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07-28-2018, 05:59 PM | #23 |
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Here is a possibility, but you’ll need to figure out how it could apply to your situation. A clear polymer like the headlight housing will react to certain chemical out gassing. If, for instance, you used a cyanoacrylate glue, the fumes would absolutely cloud up the inside of the housing, but it would be more uniform. I think out gassing from silicone caulk would do the same thing. Maybe If you changed out the bulbs to something with a coating on it it’s causing minor out gassing that’s reacting with the inside of your housings. You would think that it would be more uniform, but the condensation that formed in my housing was speckled like that (due mainly from it evaporating when the bulbs heated up).
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07-28-2018, 11:12 PM | #24 | ||
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That said, I do see something that looks like outgassing deposits on the inside of both fog lights... A sort of whitish-gray haze. The speckles look more like a physical defect in the headlight rather than a deposit. I'll try to take a closer shot when I get a chance.
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07-29-2018, 12:20 AM | #25 |
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If I get sick of those speckles, maybe I'll replace both headlights with these: https://www.amazon.com/VIPMOTOZ-2008...cm_wl_huc_item
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07-31-2018, 10:25 PM | #26 |
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I took a long look at the speckles with a magnifier and the headlights on... They're microcracks... Like shattered auto glass in a very small scale.
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08-07-2018, 01:43 PM | #27 |
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This person with a 5-Series has what looks to be similar microcracking on his headlights. And they're on the outer surface. Maybe some aggressive sanding and polishing will take care of mine as well.
https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...bmw-520-a.html
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08-07-2018, 02:08 PM | #28 |
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And it's just not BMWs either:
Audi TT: https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/view...p?f=2&t=233004 Porsche 911: https://rennlist.com/forums/991/8210...adlight-5.html
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08-07-2018, 02:14 PM | #29 |
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I had the same thing on mine and it was indeed on the outside. I tried a little experiment since I figured I would have to buy new housings any way. I wet sanded with 220, 400, 800, 1000 and 2000. I put a little bit of Dawn in a spray bottle full of water. I figured the Dawn would help degrease during sanding. Then I used a clay bar, polished with Meguiars Ultimate Compound and put on three coats of Meguiars Gold Class Carnauba wax. To my surprise, they look new.
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08-07-2018, 05:20 PM | #30 | |
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08-12-2018, 11:39 AM | #32 |
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Wow, that looks fabulous
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08-12-2018, 11:00 PM | #33 |
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Worked on the headlights this weekend. They look pretty good, but when the headlights are on, I can still see some of the microcracks as well as some of my wet sanding marks.
Most of the pics of the restored headlights that I've seen are with the headlights off... Wonder how they look with them turned on...? I guess I'll have to make another pass at them at a future date. Or maybe just replace them with the halo headlights that I mentioned earlier.
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08-13-2018, 10:11 PM | #36 | |
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I'll make another attempt when I have another free weekend. And this time I'll fire up the headlights every now and then to check my work. Am I OCD about this? Yup.
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08-13-2018, 10:26 PM | #37 |
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Not OCD in my opinion. Little trick, after each grit of sand paper let the housing dry completely to make sure the sanding was even. Also, sand horizontally. When I used the clay bar it seemed to knock down even the 2000 grit sanding lines. The more polish you use after the clay bar the less sanding lines you will have.
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08-14-2018, 12:12 AM | #38 | |
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Hmm, I skipped the clay step since I didn't think it would have any effect... I'll have to try that the next go round with my nanoskin sponge.
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08-14-2018, 06:49 AM | #39 |
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On the OCD front, I had the whole front of the car taped and covered so only the headlights were showing. I didn't want to take a chance of accidently hitting the paint with sandpaper. Then the car sat like that in the garage for three days while I continually worked on those lights until I was satisfied. Now I have to go back and do it all again because you put that lights on bug in my head. Damn it.
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08-14-2018, 08:06 AM | #40 | |
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If I keep sanding my headlights a few more times to my satisfaction, they'll be perfectly clear: The plastic will be gone.
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10-22-2018, 10:18 PM | #42 |
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Just incase you missed this I'll place this here https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...bmw-520-a.html (did this to my 135i, took forever but the result was worth it)
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10-22-2018, 10:48 PM | #43 | |
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12-29-2018, 06:06 PM | #44 | |||
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I think I need to start with 400 grit but I was worried about going that rough. Do you guys wet sand with the 400? |
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