Headlight Lens Restore

[gqmagic]

I went to the Meguire's shop the other week, and had them show me the best way to use the Plastx on the headlights. i had been doing it by hand and while it looked better still not quite what i wanted.

MIke there used more of the Plastx than I used with an Orbital polisher. Came out great.

I then saw an Orbital Polisher on sale at Harbor Freight for $34, this and the Plastx is all thats needed imo.

[tris1969]

here's my experience...
mine looked about how you would expect for a 2001 E430. i bought a restoration kit at pep boys that included a pad that you insert into a cordless drill, and some foam pads with adhesive backs with the polishing compound embedded in them. you squirt with a little water to activate, then polish with drill. THEY DIDN'T WORK... So, I took this forum's advice and used 1500 then 2000 grit to wetsand, then used meguire's plasticX (i think that's what it's called) with the drill/foam pad combo.) I GOT GREAT RESULTS!! LIKE NEW! took about 30 minutes total..my advice is to not try to shortcut, use the sandpaper and polishing compound. totally worth it. glad i didn't have to buy depo from ebay.

[Franasia]

Someone posted on the other forum a few days ago about this 3M product but I couldn't find it now.

My lenses are still looking good but this is the only product I would consider if I had the need:

Shop 3M: 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System, 39008

Cheers

[TheRipster]

Just an idea, I happened to be at one of my local body shops today and mentioned my headlights, they evidentally do this all the time, and with their polish they were done in about 10 minutes. I will just keep a good coat of wax on them and see how it does. Did not catch what they used on them, but they are clear now. Did not charge me a thing, car was there for a minor trim replacement on front bumper.

[asonofsam]

I did my lenses too with the 2000 grit wet sand and the plastic polish and buffer. But, knowing what acetone can do to lexan I used some acetone early in the process to speed things along. (Acetone fumes are used to polish polycarbonates.) What I did was use a lint free rag and a squeege. Wet the rag with acetone and wipe in a straight line down, in the direction of the "grain" of the lense. Follow behind the rag with the squeege or a piece of rubber or urethane. It conforms to the shape and wipes clean the lense. It takes a number of passes but it reduces how much sanding you'll have to do. Incidental contact with painted surfaces won't remove paint, just wipe it and rinse with some water quickly if acetone gets on paint. Try to keep your sanding in a vertical direction along the grain. All the sanding should be wet sanding. Work in small areas with the acetone. Usually the top of the lense is rougher than the bottom. Work from the top down with the acetone. Start conservative with the acetone and get a feel for it before attacking it full bore. You'll find it saves considerable time.

[nitroburner320]

I will suggest to all of you to stop wasting money on this kits .All you need to use is Turtle wax polishing compound .They sell them everywhere for about $3 .Wax on wax off wax on wax off you will see a world of difference guaranteed.I use it on all my cars and my headlights all look new .I have used them on other older cars with great results.

[common_boy]

Hello all, hey im still pretty new to all of this and i was wondering how to actually remove the lenses? is it a simple screw on the front or do i have to remove the entire housing (a friend told me that)

[Kajtek1]

On pre face lift models to remove whole headlights you have to remove small body piece in front of them and than about 3 screws hold the light on the car. I did it like 3 years ago and it wasn't big deal for me without any advice.
I heard that post face lift cars need bumper removal.
Please fill up you profile for better accuracy for your model and welcome to the forum.

[Diesel 10]

well, i did my xeons (1 of them) and they look great. i used 2000/1500 wet and plastix. but... did you guys do both sides? inside and out? i just did the outside, and looks like there is still some on the inside.

[johnnykawa]

This thread is very informative, and thank you all for your great contributions. Yeah. Do we need to repeat this procedure also for the inside portion of the lens?