Headlight restoration.

[X5chemist]

A replacement set for my X5. The OEM ones have a clear coat on them. The coat is cracking. It's impossible to remove the coat and save the headlights. Instead, this set will be cleaned up and installed. Looks like one side has more sun damage than the other one. I've used CERAKOTE ceramic successfully on a few sets. I want to restore these as best as possible.

What do y'all suggest? What's a good product to use? What order of grit paper to sand down the top layer?

Headlight restoration vs hitch installation are both up for next upgrades. Which one should I do first? :

[Themoog]

I used a kit from ebay by Holts only a few weeks ago. It has the drill pad and all the fine grit discs with polish that's required. It was around £15 here in UK.
Did a good job but the more time spent with the 3000 grit before polishing the better.

[X5chemist]

Themoog, thanks for posting information about the 3k grit paper. I'll look up the kit.

Did you take any before and after pictures?

[cn90]

I use the Sylvania restore kit, about $20.

[Homerlovesbeer]

Why don't you buy new lenses and do the job properly? Lights this age are surely going to have issues inside the lens as well as out.

You can buy a pair for about US $70 - $100 off Ebay

[Bmwe5320023.0]

I used sylvania and ceratek, both with outstanding results.
I have 3 bmws, so on one I purchased new TYC lenses, and on the other two I used the kit. If I had just 1 bmw, I would get new lenses. But on 3 bmws lol, completely rebuilding them, money becomes the limiting factor if time doesn't.
Biggest and best upgrade I did though, were new projectors

[workingonit]

I used the 3M Heavy Duty Headlight Restoration Kit with Quick Clear Coat, 39175 to restore my headlights in June 2021, and they're still clear today, over four years later. And that's in full exposure to the sun and weather, all the time. Texas Sun !!

I think the "Heavy Duty" kit was superceded and replaced with the "Ultra" kit, but it contains the same components as the "Heavy-Duty" kit. Amazon has the "Ultra" for $16 https://a.co/d/8CcwmKi

[X5chemist]

Originally Posted by Homerlovesbeer

Why don't you buy new lenses and do the job properly? Lights this age are surely going to have issues inside the lens as well as out. You can buy a pair for about US $70 - $100 off Ebay

Baking or cutting a set open is probably not in my skill set. I would probably destroy a set. I could try it later on with the OEM set. Or another set, I have available. One set has both left and right sides with damaged components. The picture set is my best one to try and save. The other set may be used for parts. The currently in use set will be inspected after removal.

Thanks for all the available options. I'll look over the kits and order one.

[Masospaghetti]

I've used plastic polish (PlastiX) with a dual-action buffer, followed by a spray-on UV headlight coating. Works well enough for me.

[Salty B.]

Originally Posted by Homerlovesbeer

Why don't you buy new lenses and do the job properly? Lights this age are surely going to have issues inside the lens as well as out.

You can buy a pair for about US $70 - $100 off Ebay

True. Also true that you'll probably destroy the entire thing tryng to get the lenses off, and even if you manage to get it off, clean out all the old sealing mastic and use new butyl mastic, it will still leak water inside.

Been there, did that, destroyed one unit, the other leaked badly no matter how much I tried re-sealing it with RTV, and I ended up replacing both xenon units with decent ones from ebay. You can find the entire headlight there for about $US75–100.