[jkrig]

Gents so the old girl is starting to show her age and it was finally time for me to restore my headlights. I had been reluctant to do so because having done headlights resto's on my others cars and even for friends and family I knew this would only lead to me having to clean them over and over on a regular basis so I decided give a well known infomercial product (Wipe New) a try. The difference is that I cleaned my headlights using a tried and true method, combination of dry/wet sand (1000,1500,2000 grit), polish with a DA and FG400, follow with a finishing polish.....with the lights looking almost new I coated them with wipe new....its been little over a month and they still look like the day cleaned them. I will update the thread with pics in another couple months for those interested.









3 Month update: Rained the two days prior so car and lights are lil dirty

[Rival]

now that they are clean and perfect you will need to keep them up in a sense.

I need to do this about every 6 months. But just a light buff and then seal or coating.

[jkrig]

That's why I added the Wipe New....hoping not to have to do it as often. From what I've seen Wipe New fills in the scratches and deterioration on beat up headlights, and creates a hard but clear coating and that's what tricks the eye making bad headlights appear clear/clean (ish). I figured if I get them near pristine then the coating would be more for protection than filling scratches.

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by jkrig

That's why I added the Wipe New....hoping not to have to do it as often. From what I've seen Wipe New fills in the scratches and deterioration on beat up headlights, and creates a hard but clear coating and that's what tricks the eye making bad headlights appear clear/clean (ish). I figured if I get them near pristine then the coating would be more for protection than filling scratches.

Is wipe-new any better than a lense sealant?

[jkrig]

Originally Posted by Jarronbwall

Is wipe-new any better than a lense sealant?

Not sure yet....we shall see, for just short of $10 though its holding up well, been through a couple of downpours in the last month and no sign off wear. It comes with a foil pack with a small microfiber cloth that is saturated with the chemical they say bonds to the lens...went on easy....dried clear as you can see. Like I said for $10...best I've used/seen prior is Opti Lens, which retails for $60 so if it can match or exceed Opti Lens in terms of longevity then its a bargain...

[cpie168]

Looks amazing! How did you use the DA on the corner closest to the center of the car? Did you have a tiny pad and backing plate?

Thanks!

[jkrig]

Originally Posted by cpie168

Looks amazing! How did you use the DA on the corner closest to the center of the car? Did you have a tiny pad and backing plate?

Thanks!

3" Pad helped a bit still had to apply a pinch of product directly to that area by hand and use the edge of the pad...just had to finagle a little...

[Jaronbwall]

Originally Posted by jkrig

3" Pad helped a bit still had to apply a pinch of product directly to that area by hand and use the edge of the pad...just had to finagle a little...

Yeah that corner sucks! haha Nothing a little elbow grease can't fix, but it takes longer

[marketmaster]

Wipe new is not going to compare to Opti Lens. You will have to continue to reapply the product you are using over and over. The great thing about opti lens is that you never have to worry with that.

[jkrig]

Originally Posted by marketmaster

Wipe new is not going to compare to Opti Lens. You will have to continue to reapply the product you are using over and over. The great thing about opti lens is that you never have to worry with that.

We will see how it does....like I said if it doesn't, I'm only out $10.....at this price, hell if I get 50-75% the the longevity of opti-lens its a win.....well over a month now and they still look great, carnuba or typical sealant alone would probably be just starting to showing signs of wear given the weather lately in the mid-atlantic region.....will snap some pics after this 4-5 day stretch of wind and rain....

[Spun Crankhub]

Great job!!!

[perezr10]

So how is it holding up?

[jkrig]

Actually they are holding up well for $9. Been meaning to come back with an update but life gets in the way......Ill try and snap a quick pic in the AM

[chris82]

Originally Posted by jkrig

Gents so the old girl is starting to show her age and it was finally time for me to restore my headlights. I had been reluctant to do so because having done headlights resto's on my others cars and even for friends and family I knew this would only lead to me having to clean them over and over on a regular basis so I decided give a well known infomercial product (Wipe New) a try. The difference is that I cleaned my headlights using a tried and true method, combination of dry/wet sand (1000,1500,2000 grit), polish with a DA and FG400, follow with a finishing polish.....with the lights looking almost new I coated them with wipe new....its been little over a month and they still look like the day cleaned them. I will update the thread with pics in another couple months for those interested.

They look great. I did a wetsand/buffing/sealing routine on mine and they looked brand new, but they clouded up within 6 months. You just added the wipe new to protect them a little longer?

[jkrig]

Yep just the wipe new...wanted to see how long the wipe new alone would last. Next time Ill top with a sealant and or Klasse AIO .....updated pics in the first post.

[cpie168]

Stilll looking great after 3 months! Please keep posting updates every 3 months or less, thank you!

[perezr10]

Wow! Those look amazing for 3 months out. Mine look worse than that after 3 weeks. And thanks for taking pictures in the harsh sun light. The lenses always look better in the shade. I may look into buying that stuff now.

[jkrig]

Originally Posted by perezr10

Wow! Those look amazing for 3 months out. Mine look worse than that after 3 weeks. And thanks for taking pictures in the harsh sun light. The lenses always look better in the shade. I may look into buying that stuff now.

Just make sure you restore them first, use whatever method you trust depending on the condition of you headlights....and wear gloves when handling the chemical cloth that comes with the Wipe New.....

[perezr10]

Originally Posted by jkrig

Just make sure you restore them first, use whatever method you trust depending on the condition of you headlights....and wear gloves when handling the chemical cloth that comes with the Wipe New.....

Oh, yeah. I've got the sanding part down. I bought a foam backed drill attachment and Meguiars 3" sanding pads in 1000 and 3000 grit. I can sand the hell out of my lights.

The problem is that they almost immediately start going cloudy again even though they are smooth. This Wipe New sounds like it could be the missing ingredient.

I probably need to move away from using PlastX too.

[Mkze90]

Great write up! I just got my e90 and first thing I noticed it the headlights how they are "peeling" some sort of coat kinda yellowish on top of the headlights. So I'm looking to possibly try to restore them.

Btw.... I got the same color e90

[08njSTEP]

I've done sanding/polishing and I've also sand/clear coat. For long term or really really bad lights I recommend removing lamps sand with p1000 and spray with urethane clear coat. Look brand new and lasts because clear coat has UV resistance so lens doesn't cloud. Plus you can polish or wax just like paint.

[vivaladav]

Originally Posted by perezr10

Oh, yeah. I've got the sanding part down. I bought a foam backed drill attachment and Meguiars 3" sanding pads in 1000 and 3000 grit. I can sand the hell out of my lights.

The problem is that they almost immediately start going cloudy again even though they are smooth. This Wipe New sounds like it could be the missing ingredient.

I probably need to move away from using PlastX too.

Your doing it wrong. After you sand. It fogs up that doesn't mean your finished you have to use a rubbing compound the buff it followed by a polishing compound then a plastic/glass polish then wax. For perfect results I just did mine