Should I clear coat my fog lights?

[Sycostang67]

I'm tired of the aftermarket fog lights in my truck, they work as well as my oxidized oem fogs.  I finally pulled the old ones off the shelf and sanded off the old clear coat and polished them up real good.  I wasn't sure if I should put some more clear coat on them or run them as-is. 

[SilverMoose]

I probably would. Turtle wax makes a lens restore kit and it comes with 2 coatings that get put at the end to help protect the lenses. It's only $6. May be worth a try. I'm going try it on my wife's car.

 

Just a thought

 

L8tr

D 

[Mopar1973Man]

There are lens kits out there to polish and seal the plastic again. How long they last I'm not sure.

 

Might be time to look forward towards better lights. The problem with stock light is that they only use 55w (4.5 amps) halogen bulbs. Still, this is a huge amount of power and the optics are well oh hum quality. I've got a few friends with the 2nd gen factory fog light and I'm not impressed with the light quantity or path. After going down the LED path and picking the PIAA's way different story. Yeah, they are pricey but a fraction of the electrical load 18w (1.5 amps) per light. The beam path is much wider and longer than OEM lights. In the dark nights of winter, the PIAA alone are brighter than my Morimoto HID's. Optics are designed with a good cutoff so not blinding oncoming drivers too. 

 

http://www.piaa.com/store/p/147-LP-530-Driving-LED-Light-Kit.aspx

 

With a bit of time, I'm sure you can fit those right in the stock hole. I'm going to do that this summer is getting mine tuck back a bit better but they nearly look factory for size.

[Sycostang67]

I had that turtle wax kit, only problem with the coatings is they are one time use.  I still have the sanding pads, lubricant and polish.  That's mostly what I used to clean them up.  The oem fog lights worked pretty good, when I got my truck the headlights were yellow and full of water, the fog lights were the only thing I could see with at night for awhile.  I replaced the head lights but the fogs got worse.  I had gotten some amber replacements, but they didn't put out hardly any light.  I'll have to look into some quality aftermarket lights eventually and  I'll have to see how well those lights fit in your bumper Mike.

[KATOOM]

Waxing them helps after polishing.  I polished and waxed my headlights (Sport version) for years until I recently picked up some replacements.  It seemed they'd stay pretty clear for about two years or so but would eventually get that yellowish line on the top side so I just got bored of messing.

I'm wanting to replace my fog lights too but again, I have the Sport truck and fog light options for the Sports are far and few.  All kinds of options for the non-sport trucks.

 

And Mike, the fogs are only 38 watts.  I wish they were 55 watts each.  That would be nice.

[Mopar1973Man]

15 hours ago, KATOOM said:

And Mike, the fogs are only 38 watts.  I wish they were 55 watts each. 

 

That's even worse. I would just ditch them. The PIAA's I've got are damn bright for 18w worth of LED light.

[KATOOM]

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

That's even worse. I would just ditch them. The PIAA's I've got are damn bright for 18w worth of LED light.

 

Its the conversion part of this whole issue...  I wouldnt mine installing different fog lights (as you've seen in my thread) but hacking things up just to get something under there is not high on my want to do list.  The factory fog lights aren't great but they do help.  All I want is them to be a little brighter.

 

I've looked for new assemblys... Dont exist.  Apparently there's not enough Sport trucks out there to justify the aftermarket world caring.

I've also looked for LED bulbs... Seeminly nothings available that isnt either outrageously expensive or is unknown if it will even fit or work after you cut and splice wiring.

 

Seriously...who has time for this kinda stuff.

[Brianh]

Has anyone tried the HID kits for the fog lights? I am also looking to upgrade the lights and figured the HID would be the best.Not sure how log they will last though, as they seem pretty cheap. I found some on Ebay that I might try out for $76. 

Says that they are 10000K.  Of course no instructions come with them, but it shouldn't be very hard to figure it out, I mean it is just lights. 

Edited December 11, 2018 by Brianh

[Marcus2000monster]

Once again get mine to stop flickering I want to upgrade as well. Hung that sucks about the Piaas is they won’t fit in the OEM fog light hole without modifications. I want something that fits and looks good. I think a new headlight/fog light switch assembly will fix my flickering fogs just got to find time for it. 

[Brianh]

I decided to get rid of the haze on the stock lenses so I wet sanded with 600, then 1500, then 3000. Then used 3M rubbing compound followed up by paint sealant. Much better for the time being.

[Ed ke6bnl]

What I have herd is the best solution is to CERAMIC COAT the lenses. I have not personally tried it though, Coating is in the $50 a bottle neighborhood.

[Stormin08]

so, i have a friend who does HID conversions...he will polish and ceramic clear coat the lenses. i do not believe it is a ceramic coating for paint, but rather a clear coat with a ceramic base. either probably works fine.

 

i would look for a 9H hardness if using ceramic coatings, it can help prevent rock chips, cracking.