tnixa

I just finished with mine and I didn't get the results I was hoping for. Most of the pits and imperfections are gone but I can still see the small scratches from the sanding. I wet sanded the hell out of them and buffed the hell out of them with both the Turtle Wax stuff and the PlastX but the scratches remain. Granted, you have to look pretty close to see them but still they do not sparkle like new like what I was hoping for.

I found a great finish sandpaper combo on ebay for under $10 shipped. Search for "Sandpaper Combo Pack 1000/1500/2000/2500/3000 Grit"

Has anyone tried any headlight protector film like XPEL? I'm thinking I could put that on and it would make the lights look better especially if I went with a tint. I'm scared the tint would make my headlights less bright though.

NoQuarter

What kind of buffer and pad did you use? Electric DA with orange pad will do the trick.

tnixa

Its a TurtleWax brand 6" random orbital buffer with micro fiber pad from Walmart, ~$20. What is a DA and is there something special about an orange pad? What would I use for buffing compound?

tnixa

I bought some Meguiar's 105 cutting compound and I primed my cheap yellow foam pad with it and used my cheap turtle wax buffer and then did a few passes on my headlights that had the slight scratches left from the wet sanding and buffing with the turtle wax scratch remover stuff and the PlastiX. The headlights look amazing now!! There is still a small trace of some scratches but you have to look really hard to see them.

I also did a few passes with some Meguiar's 205 polish but I couldn't really tell if that improved anything. I'm so happy that I didn't have to invest in a professional model polisher to get good results. I think the 105 compound is the key to getting good results for this DIY project.

Muppet_Man

Just a quick note for all you guys out there polishing your headlamps. The other way to achieve that brand new look is to flame polish the lens. This gives a finish literally like new.

This is something that you won't just be able to do without training however, as it involves a very fine and very hot flame such as you get from an Oxy/Acetylene mix.

I've welded back in the days when I was at Renault, and wanted to try this method on the ramps that you get on Pinball machines as these are also Acrylic, and get marked and dull. They cost a packet, so rather than bin them, or spends hours and hours trying to hand polish them (which is also unsatisfactory as they have tight bends on them) I bought some old broken ones off of E-Bay and practised for some time flame polishing. I was a little surprised how long it took me to get the hang of it, but the results when I did where spectacular.

I then tried it on one of my headlamps on my Audi Allroad as it already had a crack in it and was very pleased with the outcome.

My 535D doesn't need the treatment, but if it did, I know this would work a treat.

So, even if you have access to an Oxy/Acet kit, it would be worth seeing if someone local does flame polishing rather than burning a hole in your headlamps yourself.

Cheers