E53 Healight Lenses

[rooroo]

My experience with the 3M kit was fantastic. I got the kit that came with 3 or 4 different grits of sandpaper pads, a drill attachment, polishing pad and polishing compound. My original lights started to get yellowed and hazy to a point where you could not see the inside of the light anymore. One of my headlights got replaced after a fender-bender and I was left with two very different headlights.
Though I was skeptical, I bought the kit since I knew I needed to sand the lens down and it was the only one at the store with sand paper included.

It took about one hour to restore my old headlight. The first heavy grit sandpaper was scary to use... it is really counter-intuitive!!! I thought, "oh no what have I done?"... But in the end I was amazed at the way it looked. It was not 100% exactly like the new one but it came pretty damn close. My family members were not able to tell one from the other. I could tell that the restored lens was a bit less "crystally" (if that makes sense) but you really had to look hard to see the difference.
I ditched the drill-gun early in the process and did it by hand since I felt I had better control. It really was pretty easy!

It has been over a year and I have not polished either since I performed the restoration. Tommorow, if I find my camera, I will start a new thread and post pics of the headlights after a year of weather. If I can do it, anybody can.
Sorry it didn't work for you 1stE53
This is what I bought:Amazon.com: 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System: Automotive: Reviews, Prices & more

Rui

[neockder]

My OEM HID's are the best headlights I've ever driven with.. Irregardless of lens condition. Although the driver's side is a bit foggy or something inside

I'll give it some time before it bothers me enough to do something about it..

[m5james]

Originally Posted by rooroo

My experience with the 3M kit was fantastic. I got the kit that came with 3 or 4 different grits of sandpaper pads, a drill attachment, polishing pad and polishing compound. My original lights started to get yellowed and hazy to a point where you could not see the inside of the light anymore. One of my headlights got replaced after a fender-bender and I was left with two very different headlights.
Though I was skeptical, I bought the kit since I knew I needed to sand the lens down and it was the only one at the store with sand paper included.

It took about one hour to restore my old headlight. The first heavy grit sandpaper was scary to use... it is really counter-intuitive!!! I thought, "oh no what have I done?"... But in the end I was amazed at the way it looked. It was not 100% exactly like the new one but it came pretty damn close. My family members were not able to tell one from the other. I could tell that the restored lens was a bit less "crystally" (if that makes sense) but you really had to look hard to see the difference.
I ditched the drill-gun early in the process and did it by hand since I felt I had better control. It really was pretty easy!

It has been over a year and I have not polished either since I performed the restoration. Tommorow, if I find my camera, I will start a new thread and post pics of the headlights after a year of weather. If I can do it, anybody can.
Sorry it didn't work for you 1stE53
This is what I bought:Amazon.com: 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System: Automotive: Reviews, Prices & more

Rui

$15 with free shipping is cheaper than me driving to the store and buying it! Nice find. I still wonder about replacement pads though.

[Alpine M3]

Originally Posted by m5james

$15 with free shipping is cheaper than me driving to the store and buying it! Nice find. I still wonder about replacement pads though.

Can I fix this with the 3M kit?

[m5james]

I've repaired whole headlights that looked like that. Seeing these kinds of images makes me thankful for the glass lenses on my other cars 3M came through for me there as well, but in the form of cheap sheets of vinyl via eBay.

[rooroo]

Originally Posted by Alpine M3

Can I fix this with the 3M kit?

That looks weird... you say it's peeling off (de-laminating)?
If it is on the outside surface of the lens you should be able to sand the lens down to expose the material underneath the peeling part. Once you sand out the peeling/damaged part it's just a matter of using the different grits of sandpaper until it's all clear again.

Originally Posted by m5james

$15 with free shipping is cheaper than me driving to the store and buying it! Nice find. I still wonder about replacement pads though.

It looks like you do a lot of this!!!
maybe what you want is this:Amazon.com: 3M™ Headlight Lens Restoration System (MMM02516) Category: Headlight Resurfacing Kit: Automotive: Reviews, Prices & more
I joke, but if you look at the product description, you can see the grit #'s, so you can just buy the paper at you local hardware/auto shop and use that. It just won't have the velcro backing for the drill adaptor that the pads in the kit have.

Rui

[m5james]

Thanks for pointing out the sanding grades in the kit. Funny, one of the images on the box is showing a Taurus headlight...that's what prompted me to want to get kits like this vs using my buffer and relying on chemicals only. The deeper scratches can only be removed by sanding, and I stupidly scratched my own headlight while installing angel eyes in the X. I'd bet with a combination of a good polishing and then covering up with 3M film, the heated film will soak up just about any little pits and scratches left over. I still wonder if eBay will ever start getting replacement lenses...

[Daka]

Body shop charged me $80, sanded, polished then clear coated...Perfect, like new.

[m5james]

Like sprayed with an actual clearcoat? I bet that'd be nice and prevent future fading, but I wonder how it'll work in the longterm against chipping vs the 3M vinyl. Still $80 for sanding and an actual spraying of clearcoat isn't bad at all.

[imalabil]

FIRST POST!
Get the 3M kit, it works wonders and you have enough material to do several lights.
Did a great job on my new 2002 X5 3.0.
Bill