Polyethylene foils, used as greenhouse foils stabilized with various types of sterically hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS), showed an extraordinary prolonged lifetime on exposure to natural or artificial weathering if a gas-phase fluorination under low-pressure conditions was applied. The fluorination was performed using F2/N2 mixtures and provided ca. 50 F/100 C (fluorination degree ap25%). The lifetimes of fluorinated PE foils on exposure to artificial or natural weathering were increased at least by a factor of 2-4 as measured in terms of tensile strength and elongation at break.