# Cloudy gauge cluster lens **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** is-300, lexus\ **Created:** [May 22, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966 "2024-05-22T22:47:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Clueless33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@Clueless33](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Clueless33)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/1 "2024-05-22T22:47:32Z")
![IMG_8054](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/d/1/d1d0031d8bbf158d52aca31e6d76f2984655a9e7.jpeg) I take my car to a car wash station where they have guys physically clean the exterior and interior of the car. About after 5 visits, I notice the gauge cluster starts to have stuff on it as shown in the picture above. I used a damped cloth with water to wipe away the stuff but that didn’t help. I used windex cleaner. No luck. I use tissues ( paper towel ) no luck. This looks like I need to replace the whole lens which will run me around $1000. Any advice guys? ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/2 "2024-05-22T22:51:09Z")
Try distilled water, vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. Wet the lens and keep it wet for a bit rubbing with a soft cloth. If that doesn’t do it, try plastic polish available from the auto parts store, on a soft cloth or buffing pad on a power drill. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/3 "2024-05-22T23:08:39Z")
If I had that problem and was certain the gunk was on the outside (rather than inside) surface, I’d cut a paper towel to fit, then wet it with some household vinegar and paste it to the lens. Let it sit for 15 minutes, if better but not yet clear, let it sit longer. Food-grade household vinegar is usually acidic enough to dissolve minor calcium deposits. That might also be soap scum. Vinegar isn’t very effective for soap scum, but Clorox makes a pretty good product for that. Note that anything you put onto the lens carries a risk of making the problem worse, so common sense says to start on a very small spot for a short length of time . ---
**Author:** ![Clueless33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@Clueless33](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Clueless33)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 11:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/4 "2024-05-22T23:21:05Z")
It is on the inside which is why I’m unable to wipe it off. The outside feels smooth and non-gritty. So it got to be on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![Clueless33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@Clueless33](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Clueless33)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 11:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/5 "2024-05-22T23:21:44Z")
I believe it’s on the inside. But I’ll try your solution to see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/6 "2024-05-22T23:34:37Z")
> [@Clueless33](#): > > it’s on the inside. I think something liquid is getting behind the lens, and then evaporating and condensing on the inside of the lens. You might can get some relief by heating that area with a hair dryer. Start on a low setting for a brief time,just enough to warm it up a little. Notice any improvement? ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/7 "2024-05-22T23:43:37Z")
> [@Clueless33](#): > > The outside feels smooth and non-gritty. That is not foreign matter or a film of dirt, it is chemical damage, like acid rain on paint. They sprayed a detergent onto the steering wheel while cleaning, the damage to the lens is the result of the overspray. The instrument cluster lens has been “etched”, it will take a lot of polishing to remove the damaged layer of plastic. ---
**Author:** ![Clueless33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@Clueless33](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Clueless33)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/8 "2024-05-22T23:52:25Z")
> [@Nevada\_545](#): > > They sprayed a detergent onto the steering wheel while cleaning, the damage to the lens is the result of the overspray. This breaks my heart. I can’t win. I always run into expensive problems. Ahh well, I’ll have the dealer quote me their insane price for a replacement because the stuff are affecting details on the gauge. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 11:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/9 "2024-05-22T23:57:41Z")
Some years ago I decided — this wasn’t a good idea … lol … — to clean my watch with one of those green abrasive pads. It cleaned the watch sure enough, but it also scratched the plastic lens so badly I couldn’t read the time. I consulted a couple of tech gurus and they said that scratch could be removed with diamond slurry. I didn’t have any and no idea where to buy it, but I begged them and got a small sample. I rubbed the diamond slurry on the lens with soft cloth for about 10 seconds, clear as glass. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 12:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/10 "2024-05-23T00:04:48Z")
As mentioned once in a while I have used meguires plastix polish. I use it on all my exterior lights but seems to work good on any plastic. As usual try a small area first. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/11 "2024-05-23T00:09:15Z")
> [@Clueless33](#): > > This looks like I need to replace the whole lens which will run me around $1000. That would be the price for a refurbished instrument cluster, the cluster lens in not expensive: about $60. You should be able to remove most of the white marks with polish but probably not all of it. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/e/3/e3601d75863c2258c625d6c64c403116ec4238e5.png) ---
**Author:** ![Clueless33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@Clueless33](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Clueless33)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/12 "2024-05-23T00:23:42Z")
> [@Nevada\_545](#): > > That would be the price for a refurbished instrument cluster, the cluster lens in not expensive: about $60. I wonder how much a mechanic would charge me to install this ? Is it a lot of work to assembly this thing ? ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/13 "2024-05-23T00:42:16Z")
A fair amount would be 1 hour of labor. Labor rates have gone up a lot during the last 3 years, the Lexus dealer here is charging $250/hr. ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 2:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/14 "2024-05-23T02:31:13Z")
Don’t use glass cleaner. Liquid car wax won’t cloud the lens. Spray wax. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 12:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/15 "2024-05-23T12:45:18Z")
> [@Clueless33](#): > > I’ll have the dealer quote Isn’t your car out of warranty? No need to use a dealership. Find an independent shop for your routine maintenance. Though replacing the lens may require calling a number of shops to find one that will perform that service. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 12:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/16 "2024-05-23T12:48:59Z")
Before you have work done go buy some Meguiars PlastX polish, and follow the directions It’s exactly what you need for this problem. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/17 "2024-05-23T13:15:21Z")
According to previous posts, the deposits are on the **inside** surface of the lens, therefore requiring removal of the lens. If I were to go to all that work I would replace the lens. To me, the mystery is how these deposits (water spots?) got on the inside surface of the lens. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/18 "2024-05-23T13:40:54Z")
I’d spend the time trying to polish it, doesn’t make sense that the problem is on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 2:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/19 "2024-05-23T14:01:36Z")
Agreed, but Clueless says the outside surface is clean and smooth. > [@Clueless33](#): > > The outside feels smooth and non-gritty. So it got to be on the inside ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966/20 "2024-05-23T15:57:20Z")
I guess the idea of returning to the car wash facility and asking if they can solve this has not occured to Clueless . [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/cloudy-gauge-cluster-lens/194966.md?page=2)