DIY Headlight Restoration Kit! Here is the best!!!

Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit $22 I purchased at Auto Zone. It took me about two hours and well worth the work.

An explanation of what is what would help a little.... I have no idea whatim looking at

I wish I could have seen the before and after pics. Your final lens looks great. I purchased a Mquires lens kit. What I am finding though is once cleaned up and clear they yellow faster.

Originally Posted by Hogie

I wish I could have seen the before and after pics. Your final lens looks great. I purchased a Mquires lens kit. What I am finding though is once cleaned up and clear they yellow faster.

I have had the same experience with my older Nissan Maxima. I've tried various UV protectants on the lense after cleaning, but they still yellow in a couple of months or so. But, so long as you stay on top of it, cleaning them back up again only takes a few minutes once you've cleaned them up the first time. Haven't had to do the BMW yet.

Keith

Originally Posted by Hogie

I wish I could have seen the before and after pics. Your final lens looks great. I purchased a Mquires lens kit. What I am finding though is once cleaned up and clear they yellow faster.

The Sylvania one is great because lights are their business and it comes with a UV protection liquid to apply at the end...it's a delicate process similar to brushing on a clear coat to a painted surface.
This is the second car I used it on to restore the headlight lenses. The other was a 95 Buick Riviera.
All I can say is it worked beautifully and I followed the directions and steps.
Message me if you want help with it.
Maguires is only to polish and you have to apply every month. That sucks

Originally Posted by schpenxel

An explanation of what is what would help a little.... I have no idea whatim looking at

These are after pics....the headlight lenses are restored and clear after using the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit.
It's a delicate intricate process. The results lasted me two years on my previous vehicle.

Originally Posted by Hogie

I wish I could have seen the before and after pics. Your final lens looks great. I purchased a Mquires lens kit. What I am finding though is once cleaned up and clear they yellow faster.

I agree that would have been great if i planned to show the process. Sorry!
:-/ I did not like the way they looked and was an after thought as I restored them...my neighbor and I said WOW!!!!! I need to share with other people who like working on their cars.

Here is a pic right before I applied the UV clear protection liquid (like clear coat)

Basically, the kit had steps to follow

Clean lens
Tape around to protect surrounding area and painted surfaces. I did with plastic and tape that was provided.

Spray bottle to remove discoloring and crap.

Three different sanding grit papers ....to remove old finish and damage.

Water and sponge to clean between.

Compound to fine buff

Clean with spray chemical and water.
Dry
Then after both are prepped for the UV protection clear coat.
Apply clear coat with towel provided.
It's like liquid clear coat to coat lens

Cure/ dry for 6 hours before allowing any moisture to come in contact.

Still read the steps in the kit.

Thanks - My lenses have a little more coloration to them, but I have cleaned, sanded in the past. I think the key may be that clear coat UV protection. I will give it try. I have a $20.00 reward at autozone so now I know what I will put it towards thanks.

530i Alpinewhite

Since we are talking headlights - Do your inboard lights ever come on? I have been asking this question elsewhere when trying to code my DRLs.

However, I notice that the inboard lights never come on. The xenon light on the outboard are all that come on for lo and Hi beam.

Please let me know how the Sylvania kit holds out for you. I bought a different kit with similar steps from myheadlight.com and the results looked great, but they were short-lived (approx 6 months). Their website states their results will last the life of the headlight, but obviously that quite a lie.

I hear the UV protectant is one of the thing that sets Sylvania apart from the rest of the pack so maybe that's their secret to long lasting results. Anyways, your lights look great and I hope the results hold out!