what happened to a friend of mine) Better quality clear coat i think would work good and last.
 

Jake Allen

Senior Member

ribber

Senior Member
Wet sanded with 220 and 400 grit to get the heavy stuff off, then used the Wipe New kit.
The Wipe new has a small block with 2 sides. You remove oxidation with the green side, then polish with the grey side. Do these both while wet.
Then, you wipe some kind of clearcoat/protectant on the lens.

They look pretty good compared to what they were. I'm not sure if the lens were crystal clear from the factory like some of these newer cars. We'll see if it made a difference after dark.
 

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PappyHoel

Senior Member
I love LED's, but without the correct housing, they will blind oncoming drivers. I had a pair of HIR bulbs in my dually and they were far brighter than stock and lasted over 3 years with lots of night driving. the HIR bulbs are just like regular bulbs but brighter, so they don't blind traffic. I don't think you can get them anymore, but the Silverstars like GoldDot40 said are brighter than stock.

I'm glad y'all brought up the blinding other drivers issue. It's horrible right now with all the folks using the led lights. There seems to be no difference in high beam vs low. That's all I will say since this is the ontopic.

I get the cheapy lights on my truck and they work just fine.
 

rospaw

Senior Member
Wet sanded with 220 and 400 grit to get the heavy stuff off, then used the Wipe New kit.
The Wipe new has a small block with 2 sides. You remove oxidation with the green side, then polish with the grey side. Do these both while wet.
Then, you wipe some kind of clearcoat/protectant on the lens.

They look pretty good compared to what they were. I'm not sure if the lens were crystal clear from the factory like some of these newer cars. We'll see if it made a difference after dark.

Looks good!!! :cool::cool:
 
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