2K clear is the best solution (or PPF) but in case you didn't do it treat with these 1-2 times a year

 

New lenses come with a protective layer (much like any OEM), so for now I don't really care
Hopefully they have 10 or so years before yellowing issue pops up.
And regarding rock chips and other physical damage- somehow over here it's not a big deal, or maybe that's just an aerodynamics. Original lenses (almost 25 years old) had absolutely zero problems.

PPF'ing headlights is illegal here (), so as the clear coat (but it's much harder to detect, if done right, so practically it's ok)
That makes it hard to find shop that will do a PPF job (good job- especially hard). And I don't feel brave enough to try diy'ing that, headlights are a bit too curvy
Old lenses were treated with 2k by me, as mentioned earlier, so yeah, I got some experience. If new start to act up- will do it again
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But that looks super interesting. Do you know if it's friendly to the original protective layer?

 

Can't say for sure but don't see why not. BTW replacement lenses may have no top coating at all in fact I'd bet they don't.

 

No-no, there is something for sure. Naked polycarbonate is extremely soft, like the inner side of lens can be scratched by a paper towel (literally). And the outer side is as hard as you would normally expect it too be.

 

This may be a bold assumption, but I'm willing to wager that even non-Autobahn roads in Germany are much cleaner than the cleanest roads here. 😆

PPF is a necessity here because it's removable and replaceable, so I didn't think twice about getting it on my headlights either. The Interstate highway I drive on regularly to and from work is dirty as hell. The amount of trash on the shoulders is beyond what should be acceptable, so road debris is basically a way of life. Currently, there's a deer carcass lying in the median just barely outside of the passing lane that's been there for probably a couple of months now.

 

No necessarily it depends on the particular formula. Example: I have a set of headlight protectors made in about 1990 they never yellow and don't scratch easily.

 

Sure, it all depends, but I am talking about particularly these lenses. There was some crap on the inside that I wiped off with a paper towel and it immediately left scratches (very little-shallow nasty ones, like on the clear coat that not hardened yet), so I had to polish them out.
And outer side is totally normal

Still, of course, I am also not 100% sure, and only time will tell. Anyway, it's currently too cold for a 2k treatment, and if there is really no protection at all- I'll see yellowing by summer already, which would be a perfect spray-time

 

Do you have a link to the lenses you purchased?

 

I've purchased my pair from a guy here in Germany, just because I needed them asap.
But if you go to the famous chineese marketplace- you'll see a whole bunch of offers, and I am pretty sure they all are exact same thing with almost exact same price

 

Rubber seal withstood it bravely with no signs of any stress


But now I am facing a little fogging problem


The "pattern" is exactly same on both headlights
I honestly have doubts that the new butyl seal have gaps, since I packed it in pretty generously, and visibly it looks nicely seated, so...
Could it be something else, before I blew the entire front end up again...?
I checked blinker seal, and it looks fine

 

Maybe some of the vents in the back are clogged?

 

I took care of those, original foam was completely decomposed and turned into a sticky nasty goo
Little vents were done year ago, or so, I've put a piece of self-adhesive foamy strip
And for the big ones- I've cut out a piece of a normal dishwashing sponge

Now that I think of it- bad lens sealing is really the only explanation, mehh..(
I'll use some soapy water to see where it bubbles and maybe pour some rubber glue locally, so I don't have to open them up again

 

Solution: Stop using pressure washer.
It's no joke, it seems that this problem even affected completely new original headlights .

 

Haha, come on

Maybe those were the halogen lamps, and I've heard they have kinda much less sophisticated venting system.
My lamps were doing perfectly good in that regard no matter what (temp change, rain, pressure wash)
So I know for a fact they can do better

 

An update:



Butyl seal was perfectly fine and had zero leaks in it

Driver side headlight had little leak on the blinker bulb gasket, so I cut the respective ring out of 3 stacked layers of electrical tape to put it underneath to add some thickness, and that did the job. No bubbling
I also replaced two big main caps with their o-rings (I replaced one earlier, but size was not quite right and whole thing was way too tight, and the other one had cracks and was about to leak)

I also noticed that adjusting screws do let some air out, which could be caused by heating during lens replacement, so I have put a pice of duct tape on top of it, just to redirect water droplets around the actual bolt, rather then straight in, as it was (why, toyota?)
I might need to do it with high beam as well

So as for now- fogging of the driver side lamp stopped almost completely, and now only present in small high-beam section
And the passenger one is a bit worse, but also- only high beam part.
I have ordered new high-beam bulbs, cause they come with new o-rings, and I'll try to find suitable o-rings for parking lights
And also do the same trick with high-beam adjusting screw, hopefully that will cure them completely

But even now they are fine, and condensation never turns into droplets running down the the glass, so basically mission complete

Peace!