Methanol cleaning of lights done (2010 with HID)

[rcy]

Just purchased a 2010 GT, 6 speed, with only 99000km.

First thing I noticed was the foggy looking headlights (not moisture fog, but a haziness on the inside of the lens.

The previous owner never bothered having this dealt with via the extended headlight warranty that Mazda offered. Sucks to be me, right?

Anyway, saw a post here about cleaning the inside with methanol. After much googling and a curbside pickup of meth from Canadian Tire, I pulled off the bumper, removed the lights and got busy.

I wish I had a better before picture, because the results were outstanding.

Before

https://ibb.co/nk4B4b3
https://i.ibb.co/9w3YSPq/foggy-lights.png (https://ibb.co/0BVJv5f)


https://i.ibb.co/XSj0vQy/Screenshot-20210503-172622-Gallery.jpg (https://ibb.co/BqcWSp4)


After

https://i.ibb.co/gZ6Wf0m/20210503-143350.jpg (https://ibb.co/m5Sy2nb)


https://i.ibb.co/2hGsnMj/20210503-143403.jpg (https://ibb.co/3dgMrF0)


https://ibb.co/nk4B4b3https://ibb.co/nk4B4b3

[G ~ MINI]

Mine are starting to look warn out / road chips and hazed from the outside

[rcy]

Mine are starting to look warn out / road chips and hazed from the outside

Mine were in good shape on the outside (not surprising, really, with only 99k). But that haze on the inside....wow. What a total fail by Mazda and/or the light manufacturer. I'm not hooking the DRLs back up and have LEDs on order that will hopefully stop the haze from returning.

[Diflexster12]

Wow that looks great 👍🏽

The ones on my 2014 are just starting to haze on the top edge so not really worth fixing...yet

[G ~ MINI]

Mine were in good shape on the outside (not surprising, really, with only 99k). But that haze on the inside....wow. What a total fail by Mazda and/or the light manufacturer. I'm not hooking the DRLs back up and have LEDs on order that will hopefully stop the haze from returning.


I'll have to have really good look and see it the inside is also hazed .
If i go ahead and methanol the inside of the lens , with all that work it takes to disassemble the headlights , maybe i should install this halo kit :
https://www.oraclelights.com/collections/mazda-3-products/products/2010-2012-mazda-3-oracle-halo-kit

[rcy]

No disassembly needed. I only removed the assembly from the car and then poured methanol into it. I didn't actually separate the lens from the body of the light.



I'll have to have really good look and see it the inside is also hazed .
If i go ahead and methanol the inside of the lens , with all that work it takes to disassemble the headlights , maybe i should install this halo kit :
https://www.oraclelights.com/collections/mazda-3-products/products/2010-2012-mazda-3-oracle-halo-kit

[rcy]

A friend sold me his spare and I did the same procedure. Better before pics this time.

https://i.ibb.co/096cz18/20210504-091140.jpg (https://ibb.co/Lgc8sBb)

https://i.ibb.co/bKYfSCQ/20210504-094205.jpg (https://ibb.co/z4CkyBQ)

[G ~ MINI]

No disassembly needed. I only removed the assembly from the car and then poured methanol into it. I didn't actually separate the lens from the body of the light.

Cool
So pour in the meth and just let it evaporate

[rcy]

Cool
So pour in the meth and just let it evaporate

If you're sure the inside needs cleaning - I wouldn't be pouring meth in there just for kicks.

You need very pure methanol (methyl hyrdrate is available at Canadian Tire and is methanol at 99.9 percent pure) so no residue is left when it dries.

You need to pour in enough to slosh it around and collect all the dust and debris or whatever that haziness inside is (as most may know, it was a huge problem on the 2010 HID equipped Mazda3). I tried to keep the meth only on the lens and not into the projector or the levelling motor etc.

Then pour out the excess as much as possible (I found the best exit point was the HID bulb area after removing the plastic cover, and I left the HID bulb and electrical connector on, because I didn't want methanol inside the projector lens), and you could potentially let it air dry / evaporate, but I used a hair dryer to speed up the process.

If, after your first pour out, you still see bits of debris on the lens, repeat with more meth until you're happy with the results. On my first methanol rinse on the spare light assembly (which was way dirtier inside than the lenses on my car), it literally looked like watery milk on my first rinse.

[rcy]

One more tip - also REMOVE THE BALLAST.

1. You'll be able to drain more and; 2. If you don't, depending on how you hold the light, you may end up with methanol in the ballast due to it's location.