[rawdog573]

Picture attached. But my driver side headlight lense had some oxidation on it. So I tried the whole sand paper and clear cost method and totally f it up. So then I sanded it back down smooth to get the clear coat off and what I could atleast. My supplier came around at the dealership and I bought a headlight resto kit from him. Worked great on passenger side. Looks brand new. But the driver wide it help some then the restore clear coat peeled off and now I'm back to a junk looking light. So I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to rate it before I drop some dollars buying an aftermarket set.

[rawdog573]

Originally Posted by rawdog573

Picture attached. But my driver side headlight lense had some oxidation on it. So I tried the whole sand paper and clear cost method and totally f it up. So then I sanded it back down smooth to get the clear coat off and what I could atleast. My supplier came around at the dealership and I bought a headlight resto kit from him. Worked great on passenger side. Looks brand new. But the driver wide it help some then the restore clear coat peeled off and now I'm back to a junk looking light. So I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to rate it before I drop some dollars buying an aftermarket set.

And no it's not oxidation. That's a combination of I can assume left over clear coat I tried to sand off and scratches from the sand paper

[nsjames]

yes.

but you should go ahead and pull it out of the chassis to make it easier.
start over with wet sanding it at 400 grit until it looks uniform. Keep your sanding strokes in one direction.
Go to 600 and sand perpendicular to the last marks until you don't see anymore of them and only see your current striations.

repeat until you hit 2k grit, then polish the plastic with compound.
You will then have to seal it.

[rawdog573]

Originally Posted by nsjames

yes.

but you should go ahead and pull it out of the chassis to make it easier.
start over with wet sanding it at 400 grit until it looks uniform. Keep your sanding strokes in one direction.
Go to 600 and sand perpendicular to the last marks until you don't see anymore of them and only see your current striations.

repeat until you hit 2k grit, then polish the plastic with compound.
You will then have to seal it.

What would I use to seal it

[hughrd1_e90]

Wouldn't it be easier to order a pair of lense and install it?

[rawdog573]

Originally Posted by hughrd1_e90

Wouldn't it be easier to order a pair of lense and install it?

No. I have no experience installing lenses

[hughrd1_e90]

SP-Auto Headlight Lens Plastic Shell Cover (PAIR) For BMW E90/E91 2004-2007 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0759NWR3X..._i9OnDbCZS6031

[NinetyEight740]

Originally Posted by hughrd1_e90

SP-Auto Headlight Lens Plastic Shell Cover (PAIR) For BMW E90/E91 2004-2007 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0759NWR3X..._i9OnDbCZS6031

Those are for halogen headlights and op has xenon.

[King Rudi]

Here's my process: Double mask the surrounding area with auto masking tape. I use the yellow 3M stuff. Blue painters tape leaves sticky debris behind leaving you with needing to scrub with alcohol (I only recommend 70% - anything above 70% is too abrasive) or goo gone; this only adds to clean up time. Prep right before and save yourself time after the job is done. I also use tape and drape to cover/protect the area under the lens. Since the headlights can't make contact with water for 24-48 after you finish, this saves you from trying to clean the plastic debris, from sanding, off your car by going to a car wash or potentially screwing them up by accidentally hitting them with a cloth wiping it off after.

I use this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Requires an air compressor but saves you at least an hour of hand sanding per lens. Also requires a little skill as you do not want to over use or allow it to sit in one spot for more than a second. You will burn the plastic and you'll have a bad time.)
and these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (I start with 400 > 800 > 1200# - Stop there. You're going to want a little roughness for the clear to stick to)

Then mask off the entire front end of your car to protect from over spray.

Spray with this - https://www.amazon.com/Sp*****x-Glam...gateway&sr=8-4 (This requires a well ventilated area a chem mask, eye protection and rubber gloves. This shit is dangerous for you!) If you haven't ever used 2k clear watch some videos first. This shit is amazing! I use 3 even coats.

After the clear has been sprayed on the lens, you need to wait 24 hours for it to cure. After it has cured, use the 3" polisher to sand again with 1200 > 2000 > 3000# to remove any orange peel from the clear. The 2k clear has a hardener in it but the polisher will burn through it if you allow it to sit in one area for too long.

After the 3000# sanding is done. I use these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (I start with the yellow pad, then blue, then black)
with this - https://www.amazon.com/3M-06085-Perf...02&sr=1-8&th=1
Then this - https://www.amazon.com/3M-06064-Perf...2&sr=1-10&th=1
Then the wax of your choice with the black pad.

Yes, this is labor intensive and these materials are expensive; but you will NEVER have to do this again on your car.

If you aren't someone who doesn't have an air compressor, spends a bunch of time and money on tools or equipment or details cars.......you can always just buy this. https://www.amazon.com/3M-39008-Head...ateway&sr=8-25 I've used both of these methods in the last 2 weeks. The 3M kit is a fine product and does a great job for a cheap kit. The other method I used when I smoked my tail lights and they look like OEM smoked lenses.

[Jonah335]

I have a clean driver side headlight for sale, OP

[rawdog573]

Originally Posted by Jonah335

I have a clean driver side headlight for sale, OP

Is it xenon with afs

[Jonah335]

yes xenon with adaptive functions. send me a message if you're interested. [IMG]undefined[/IMG]

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by rawdog573

No. I have no experience installing lenses

There is zero reason why that can’t be repaired, so I completely agree that pulling the headlight and swapping the lens is way more expense and is totally unnecessary.

I’ve refinished a number of headlights before, and while doing it right takes some time, it’s not difficult to do. The process nsjames outlines is exactly what I’ve done, and have always gotten excellent results. I’d personally leave them on the car strictly out of laziness, but for sure removing them would make it a bit easier.

The only way I’d swap a lens is if I had OE lenses, and good luck finding those for cheap. I’d stay away from cheap Chinese plastic lenses you’ll find online. They’ll look good at first, but could end up being much worse in the long run.

[rawdog573]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

There is zero reason why that can't be repaired, so I completely agree that pulling the headlight and swapping the lens is way more expense and is totally unnecessary.

I've refinished a number of headlights before, and while doing it right takes some time, it's not difficult to do. The process nsjames outlines is exactly what I've done, and have always gotten excellent results. I'd personally leave them on the car strictly out of laziness, but for sure removing them would make it a bit easier.

The only way I'd swap a lens is if I had OE lenses, and good luck finding those for cheap. I'd stay away from cheap Chinese plastic lenses you'll find online. They'll look good at first, but could end up being much worse in the long run.

I'll try it out. If it doesn't come out well enough for me then I'm gonna see about buying a used replacement assembly. I do want to just go full aftermarket cause there zones decent looking options but I'm kinda biased and I have blue angel eyes so I don't really want to get away from that. They only way I would pull the lenses off completely is if I decide to get rid of the orange reflector tape on the inside. It's ugly

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by rawdog573

What would I use to seal it

a UV activated resin.
SEM sells one in a spray can.

done properly it will last as long as the original did.

[rawdog573]

Originally Posted by nsjames

yes.

but you should go ahead and pull it out of the chassis to make it easier.
start over with wet sanding it at 400 grit until it looks uniform. Keep your sanding strokes in one direction.
Go to 600 and sand perpendicular to the last marks until you don't see anymore of them and only see your current striations.

repeat until you hit 2k grit, then polish the plastic with compound.
You will then have to seal it.

I'm going to attempt this tomorrow. So I should go 400 600 800 1000 1200 1500 2000. I also have a drill if it can help in anyway. Everyone I switch to a new grit do I run opposite of my last lines before? And after 2000 I polish right?

[nsjames]

you may not need to start so aggressively with 400.
OPs headlamp is fawked, and needs to be taken down to a consistent level and grit.

if you're have just regular oxidation stuff and no big nicks or anything, I'd start at 800.
you can use a drill, but beware that using machines to work with plastic requires some attention, or you will dick it up and regret it.

the point of going 90 degrees to the prior grit is so you can easily see when you're "erased" the prior grits scratches. Then you know you can move on and not leave anything deeper than your current grit.

the finer you end with sandpaper, the less time it will take to polish.

always wet sand. don't be scared of the water either. You should end up wet and wearing plastic dust. clean your paper often or it will clog and then make a big deep scratch you have to sand out again.

[mweisdorfer]

You should put a UV resistant clear coat on the lenses, when all is said & done. At least 3 coats for sure.

It may "Orange" peel on you based on the conditions.

No big deal.

Use some 2000 grit & wet sand the lenses a little bit, after 24 hours to allow the clear coat to harden a little, and then use a rubbing compound like 3m perfect it no. 1. You should use a dual action polisher on it such as a porter & cable 7424xp, with a chemical guys, flexible backing pad and orange polishing pad.

[rawdog573]

Originally Posted by nsjames

you may not need to start so aggressively with 400.
OPs headlamp is fawked, and needs to be taken down to a consistent level and grit.

if you're have just regular oxidation stuff and no big nicks or anything, I'd start at 800.
you can use a drill, but beware that using machines to work with plastic requires some attention, or you will dick it up and regret it.

the point of going 90 degrees to the prior grit is so you can easily see when you're "erased" the prior grits scratches. Then you know you can move on and not leave anything deeper than your current grit.

the finer you end with sandpaper, the less time it will take to polish.

always wet sand. don't be scared of the water either. You should end up wet and wearing plastic dust. clean your paper often or it will clog and then make a big deep scratch you have to sand out again.

It's not oxidation it's spray on clear coat they I attempted to do a few weeks ago. So it probably needs 400 to get there crap off

[djh2]

I used the meguiars restoration kit which included sandpaper, fine grit sponges and a plastic polish to finish it off.

Once restored, I did my headlights and fogs with Xpel headlight film precut for e90

Been almost a year, no issues and everything looks great.

[AM330i]

I just used a headlight restore product from 3m and the results are quite amazing. one kit is supposed to do two Headlights but mine were so bad that I needed a kit for each headlight. my lenses were severely scratched and took a lot of sanding to get all the scratches out. the last step is were the magic happens. it's a wipe that makes the lens clear and it's a protective coating. https://www.amazon.com/3M-39175-Heav...3m+&sr=8-4
[IMG]undefined[/IMG]

[rawdog573]

Update. Would just like to thank everyone that helped. I finally got the headlight done. Took forever because I took it out of the car and it was difficult to drop the bumper without jack stand since they are currently under my bronco. But I used a combo of 500 grit hand sand. Then moved to the 3m still sand kit. Came out way better then I thought it would. Not perfect by any means. But I'm happy with it.