Opaque Headlights - Polished - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

deuce · #16 06-14-2003, 05:23 PM

Here's the after.

A word of advice, however. Make sure you raise the hood and remove the lower panel below the lamps and be VERY careful when using the lower grits as it will scratch the paint very easily. You'll need to tape off the outside of the main lamps.

Experience talking.

And, yes, they are different lamps. I am comparing the left to the right as I didn't think to take pics before I started.

I'll post the final results when I have the time to complete the project.

Munsey

mosquera · #17 06-16-2003, 11:04 AM

Can you use this same method on the head light and fog light lenses for a 1993 190e? Or is the yellowing caused by buildup on thre inside?

Oddly only the drivers side head/fog light lenses yellowed over time. The passenger side is perfectly clear.

deuce · #18 06-16-2003, 01:29 PM

I don't think this will work on any 124's as they are glass if I'm not mistaken and this repair kit is for acrylic surfaces.

As for the passenger side, it is yellowed and scratched as well. Just hard to tell in the picture. The before pic is the passenger side and the after pic is the driver's side.

Limited Edition · #19 06-16-2003, 02:00 PM

Quote:

I don't think this will work on any 124's as they are glass

Only the actual headlights are glass on 1986-1993 W124's. The headlight "door" or foglight lens is acrylic.

deuce · #20 06-16-2003, 02:47 PM

Good point. And I actually referenced the wrong car anyway as mosquera was asking about a 190E and not a 300E. I think the headlight design is similar on both, however.

richunters · #21 06-16-2003, 02:57 PM

Yes, Deuce, definately should have taped off around the lens. In fact I suggest using a double layer of masking tape. The rubbing- polishing -rinsing off cycles wet the tape and make it easy to come off.

By the way, which grit size did you use to start the polishing?

deuce · #22 06-16-2003, 04:07 PM

I started with the 120. In hindsight, I probably could have started with the 400 and had fewer stray marks. But, overall it's a huge improvement. I'm anxious to do the other 3 lenses. That should give the car a much better appearance.

#23 08-11-2003, 11:37 PM

So Deuce,
Its now been over two months, Hows the finished product looking, ...........you HAVE finished this right, cause it sure would be an eye sore to have only one lamp polished of the four?
BTW do you drink.......smoke? it will only help in conclusion. Show us the pics? please?

deuce · #24 08-12-2003, 07:30 AM

...to make me go outside at 6:30AM in a light misting rain to take pictures of a pair of polished headlamps that I should have posted 8 weeks ago. Just bein' a little slack, that's all.

Thanks for the prodding Cuz. Yes, I did finish them and am rather proud of the results. They aren't perfect (shock) but are a damn site better than they were.

Here are the after pics. The funny thing is that the headlamps aren't on but the camera's flash lit them up so that they look to be.

Good to hear from you Stephen. Will we be seeing you and the family in Bristol in a couple of weeks?

Have a good week.

deuce · #25 08-12-2003, 07:31 AM

And the full monty.

#26 08-12-2003, 09:21 AM

It looks good, glad to see you "better" your vehicle, too bad for the rain, it's hard to keep'em clean in those conditions.

deuce · #27 08-12-2003, 09:58 AM

This rain is killin' me. We haven't had a weekend w/o rain in 3 months. Oh well. I'm going to get it detailed by a guy in Bristol in a few weeks. Does a great job for $50. Made my old one look great. Doesn't just cover the problems up but actually fixes them.

Later,

Dee8go · #28 12-14-2007, 10:27 AM

Amazing what a difference this can make in the appearance of your car. If the lenses are REALLY cloudy, it will begin to degrade the light output. I used this on one of my cars (not an MB) with plastic lenses. I was astounded!

Dee8go · #29 09-18-2017, 10:16 AM

I haven't needed to do this in at least ten years, but my CLS headlights are pretty badly oxidized. After reading descriptions and reviews of a number of current products, I've decided to try McGuire's kit. I'll describe my results after I'm done incase someone else is thinking about headlight restoration.

tdoublenastywitit · #30 01-03-2018, 09:04 AM

1000 then 2000 grit sand paper followed by any rubbing compound will accomplish the same thing.

And no u cannot buff out glass headlights, u can clean the water damage off with a compound but sand paper cannot be used. Although glass lens do not fog like that at all