981 Cayman front headlights degrading

[TJC46]

Hi guys

Just in the process of purchasing a 981 Cayman GTS from a Porsche dealer.

I inspected all around the car and pointed out a few minor things that i would like to be addressed before purchase/handover.

One of the items i was unhappy about was the degradation of both front headlights at the top of the lens.

Now i have been assured that all the items i am unhappy about, will be rectified but i wonder what they will do with the lenses ?

I cannot see them being replaced as with what little searching i have done they are VERY EXPENSIVE.

Can these be repaired ?

[SV_WDC]

If it is the delamination issue then the option is to machine polish the film off, and reapply.

Could be worth asking what they've done on collection because the film protects against UV so important a film gets reapplied

[TTmonkey]

If it’s an OPC they should replace them not polish them. Any repair other than a lens swap by a specialist won’t be permanent

[981Boxess]

TTmonkey said:

If it’s an OPC they should replace them not polish them. Any repair other than a lens swap by a specialist won’t be permanent

In an ideal world that is what should happen but they would have to be really bad for that to happen, they are not cheap even for a dealer purchase. As we all know sales cars are all about profit, depends how much meat there is left on the bone.

Most can be polished out to a reasonable standard, mine were before I collected the car and have not deteriorated since - having a garage helps.

[ChocolateFrog]

They'll get two minutes with the mop, no chance they're digging into their own pockets for new ones or even a specialist repair.

[Klippie]

I polish my car with Autoglym Super Resin and I give the lights a once over as well, no scratches marks or degrading on the lenses and the car is a 2009 987, I found out it polishes plastic really well when I noticed the screen on my CBR600 had about an inch of perfectly clear plastic next to the painted fairing I had been overlapping polishing the paint and not realised.

[andygo]

I part exed my early 981 to an OPC. The saesman noted some crazing and commented that he had never seen the issue befire and what on earth was I washing them with. I mentioned my carful washing regime and funny how the bodywork was pristine,,

My 2016 GTS has just started to exhibit a similar detoriation at the top, black area of the headloghts, worse on one side as that gets the most sun where the car is parked.

I've polished them out and applied several coats of G-Technic ceramic snake oil. Seems to be fine now.

[Discombobulate]

They are very easy to polish out if you know what you are doing. BUT you should remove lights as there have been reports of static killing modules AND you need to reapply UV protection to prevent future discolouration.

[julian987R]

TJC46 said:

Hi guys

Just in the process of purchasing a 981 Cayman GTS from a Porsche dealer.

I inspected all around the car and pointed out a few minor things that i would like to be addressed before purchase/handover.

One of the items i was unhappy about was the degradation of both front headlights at the top of the lens.

Now i have been assured that all the items i am unhappy about, will be rectified but i wonder what they will do with the lenses ?

I cannot see them being replaced as with what little searching i have done they are VERY EXPENSIVE.

Can these be repaired ?

Yes. A combo of mayonnaise and Arm&Hammer toothpaste. Mix together. Paste it on the lights. Leave for 24hours. Use a toothbrush to scrub, wash and marvel. No joke.

[Royal Jelly]

julian987R said:

Yes. A combo of mayonnaise and Arm&Hammer toothpaste. Mix together. Paste it on the lights. Leave for 24hours. Use a toothbrush to scrub, wash and marvel. No joke.

Erm. Or just get the supplying Porsche dealer to rectify it without raiding your pantry.