>The easiest and most effective way I have found to de-fog headlights
>is to use what Raimund suggested- alcohol.
>I use marine stove alcohol. You can get this at hardware or marine
>supply stores. Rinse out the inside of each lense

That's lens

>housing and let it thoroughly dry. You'll be amazed how clear the
>lights become. Again, make sure you let the alcohol evaporate
>completely, or when you switch on the lights you may have flames
>instead.

Do NOT rub thre reflector with anything. I don't know what they are
coated with, but even a gentle rub witha  clean rag can scuff the
surface. As I found with an old H4 unit.

Rinse, don't rub.

Fogging of the lens & reflector can be just dust (H$ units are not
well-sealed, so dust can get in) or it can be tungsten oxides
deposited as the filament burns (sealed-beams).

>I don�t know what defines the US-headlights as "sealed beam", does it mean
>they�re sealed so you can�t reach into them? Otherwise, our european
>headlights get foggy/cloudy because of deposits like burned dust etc.
>
>Remove the bulb and rinse the lamps with cleaner, alcohol, whatever, and let
>them dry. They look like new afterwards.
>
>Raimund
>P.S.: What makes sealed beam lamps "sealed"? Are the vanagon�s U.S.
>headlights sealed beams?

Sealed-beam lights have a 1-piece molded glass reflector/lens, and is
actually a large heavy crude lightbulb. Lens quality is very poor in
those I have seen.

Generic nonsealed-beam lights like proper H4s have a good-quality
glass (or plastic) lens with a crimped-on plated metal reflector. The
bulb plugs in from behind, and is "sealed" by a rubber boot, which
never really does seal.

Model-specific H4 lights have a glass or acrylic lens sealed into a
plastic housing, with a metal reflector within. The bulb plugs into
the back, with ill-sealing rubber boot.
--
Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut