[As promised, here's a repost of a DIY I did for BCBimmers.]
My recently acquired 330i had headlight lenses that were in pretty bad shape. Cdn Tire had the Mothers headlight restoration kit (http://www.mothers.com/02_products/07250.html) on sale for about 20 bucks, so I decided to give it a try. The kit comes with the Powerball buffer, which you use with your drill, some polish that you apply to the Powerball, and some sanding pads for severely damaged headlights.
Before you start, tape off the area around your lens with painter's tape to protect it from the spinning Powerball. I also found that as the polish spread from the centre of the Powerball to the edges, the spin of the drill can fling it quite far. Since the polish is mildly abrasive, you'll want cover your fender, bumper and engine area to catch anything that might fly off of the spinning Powerball.
The instructions say to use the Powerball first. I tried it and it did nothing, so I had to move on to the severe damage procedures. This involves using the 4 sanding pads, starting with the 800 grit and moving progressively up to the 2000 grit. Once you're finished with the sanding, you use the Powerball again.
The sanding disks are 2 sided with a foam sponge in the middle. You soak them in water before using them. I also had a spray bottle of water handy and frequently wet the lens with it.
The video on Mothers site says to use light pressure, however I had to use a far bit of pressure and spend a lot of time with the 800 grit to strip off the damaged outer layer of the lens. The water on the lens would turn cloudy from the microscopic bits of plastic that I was sanding off. If I sprayed the lens with the spray bottle after sanding a section for a bit, I could see a line that delineated the old damaged portion of the lens from the refinished portion (still on the 800 grit at this point). This is how I could tell that I was actually accomplishing something.
Once I was satisfied that the entire lens surface had been refinished with the 800 grit, I then moved onto the 1200, 1500 and 2000 grit in order. Note the you are to change sanding direction every time you change grit (i.e. horizontal sanding first, then vertical, then horizontal, and finally vertical).
The instructions say to spend progressively more sanding time every time you change grit. I spent a lot of time with the 800 grit, so it didn't make sense to me to spend the same time again plus something extra for the 1200 grit. However after using the 1200, I did spend progressively more time with the 1500 and the 2000.
With sanding finished, I then used the Powerball and the polish.
I was very pleased with the results. However it did take a lot of time, so I've only refinished one lens so far. Here are some comparisons of the two lenses:
Driver's right:
Driver's left:
Driver's right:
Driver's left:
Driver's right:
Driver's left:
So, the bottom line is that the kit works very well, but it can require a significant time investment. Compared to the cost of replacing the lens, I'd say it was worth it.
[I subsequently discovered that lenses aren't as ridiculously expensive as I thought they were, but it still works out to $20 for the kit plus my time, versus $140 for new lenses.]
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Originally Posted by danewilson77
