tips on cleaning headlights

[blakk 540]

my headlights are foggy (the clear casing) on my 99 540 and i searched but couldent find anything im debating on weather i should just get new ones or if i should clean these and how i can go about doing it..
also i was thinking i wanted to change the headlights, side markers and taillights to the 01-03 (clear signal) lenses but i heard from someone that they were a little diffrent from the 99 version any help is always appreciated

[witeshark]

It may be possible to compound off the oxidized plastic just like faded car paint. Also like paint, clean good plastic headlights (all plastic lights) can be protected with car wax.

[Youngproexec]

Originally Posted by blakk 540

my headlights are foggy (the clear casing) on my 99 540 and i searched but couldent find anything im debating on weather i should just get new ones or if i should clean these and how i can go about doing it..
also i was thinking i wanted to change the headlights, side markers and taillights to the 01-03 (clear signal) lenses but i heard from someone that they were a little diffrent from the 99 version any help is always appreciated

Its funny cause I encountered the same thing last month. However, I got my headlight crystal clear with the meguiars headlight restorer. It cost me 24.99 but was well worth the money. I believe it came with a drill compatible bit ( with a yellow wool polisher attached) plastic ( blue in color) restorer polish, and small microfiber towel. All i had to do was spread the polish on to the woll polisher in a pea sized amount to avoid splatter, and began to work the polish in till almost gone. I then buffed it off slightly with the provided microfiber towel and applied the meguiars Carnuba wax .The results came out much better than I expected as I was too considering replacing my whole entire lens. But then the only other option would be to get the clear ambers which I didnt like. So I would be left with getting a whole light assembly ( with angel eyes cause I was gonna make an investment in headlights why not go big . Anyways i ended up putting some CCFL angel eyes inside my original headlights and I love the clear and crisp look.

Sorry about the long rant, but I just wanted to share how this product ( meguairs headlight restorer) really turned my options around. I'll try to post a pic to show you the clearity.

[Youngproexec]

These are some fairly old photos from about 2 weeks ago. But as you can see my headlights are very clear. Before they were oxidixed at the top of the lens and corners from being in the rain and sun . Hope this helps ! Good luck

[prowler]

meguiars headlight restorer...worth the money. Did my BMW and Lexus for $2O. Picked it up at Wal-Mart. Saw the ad on the SPEED Channel while watching an ALMS race. Make sure you use painter's tape and tape off the area around the lights to protect the paint. The kit comes with everything that you need except for the power drill...

[Youngproexec]

*Did my BMW and Lexus for $2O. *

Damn I overpaid..

[blakk 540]

thanks for the responses i was looking at the lights and maybe its just the way it looks but it looks like the foggyness is on the inside is that a possibility? ill probably end up just doin the inside of it to sense i was looking at some write ups about putting the angle eyes in the stock lights and as you showed some pics (youngproexec) i like the way it looks it actually made me rethink what im gonna do for my lights, at first i wanted to change all the lights (tail, side markers and head) to the 01-03 style but after seeing a couple 99s with the angle eyes i think im gonna stick to what i got

[Youngproexec]

Originally Posted by blakk 540

thanks for the responses i was looking at the lights and maybe its just the way it looks but it looks like the foggyness is on the inside is that a possibility? ill probably end up just doin the inside of it to sense i was looking at some write ups about putting the angle eyes in the stock lights and as you showed some pics (youngproexec) i like the way it looks it actually made me rethink what im gonna do for my lights, at first i wanted to change all the lights (tail, side markers and head) to the 01-03 style but after seeing a couple 99s with the angle eyes i think im gonna stick to what i got

Thats a great idea. I did these myself, and It took about 5 hours to figure it out the very first time, but now it takes me less than 30 mins for both lights. It's very easy. Thats only because I had very bad instructions that I tried to piece together half way from looking at article pictures and instructions. I would be more than happy to do a fully detailed instructional tommorow with tons of pics, entailing the necessary tools, wiring ( I wired to my fog lights ) , what to avoid , tips and tricks, where I got my products from , what to expect, ect. In total, the installation cost me ( including new necessary equiptment and products ) a whopping 70 !!