Sylvania headlight restoration kit.
Several years ago, Consumer Reports rated this the best. Used this on my 2005 Pilot with very good results and held up for a few years until I traded it in.

I use Flitz, a terry towel and 5 minutes of elbow grease. Lasts a good year or two.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
My dad had good results wet sanding, polish, and finished up with clear coat.
But, that's on his beater Silverado, not a nice MB.

That's the way the professional detailers do it, wet sanding with increasingly finer paper then clearcoat.

Before it goes to far Weather Tec makes a cover, linky, I was considering purchasing a set just to see.

I've used Meguires on a few company vehicles. The ones that start with sandpaper and work their way to a polishing ball are the best. Don't be afraid to ruin the headlamp with the sandpaper. The object is to remove all the oxidized plastic and then start progressively polishing . Some have a protection application after you are done. I use Plexus regularly on plastic headlamps and it keeps them looking good with lots of UV protection.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
I know there's some serious car nuts on SF. So this has to be a good place to ask for some guidance on the best kits for cleaning up the hazy headlights on my new-to-me 20 year old MB e430. I see some that use wet sanding, and then polishes. Anyone tried these? Too extreme? Any brands to avoid, or embrace? Thanks all!

I don't know if you will be able to find something for a '98 Benz, but I bought new headlight assemblies through Amazon for my Nissan Frontier.

They were not OEM, but were a huge improvement over the 15 year old headlights, and MUCH less expensive than OEM parts. I tried "restoring" the original headlights, but the "improvement" was very slight, and extremely short lived.

Sounds like I should plan on replacing them in the long run. The great link Woodman provided is to a part of the assembly that seems like it can be done, but isn't really designed to be done. You essentially pry off part of an assembly and glue a new one on. I watched a YouTube where a guy did it. You have to remove the wheel well plastic to get to the bolts to remove the bumper. It's the right way to do it, so maybe I'll do that next year. For this year, I'll try a polish since I've already signed on to change all of the fluids. Which will be enough work.

I used the 3M kit and followed up with th e Meguiers coating. After done polishing, the headlight looked new. It still does after 4 months. We'll see how long it lasts. Make sure you mask the surrounding paint.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-3900...System/dp/B001AIZ5HY

r0Gue, I did not even look. Sorry to tempt you. I saw $75 and $87 as the two lenses and assumed they were gasketed items. I see the whole assembly is $225 or so. Per side.

I've dug pretty deeply into a '94 Volvo 850 Turbo to replace components - most of that car can be disassembled with a T-25 driver and also into my '00 Acura TL. What I've learned? Anything can be done if you have the time.

My first foray into this stuff ... no, the first was disassembling a 1970 Honda 450CL which never was reassembled ... my first success was spending HOURS disassembling the front trim on a 1990 Mitsu Mighty Max compact pickup truck. To remove the Mitsubishi emblem in the middle of the grille.

A guy in the dealer shop where I got my "lifetime free oil changes" (until they yanked the certificate and said 'No more') looked pretty amazed when he said, "You did that?". Maybe it was disbelief. So much had to be disassembled to remove that tiny emblem without cracking the grille.

Good luck with the lens replacement. What ya gonna use to pop it apart? A good-quality forged 8" chef's knife? That's the way I took the top off a cello the other day. My Wüsthof. That, and a French steak knife.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I use Flitz, a terry towel and 5 minutes of elbow grease. Lasts a good year or two.

This ^^^^^^^^^

Very inexpensive and little effort to redo as needed.

I have used the 3M kits (I'd get one kit per light if they are in bad shape) that come with the round velcro pad that you attach to a drill. Wet sanding is involved - and if you use a solid drill (powerful and able to run for extended periods, ie don't use that old drill with lousy nicad batteries your grandpa gave you 20 years ago) - they will come out looking perfect. Invest in a full bottle of the 3M headlight renewal like they provide, and a bottle of UV protectant. Use the UV protectant as the last step.

After six months or so - you can hit the headlights with the 3M Headlight Renewal by hand, to snap them back to clear again, followed by the UV stuff. UV Stuff usually goes on every few car washes too.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I use Flitz, a terry towel and 5 minutes of elbow grease. Lasts a good year or two.

This is what I do also. Works great and takes very little material. Just a dab goes a long way. I’ve used the paper towel method. But using a buffer with a sprinkle of water works even better and last even longer.

Tried a couple of them, after a bit they just haze back over, generally worse than before...

You can find replacements on ebay, rock auto etc.
easier, less work, and look new.. because they are new.

It's just plastic. After you get them cleaned up simply apply a good quality wax (not a cleaner, a wax) and they will hold up fine.

Rockauto has 1 ea of the halogen housings in stock.
$164 each.

HID & projector housings out of stock.

Pelican parts has them also, but at a higher cost 300-320 each, but they're OE.

$200 a pair on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Mercede...senger/dp/B074NV175V

Rockauto sells them as well,

I’ve wet sanded mine and polished. This is a good clear coat when you’re done. It’s also good for new ones to keep them from fading.
https://jet.com/product/Meguia...qEAQYASABEgJXnfD_BwE

Thank you everyone!

quote:

Originally posted by cruiser68:
I've used Meguires on a few company vehicles. The ones that start with sandpaper and work their way to a polishing ball are the best. Don't be afraid to ruin the headlamp with the sandpaper. The object is to remove all the oxidized plastic and then start progressively polishing . Some have a protection application after you are done. I use Plexus regularly on plastic headlamps and it keeps them looking good with lots of UV protection.

+1 on Plexus - originally developed for motorcycle helmets...