Headlight restoration
02-17-2012, 12:05 PM
#11
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My Ride: 545I and a half dozen other rides
look in the DIY section there are many ways of doing it.
I've tried all of them.
So far painting with a clear lasts the longest, but even that is like a year or two depending on the paint. There is a special clear paint out there that has uv protection but it is very hard to lay flat.
I've tried all of them.
So far painting with a clear lasts the longest, but even that is like a year or two depending on the paint. There is a special clear paint out there that has uv protection but it is very hard to lay flat.
02-17-2012, 12:11 PM
#12
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Location: Austin, Texas
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My Ride: 2006 550i, Logic 7, Sport Package, Active Steering, Comfort Access, Comfort Seats, Heated Seats, Navigation, Satellite radio.
Let's see, travel to the store, stand there for a while reading labels and deciding which kit to buy, buy, drive home, read and research how to do it, then spend the time to do it. etc. That all seems like a lot of wasted time when I could get someone to do it for $50. If your time is worth $10 an hour then go for it. For me somethings are worth paying someone else to do it. This being one of them. Check craigslist, most of these guys will even travel to your office or home. Otherwise, I think most of the kits will work fine.
02-17-2012, 12:29 PM
#13
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My Ride: Black 2006 530i Premium Package, Navigation, 18in OEM Wheels, Black Leather, Wood Grain Dash
Let's see, travel to the store, stand there for a while reading labels and deciding which kit to buy, buy, drive home, read and research how to do it, then spend the time to do it. etc. That all seems like a lot of wasted time when I could get someone to do it for $50. If your time is worth $10 an hour then go for it. For me somethings are worth paying someone else to do it. This being one of them. Check craigslist, most of these guys will even travel to your office or home. Otherwise, I think most of the kits will work fine.
02-18-2012, 05:26 PM
#15
I finally picked up a 3M Headlight restoration kit from Walmart for my driver's side xenon-AHL (faded, yellowing, ?crows-feet? at edges).
I would never have done the following if I didn't find the DIY found on 5series.net/DIY.
1. 5 torx-27 screws to undo to pull out the top of the front bumper slightly.
2. two hex nuts, and 2 torx-27 screws to pull out and completely remove the xenon-AHL.
3. 4 hours and an aching back, but results were absolutely worth it. I messed up the first time and left blotches all over the headlight, which almost made me give up in disgust. However, knowing other people had success made me retry with steady pressure/passes @ moderate-high RPMs w/ my drill. With practice, I was able to achieve an even cloudiness throughout, and buffing revealed the look I was hoping for.
4. If I looked really closely (< 4 inches away), I can still see minor scratches still in the headlight, but from 1 feet away it looks fantastic. Once I apply the home-made clear it should be perfect (spar-urethane high gloss + mineral spirits). Tonight, I'm too tired to do anything else, and just picked up Meguliar's headlight protectant as a temporary measure.
Would I pay someone $50 to do a headlight? Probably
. But it was a good learning experience.
I would never have done the following if I didn't find the DIY found on 5series.net/DIY.
1. 5 torx-27 screws to undo to pull out the top of the front bumper slightly.
2. two hex nuts, and 2 torx-27 screws to pull out and completely remove the xenon-AHL.
3. 4 hours and an aching back, but results were absolutely worth it. I messed up the first time and left blotches all over the headlight, which almost made me give up in disgust. However, knowing other people had success made me retry with steady pressure/passes @ moderate-high RPMs w/ my drill. With practice, I was able to achieve an even cloudiness throughout, and buffing revealed the look I was hoping for.
4. If I looked really closely (< 4 inches away), I can still see minor scratches still in the headlight, but from 1 feet away it looks fantastic. Once I apply the home-made clear it should be perfect (spar-urethane high gloss + mineral spirits). Tonight, I'm too tired to do anything else, and just picked up Meguliar's headlight protectant as a temporary measure.
Would I pay someone $50 to do a headlight? Probably
. But it was a good learning experience.
02-18-2012, 07:03 PM
#16
I finally picked up a 3M Headlight restoration kit from Walmart for my driver's side xenon-AHL (faded, yellowing, ?crows-feet? at edges).
I would never have done the following if I didn't find the DIY found on 5series.net/DIY.
1. 5 torx-27 screws to undo to pull out the top of the front bumper slightly.
2. two hex nuts, and 2 torx-27 screws to pull out and completely remove the xenon-AHL.
3. 4 hours and an aching back, but results were absolutely worth it. I messed up the first time and left blotches all over the headlight, which almost made me give up in disgust. However, knowing other people had success made me retry with steady pressure/passes @ moderate-high RPMs w/ my drill. With practice, I was able to achieve an even cloudiness throughout, and buffing revealed the look I was hoping for.
4. If I looked really closely (< 4 inches away), I can still see minor scratches still in the headlight, but from 1 feet away it looks fantastic. Once I apply the home-made clear it should be perfect (spar-urethane high gloss + mineral spirits). Tonight, I'm too tired to do anything else, and just picked up Meguliar's headlight protectant as a temporary measure.
Would I pay someone $50 to do a headlight? Probably. But it was a good learning experience.
I would never have done the following if I didn't find the DIY found on 5series.net/DIY.
1. 5 torx-27 screws to undo to pull out the top of the front bumper slightly.
2. two hex nuts, and 2 torx-27 screws to pull out and completely remove the xenon-AHL.
3. 4 hours and an aching back, but results were absolutely worth it. I messed up the first time and left blotches all over the headlight, which almost made me give up in disgust. However, knowing other people had success made me retry with steady pressure/passes @ moderate-high RPMs w/ my drill. With practice, I was able to achieve an even cloudiness throughout, and buffing revealed the look I was hoping for.
4. If I looked really closely (< 4 inches away), I can still see minor scratches still in the headlight, but from 1 feet away it looks fantastic. Once I apply the home-made clear it should be perfect (spar-urethane high gloss + mineral spirits). Tonight, I'm too tired to do anything else, and just picked up Meguliar's headlight protectant as a temporary measure.
Would I pay someone $50 to do a headlight? Probably
. But it was a good learning experience.Adding pics:
02-18-2012, 07:51 PM
#17
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My Ride: Black 2006 530i Premium Package, Navigation, 18in OEM Wheels, Black Leather, Wood Grain Dash
That looks amazing, but I may have to let someone else do it for me. I just installed my scoops and mtec v3 lights and i felt like i had broken my back. That is a crazy amount of pain. LOL. but still the headlight looks very clean. I need mine to look like that
02-19-2012, 03:39 PM
#18
Senior Members
look in the DIY section there are many ways of doing it.
I've tried all of them.
So far painting with a clear lasts the longest, but even that is like a year or two depending on the paint. There is a special clear paint out there that has uv protection but it is very hard to lay flat.
I've tried all of them.
So far painting with a clear lasts the longest, but even that is like a year or two depending on the paint. There is a special clear paint out there that has uv protection but it is very hard to lay flat.
02-19-2012, 03:40 PM
#19
Senior Members
Let's see, travel to the store, stand there for a while reading labels and deciding which kit to buy, buy, drive home, read and research how to do it, then spend the time to do it. etc. That all seems like a lot of wasted time when I could get someone to do it for $50. If your time is worth $10 an hour then go for it. For me somethings are worth paying someone else to do it. This being one of them. Check craigslist, most of these guys will even travel to your office or home. Otherwise, I think most of the kits will work fine.
02-19-2012, 07:29 PM
#20
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I cleaned my headlights using the 3M kit and they also look amazing!
My eyebrows were also full of moisture, so I managed to get rid of it and now it looks great! What a process though.
My eyebrows were also full of moisture, so I managed to get rid of it and now it looks great! What a process though.