Headlight 'Glass' Cleaning results?

[Warrior]

Looking for advice regarding the expectations I should have for headlamp cleaning kits?

For some reason my nearside headlamp glass is becoming increasingly dull.

The drivers side whilst not pristine is perfectly acceptable for the age of the car but there's a marked difference between the two.

My concern is that if I attempt to clean the nearside glass what are the chances of me getting it to a similar condition as the other?

If I clean both can I expect remarkable results or a slight improvement?

Would I be better off buying replacements? (Apart from the cost! )

[Boosh]

Hi, depending on the condition, if it's not too far gone, a cheap solution might be to to polish your headlight with toothpaste on a rag. My headlights were quite good for their age, and turned out even better! I know some cleaning kits are available for possibly better (or at least faster) results, but it is worth giving toothpaste a try, is it?
Hope that helps,

Boosh.

[John Wilson]

I did mine with wet and dry paper with various grades down to 2500, then finished with Plastx polish. I took the headlights off the car first and used a block to keep the surface flat. It worked really well but takes a nerve when starting as the surface becomes immediately opaque at first.

[Bumpa]

If you Google "Cleaning opaque headlights" you will get loads of advice and Youtube videos. You can buy a kit of cleaning products from 3M with full instructions if you want.

[wonderloaf]

I used the Autoglym headlight kit, uses a sanding process and took about 30 mins per side. Results were like new, well worth the money and enough to do the wife's car as well. Also good for getting scratches out of the hood window.

[Gazza]

Does it last ?

I’ve done the lights on my van a few times and they eventually fade again. In the end I bought new light units from eBay.

[Bumpa]

I was going to use the 3M kit on my recently purchased Z3's lights, but then discovered that the adjusters were all broken and the left dip beam pointed directly at the ground in front of the car. So I bought a pair of replacements made in China for a fraction of BMW price. They look great and seem to work well, with a good spread of controlled light. Pleased so far.

[Warrior]

Thanks all.

I've tried the toothpaste with some success but as would be expected the good one came up well, the bad one not so good.

I've a relative who works for BMW so will get a trade price for replacements before having a go with a cleaning kit. If anyone can mess a job like this up I can

[Z3crazy]

Hi Guys,

My "other" line of work is doing guitar setups and repairs and I've been using Micro-Mesh pads for years to polish frets end remove haze from paintwork on instruments.

That's one application........... but cleaning fighter jet and helicopter canopys is another (you really want to see that incoming SAM or enemy aircraft).

https://micro-surface.com/products-by-a ... itary.html

My son-in-law to-be (if he's lucky) did his MX-5 lights and they look like new (from yellowish brown)

Easy to buy online and it goes down to 12000 in the regular grades

Dave