Ls400 Headlight Refurb

[Clunkfish]

I decided to bite the bullet and try using a headlight refurbishing kit to sort out my cloudy and pitted headlight lenses. It worked a treat - see attached before and after photos. It only took about 45 minutes. I used a sealant to finish them off, so the whole job cost me about £25.

Just thought I would pass it on in case anyone else is wondering whether the kits work.

[Titch LS]

Chris, those headlights look great, but I'm sure there must be much cheaper alternative ways of getting the same result. I'm going to try a few experiments first before shelling out £25 for a kit.

[cruisermark]

my 430 headlights are clouding slightly at the corner - would g3 compound work?

[Clunkfish]

Chris, those headlights look great, but I'm sure there must be much cheaper alternative ways of getting the same result. I'm going to try a few experiments first before shelling out £25 for a kit.

Some people say toothpaste works, but it did nowt for my headlights....

[harrylime]

I have one that needs doing.I've read somewhere that progressively fine wet and dry does the trick, I seem to recall 200 grit, 3000 grit etc. Would be cheaper than a kit, I think. That does look like a good result though

[The-Acre]

I put this in a post last week, metallic paint T-Cut, a sponge, and LOTS of elbow grease. I have used one of the kits before, I think that was £25 as well, and they do work very well, especially as they come with a polishing head to go in a drill. That saves a lot of the elbow work.

First class job, looks excellent.

[Clunkfish]

I have one that needs doing.I've read somewhere that progressively fine wet and dry does the trick, I seem to recall 200 grit, 3000 grit etc. Would be cheaper than a kit, I think. That does look like a good result though

The kit uses 500 grit dry, then 800 grit dry, then what looks like 2000 grit wet and dry, then a paste. They are applied using a circular sponge drill head, which does all the heavy lifting and makes it easy.

For info, the 500 grit makes the whole lens look frosted, the 800 grit takes that back to very cloudy, the 2000 grit produces a clear lens and the paste makes it crystal. They say that a sealant, like the one I linked, helps to stop it going back to cloudy again over the course of a year or two's UV exposure, but it doesn't alter the crystal clarity of the lens so you could try doing without.

[Clunkfish]

my 430 headlights are clouding slightly at the corner - would g3 compound work?

Probably not too aggressive so might be worth a try as nothing to lose. You could also try toothpaste with lots of heavy elbow grease (when I tried toothpaste I was nervous of ruining the lens so only gave it a moderate go).

[steve2006]

Apparently Colgates only provides protection for 24 hours and should be applied with a brush,spat out but don't rinse :)

[Cotswold Pete]

Apparently Colgates only provides protection for 24 hours and should be applied with a brush,spat out but don't rinse :)

So should I use floss to clean the bit behind the wing mirrors or is it best to use one of those Interdental TePes.

I do actually use old toothbrushes to remove the green algae that gets onto the window seals.

[oldhazey]

Buy a Mk3 they have glass headlights

[Clunkfish]

Are they less than £25? :winky:

[Cotswold Pete]

Buy a Mk3 they have glass headlights

This is the only downside to a Mk4, but I assume the glass weighs more so increases fuel consumption

[oldhazey]

Are they less than £25? :winky:

Yes i bought a second hand headlight as one of mine was chipped 20 quid :winky:

As for the MK3 dont think they can get much cheaper :)