Headlight Lens touch up?

[Arma 134]

Just wanted to know whether you guys use any specific product(s) for making headlight lenses nice and clear again? Just bought a pair of em, in pretty good condition but want to get rid of any light scratches / shady parts.

[yng_750 247]

1200 then 1500 then 2000 grit wet sand.

Then meguires plastx.

Brings them from impossible to see anything through to 95% clarity.

More effort better results

[Allanw 1071]

I was going to use these guys: http://www.clearlight.co.nz/ for about $180 I think, but ended up buying a brand new Hella set (for $700), then a genuine BMW Xenon retrofit kit (for $900) .

[Arma 134]

1200 then 1500 then 2000 grit wet sand.

Then meguires plastx.

Brings them from impossible to see anything through to 95% clarity.

More effort better results

Cool was thinking about this. Any need to use any lower grit? (e.g. 600-800), or just start from 1200 and up? Also - any pre-sanding treatment required, such as cleaning with alcohol and what not?

I was going to use these guys: http://www.clearlight.co.nz/ for about $180 I think, but ended up buying a brand new Hella set (for $700), then a genuine BMW Xenon retrofit kit (for $900) .

That sounds pretty overkill . I bought some genuine used ones - only need 1 to replace on my 530i, which got damaged. Just going to make these look all polished and then swap my white angel eye bulbs and everything over (from the damaged one) to these ones once I install them. Might sell the other since I don't really need.

[yng_750 247]

Cool was thinking about this. Any need to use any lower grit? (e.g. 600-800), or just start from 1200 and up? Also - any pre-sanding treatment required, such as cleaning with alcohol and what not?

 

That sounds pretty overkill . I bought some genuine used ones - only need 1 to replace on my 530i, which got damaged. Just going to make these look all polished and then swap my white angel eye bulbs and everything over (from the damaged one) to these ones once I install them. Might sell the other since I don't really need.

I just washed them first.

For how simple it is i usually remove the headlight. Makes it easier to sand.

By the time you get 2000grit done they should look perfect when wet but hazey as they dry. Polish removes that haze. i know of people who have clear coated the lens for an amazing finish but havent tried that myself

[Olaf 3317]

In essence, it seems that most headlight restorer kits use foam-backed wet-and-dry paper or varying grades (used with water to lube), and a plastic polish. Some include a UV sealer.

I bought a kit a while ago - Mothers powerball - based on a bargain price (I normally go with Meguiars product). I've also bought a UV sealer.

About to give this a go soon, will post pics.

EDIT: FYI the restore kit recommends using the polish/powerball first. then if pitting remains evident, use the wet-and-dry. 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 grits respectively. I guess those of you already in possession of some plastic polish and wet and dry in the above grades, could just get on with it. Oh, that's me - I already had plast-x in the basement!

Edited October 3, 2014 by Olaf

[Shorty 1]

Was going to recommend the Meguiar's PlastX, they also have a Headlight Protectant available on their website or at www.smitsgroup.co.nz

[Arma 134]

Might take a trip to Repco for the PlastX, seems to be highly recommended. Assuming they'll have the different grits there too. Come to think of it, I remember Meguiar's having a headlight restoration kit - I wonder if all the above are just included as part of that. Headlights are already out and in my room - so should be pretty straightforward job.

[Arma 134]

Not sure WTF I'm doing wrong, but I used Meguiar's Headlight Correction kit (contains 4 papers with increasing grits but no idea how much each are.. just followed the instructions) - and also contains PlastX and some lens protection solution. I did the following:

1. Clean lens.
2. Let paper soak in water for couple mins
3. Sand with lowest grit up and down.
4. Sand with next grit horizontally.
5. Sand with next grit up and down.
6. Then sand with the final grit horizontally. All the sanding involved applying some water to clean the lens as I sand.
7. Dry the lens
8. Apply PlastX to applicator pad and apply thoroughly to lens.
9. Wipe off with Microfibre.

Results? Crap. I don't see how I could have done anything wrong here but I think it actually looks worse off now lol. Perhaps they didn't give a low enough grit paper to start with? No idea. Here is what it looked like and looks like now:


BEFORE

AFTER




FAIL

[Matth5 471]

Not sure WTF I'm doing wrong, but I used Meguiar's Headlight Correction kit (contains 4 papers with increasing grits but no idea how much each are.. just followed the instructions) - and also contains PlastX and some lens protection solution. I did the following:

Ah, so I'm not alone.

What I found on the E46 lenses is there is some thick clearcoat-type layer on them and the sanding pads do jack-s**t until you use something harsher to get rid of it first. I imagine E39 lenses have the same.

Even then, improvement in the end was not what I'd hoped for, better than before but they still look crap.

I think the pads they give you wear down rather quickly too so I used them up a bit before I sanded off that clear-oat layer.

Wish I saved the money so I could buy new lenses at a later point. If you add up the time and effort you spend, it just makes sense to buy new lenses online from overseas (local prices are probably a joke).

I scored some headlights off Trademe for $1. Was hoping they'd have good lenses but they're in about the same state as mine. At least with a spare set I can safely experiment if I find another idea for them (and having the spare bulbs came in handy when one of mine blew).

Edited October 5, 2014 by Matth5

[yng_750 247]

That yellow layer you see is the factory clear coat. Where it fails it comes off easy. Where its still good it takes effort to remove

You need more sanding. Thats why i use whole sheets rather than the little pads in the box.

Just go to a 1200. While sanding you should see yellow or white residue coming off which you can wash away. then once it gets uniform move back through finer grits.

[Olaf 3317]

Guys, Plast-x is a polish/compund, not a coating. You're going to have to get some elbow-grease going to get some fine finishing going on.

I used my Mothers Headlight Kit on Saturday, found the same thick coating which I disturbed in some places.

Overall I found that despite the polishing (on the end of my dewalt batty drill) and subsequent wet sanding and final (heavy) polishing, my lenses appear to be wearing 12 years of use with the factory xenons on the inside as well. That is, there is very fine cracking in the acrylic due to heat cycling etc. It's not going to come out from any sanding! I got a slightly better finish (more even) than I started out with, after sealing. Water beads off the lens more easily, no noticable vision difference at night. I guess they weren't so bad to start with. YMMV.

Photos later.

[Arma 134]

That yellow layer you see is the factory clear coat. Where it fails it comes off easy. Where its still good it takes effort to remove

You need more sanding. Thats why i use whole sheets rather than the little pads in the box.

Just go to a 1200. While sanding you should see yellow or white residue coming off which you can wash away. then once it gets uniform move back through finer grits.

Was gonna go get some 800, 1000, 1200, 2000 sheets or something. 800 should definitely get the clear coat off right? (without damaging the lens)

[yng_750 247]

Yea just have plenty of water to flush debris away

[elmarco 56]

The coating you are so carefully removing is the UV protection for the polycarbonate. Removing this will only make them yellow faster in the harsh NZ sunlight. If you have polished the bejesus out of them & still have yellow, it is possible that its on the inside of the lens from using cheap bulbs that have a high UV content. This is particularly apparent if a halogen lens is on a xenon lamp assembly or HID retrofit bulbs have been used.

If you do polish the yellow off & remove the diamond coat, you should respray with another UV coat to stop the yellowing returning.

[allan 295]

Are you guys having fun? It is called planned obsolescence over time anything and every thing will wear out and need to be replaced or attempted to be fixed. In this case (imo) what you are doing is only a temper fix and the problem will come back, experience gained. Due to the position of the headlight covers these are exposed to all sorts of conditions, rubbish from the road, harsh UV rays plus others, heat from the bulbs etc and over time the material is going to show this wear and tear. By removing the contaminates you expose the poly carbonate surface to further degrading and by putting protecting coatings only helps to delay it from happening again a year or so. Also you may and possibly will alter the optic quality of the carbonate and they will never be the same. Their are firms it appears that say they can do this and as I have not used their service cannot comment .What I did find by replacing the headlight lenses, if available or headlights totally a longer term solution was achieved. This option may not be to everybody's liking but in the end offers the cheapest solution.

[yng_750 247]

Repolish every couple of years vs $500 lens replacement.

Mine is not a show car so ill stick with polishing

[Matth5 471]

Repolish every couple of years vs $500 lens replacement.

Mine is not a show car so ill stick with polishing

You can get them much cheaper with a bit of online searching. I just ran a simple Ebay search and found some cheaper ones:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xbmw+e39+headlight+lens&_nkw=bmw+e39+headlight+lens&_sacat=0

Might get good deals if you check FCP Euro and ECS Tuning too.

[yng_750 247]

And you think those ebay copies will have the bmw diamond coat uv protection? Probably yellow just as fast as polished lenses.

[Allanw 1071]

The clearlight.co.nz place was $180, with a 3 year warranty, and they are recoated.

After buying all the stuff to do it a few times, and spending all the time... makes $180 look pretty good for a "professional" polish and recoat. Aren't the kits $40 or $50? I think it was cheaper if the lights were out of the car too.

E39 halogens are terrible (low beam) lights anyway - they're about as good as My '72 VW Beetle on low beam! - the Xenons are vastly better - hence why I got the BMW retrofit kit (with a self levelling setup included) - they come up on ebay.uk or ebay.de. If you don't already have Xenons, look for a set!

[Allanw 1071]

Oh yeah... some of those ebay lenses or lights have lots of writing moulded into the leans and look really cheap on facelight lights, which are normally totally clean of writing on the lens.

[allan 295]

Agree with Allan on the e39 low beam they are not good just a caution on the xenon get the correct rated ones. Wouldn't they need to have some sort of DOT or S.A.E number on them to be legit or is that on the housing?

[Allanw 1071]

Agree with Allan on the e39 low beam they are not good just a caution on the xenon get the correct rated ones. Wouldn't they need to have some sort of DOT or S.A.E number on them to be legit or is that on the housing?

I don't know about the after market ones, but the genuine have all the markings on the top of the housing.

I could get brand new Halogens from Hella for $700 a pair (and did). The Xenon ones were complete with ballasts and everything, but were $1800 a pair. I managed to sell the halogen on for what I paid (were only in the car for maybe a week or so), and for another $200 ish got the Genuine Xenon retrofit kit - pair of lights, ballasts, brackets, self levelling sensor and cables required for install etc.

Some of the aftermarket ones look quite nice, but many are REALLY nasty!

[elmarco 56]

Agree with Allan on the e39 low beam they are not good just a caution on the xenon get the correct rated ones. Wouldn't they need to have some sort of DOT or S.A.E number on them to be legit or is that on the housing?

With these modern lamps, the optical properties are controlled by the reflectors not the "lens" (which is more of a transparent cover than anything else). From memory, the type approval is marked on the back of the lamp assembly.

[hotwire 352]

Agree with Allan on the e39 low beam they are not good just a caution on the xenon get the correct rated ones. Wouldn't they need to have some sort of DOT or S.A.E number on them to be legit or is that on the housing?

Funny, I find the low beam light output/pattern fine with HB3 bulbs, pre facelift lights but still good lenses, high beam brilliant