Diode Dynamics Fog Lights Fading

[Christato71]

I installed the Diode Dynamics Fog Lights back in May (of this year). They look great, however they are starting to fade. Has anyone else experienced this? I reached out to DD about this and they told me that this is not covered under their warranty and is considered normal. Very unfortunate as they are only a few months old.

@Diode Dynamics

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[Carlitos_92]

Gross. And not normal.

There are plenty of aftermarket protectants (303, Armor All, Meguiar's, etc) that will make it look new again - but sadly, none of them are permanent.

 

[Backin15]

How is that not covered by warranty? I was planning on getting these, but I am going to hold off now.

 

[Ryom]

The light itself is dimming or the lens is clouding up? If the later, a headlight polish and clearcoat kit may help. If the former, that seems like it should be a warranty issue.

 

[Carlitos_92]

The light itself is dimming or the lens is clouding up? If the later, a headlight polish and clearcoat kit may help. If the former, that seems like it should be a warranty issue.

I’m guessing neither. Based on the pic, the formerly black plastic looks like it’s fading - at a different rate than the OEM plastic.

 

[jonshep]

I am trying some of that ceramic coating on the headlights on both my pickups. So far, so good. IDK about long term yet.

 

[Christato71]

I’m guessing neither. Based on the pic, the formerly black plastic looks like it’s fading - at a different rate than the OEM plastic.

Correct, the plastic housing on the DD fog lights are what is starting to fade.

 

[Canada Goose]

I read somewhere before that shoe polish is good for bringing back the black in faded plastics.

 

[DavesMav]

I typically love DD products but I’m not surprised, considering those bezels are made in China. Diode outsourced that portion of the kit which led to all of the initial delays. Sucks they wont stand behind their junk product, those bezels should be replaced under warranty. That is not at all normal. Although the new ones would probably just fade too unless they’ve gotten a better supplier.

I’d be calling my credit card company to dispute the transaction..

 

[DavesMav]

As a possible ‘fix’ I’d look into getting a can of SEM trim black and SEM adhesion promoter.

Remove the faded parts, scuff and clean them well, spray with adhesion promoter, then spray with trim black. Should give a similar look to the OEM trim and will definitely not fade this severely or quickly.

Admittedly, you shouldn’t have to do any of this. But if their warranty is useless, not much else you can do I suppose.

 

[gjallen3]

I installed the Diode Dynamics Fog Lights back in May (of this year). They look great, however they are starting to fade. Has anyone else experienced this? I reached out to DD about this and they told me that this is not covered under their warranty and is considered normal. Very unfortunate as they are only a few months old.

@Diode Dynamics

I’m just curious because I just installed mine in July as well, but is your truck garaged?

 

[lm126027]

"Mothers" make/made (had it for a while) something called "Back to Black" that is a trim and Plastic restorer. Just finished using on my MAV after polishing the rest. Since my truck is only a year old no fade, but did clean it up...

 

[Henrydg]

CERAKOTE® Ceramic Trim Coat Kit - Quick Plastic Trim Restorer - Ceramic Coating Guaranteed Restoration to Last Over 200 Washes – A Ceramic Coating, Not a Dressing https://a.co/d/iEm8MIH

Here’s a link to a product (in Amazon) that I’ve used. It seems to work pretty well for me.

Good Luck!

 

[Automan21]

I’d try cleaning off with soap and water, letting it dry very well then a quick touch up with some clear acrylic spray.
That’s gonna be my plan when mine starts to fade.

 

[Sticks]

TBH this is my mistake from when I worked at DD and designed these. In retrospect, I wish I would have specified ASA instead of ABS, for better UV resistance.

It is normal for ABS to fade in the sun. Since these use 2015 F150 fog lamp assemblies, I based the bezel design on the corresponding OEM Ford 2015 F150 bezel, which originally was ABS and appears to age the same way. FWIW, it looks like Ford made the same mistake and later model Ford bezels are often made with ASA instead (like the 2020-2022 Superduty halogen fog bezels).

However, this is purely cosmetic and UV oxidation can typically be cleaned up in a few minutes using trim restorer. @lm126027 is correct, Mother's Back To Black does a great job restoring the finish. I just treated mine last week after ~21 months of UV damage. Sorry for the inconvenience @Christato71.

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