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      06-17-2018, 01:02 PM   #1
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Headlight Lens Restoration

One headlight on my recently acquired car is 11 years old, the other is 1 year old. The older one appears to have a cataract, so I bought a 3M Headlight Restoration kit and got into the renewal. When I finished the project yesterday I was very satisfied with the result and stopped for the day.

Today I looked at the lens in a different light and noticed faint but obvious swirl marks on the entire lens surface. I re-did the last several steps of the process, (a) 3000 grit buffing pad and (b) the final polishing compound. I compounded the lens twice. All the swirls were still visible when viewed at specific angles.

I guessed the polishing compound to be the culprit, that it might be a bit aggressive. I drove to Autozone and purchased a Meguiars product, http://www.meguiars.com/en/professio...-remover-16oz/ . That bottle of very fine polish compound did the trick. All swirls gone and the overall finish was much glossier.

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      06-18-2018, 07:22 PM   #2
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It's all about the grit..... nicely done. and don't forget to seal or in a year you will be back to yellow
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      06-18-2018, 07:28 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Z4Lee View Post
It's all about the grit..... nicely done. and don't forget to seal or in a year you will be back to yellow
Thanks. The sealer is arriving tomorrow. Here are before and after shots.


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      07-01-2018, 11:31 PM   #4
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ill need to do this also.. what sealer do you use or recommend... is the sealer something you need to reapply once every few months ?
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      07-02-2018, 07:58 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by rsutoratosu View Post
ill need to do this also.. what sealer do you use or recommend... is the sealer something you need to reapply once every few months ?
I chose this product from Meguiar's. Don't know if its the best. Their text states it will last for 1 year.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/m...t=All+Products

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      07-03-2018, 03:54 PM   #6
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Thanks.. does it look like something you can replay more often or can't tell yet ?
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      07-03-2018, 04:48 PM   #7
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Much too soon. I've owned the car for just 5 months, and bought it with the lens in its deteriorated condition. Previous owners probably had the car parked in the sun quite a bit.

I have a garage and now the car is parked in the garage 24/7. I drive it maybe once a week. It may be many years before I'll see the need for a re-do.

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      07-06-2018, 11:19 PM   #8
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Instead of using a sealer, can’t you just use a LaminX film over your lenses?
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      07-09-2018, 06:27 PM   #9
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Not sure about LaminX, but I have Headlight Armor and it has about the same life span as the bare lenses, but replacing it is a lot harder than doing the old sand and buff.
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      07-11-2018, 06:17 AM   #10
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The best headlight restoration kit I've ever used has to be the Meguiar's Heavy Duty Headlight Restoration Kit. Comes with all you need, except a drill of course. Highly recommend it

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/me...-0391037p.html
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      07-12-2018, 11:06 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SwissArmy View Post
The best headlight restoration kit I've ever used has to be the Meguiar's Heavy Duty Headlight Restoration Kit. Comes with all you need, except a drill of course. Highly recommend it

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/me...-0391037p.html
How bad was the condition of your headlights?

As bad as this?
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      07-12-2018, 05:07 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RossBMWZseries View Post
How bad was the condition of your headlights?

As bad as this?
Pretty similar. Im glad I document almost everything new I try. Here you go (in June). You should honestly try it. I can pretty much swear by it

Before:


After:
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      07-13-2018, 03:58 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SwissArmy View Post
Pretty similar. Im glad I document almost everything new I try. Here you go (in June). You should honestly try it. I can pretty much swear by it

Before:


After:
Good to know. I used the Meguiar's but the "not so heavy duty" version. It did a good job and it was by hand. I'll try this one and use a drill this time. Thanks!
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      07-13-2018, 06:29 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RossBMWZseries View Post
Good to know. I used the Meguiar's but the "not so heavy duty" version. It did a good job and it was by hand. I'll try this one and use a drill this time. Thanks!
No worries! I can stand by that kit. It's great! Did my buddy's headlights. One kit can do 3-5 sets of headlights.
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      07-18-2018, 07:16 PM   #15
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I used the Gliptone product that I bought from BavAuto during a sale. There is no sanding involved as it uses chemicals to peel off the oxidation. It also comes with a sealer. I did it this past January/February and loved the results with minimal effort. It is holding up great but the car sits in the garage at night and a parking garage during the day.

https://www.bavauto.com/bmw-headligh...on-kit-gt71647
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      07-23-2018, 01:28 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by SwissArmy View Post
No worries! I can stand by that kit. It's great! Did my buddy's headlights. One kit can do 3-5 sets of headlights.
So I ran to my local Wal-Mart as they had ONE in stock, bought it for $21. Did the lights in the 328i and man, car looked like a 2006, now looks like a 2015 E92 (had it continued production). Thanks for the recommendation Swiss Army, did wonders!

I put the clear coat at the end provided by Meguiar's but I'm letting the car cure at home, I'll be covering the headlights with Lamin-X today anyway to protect it from cracks or rock chips.
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      07-23-2018, 01:44 PM   #17
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I followed this video to do mine. They turned out well. Here's his two year follow up video.
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      07-23-2018, 02:07 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RossBMWZseries View Post
So I ran to my local Wal-Mart as they had ONE in stock, bought it for $21. Did the lights in the 328i and man, car looked like a 2006, now looks like a 2015 E92 (had it continued production). Thanks for the recommendation Swiss Army, did wonders!

I put the clear coat at the end provided by Meguiar's but I'm letting the car cure at home, I'll be covering the headlights with Lamin-X today anyway to protect it from cracks or rock chips.
No worries! Glad it turned out great!
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      08-10-2018, 08:18 AM   #19
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Wow everyone did an amazing job.

Personally I had a lot of luck with the turtle wax kit that comes in a box.

However I do want to redo my Mazda and put Laminex film on them
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      08-10-2018, 01:44 PM   #20
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Not my Z, but a girl at my work had some of the worst headlights I had ever seen. I polished them up not only as a public service, but just to see if I could. They came out pretty nice.

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      08-18-2018, 12:31 AM   #21
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Good stuff y'all! I'll be tackling this, this coming week.
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      08-27-2018, 08:02 AM   #22
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When you guys say "sealer" is that the same as "clear coat"? Getting ready to buy one of these kits and from my research, I was under impression that much like paint - starting with lower grit and ending with higher grit sand paper was in order, then moving to polish and wax - and finally clear coat - was the key?
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