2003 x5 Headlight Restoration

[Russianblue]

This is a direct ripoff of Plyon’s excellent post HERE.

History: I restored these headlights while on the car about 18 months ago using the 3M headlight kit. I was never quite happy with the 3M kit because I didn’t feel like the sanding stage got off enough material. I probably rushed through it as well. This project is like car painting. It can’t be a rush job.

So here are the materials.



I started by removing the headlights from the car. It was tedious in that the order of the screw removal must be followed.

Thanks to bcredliner for the youtube link here: 2000-03 BMW X5 How to Remove Headlight - YouTube

once off the car, you can see the condition of the original lights. they just don’t have that glass clear look. they have yellowed a bit more and the sanding marks from my previous hatchet job are quite visible. granted, my lenses didn’t look nearly as bad as some (like Plyon’s) due to the previous restoration. they actually looked “okay” head-on, which is why i don’t’ have any pics of them on the car. but i basically wanted them to look NEW. it makes a huge difference.










begin the wetsanding:

so i soaked 1/3 page strips of sandpaper in water with a little bit of Meguiars car wash soap for about 30 min. started with 220. i wouldn’t recommend it. it was a little too aggressive. lots of work getting the 220 marks out. i didn’t use it on the 2nd lens. the proceeded to 400, then 600, then 1000, then 1200, then 1500, then 2000. i worked the first lens for an entire hour. that was overkill. unncecessary. the 2nd lens i did in about 15 minutes and was 95% as good as the first. the first was better mind you, but you can’t tell (at all) from further than 2 feet.

i would say to pay particular attention to the 400-600-800 grits. the lower grits are leveling the surface and removing pitting and old UV. this is important. don’t bother with anything above 2000 grit. M105 is supposed to remove anything 1200 and up. i actually hit the surface of one lens with the old 3000 grit trizact disk from my 3M kit. it was a waste of time.

post 1200grit sanding:



post 2000 grit sanding:



first hit with the M105 and the 3M orange pad on a hand drill:



finished up the first lens. comparison to the untreated lens below. not too dramatic, but definitely improved....but just wait.



finished 2nd lens, took both inside. better lighting. still PRE-urethene and ONLY using M105 polish. tried M205 as well and it made zero difference that i could tell.



THIS picture pretty much tells the story.



reinstalled on car:







i mixed the urethane 60/40 and i actually wish i didn’t have to use it. i was perfectly happy with the lenses as they were. the urethane went on OK. it was not as good as the polished finish. it was difficult to keep out dust nibs and micro air bubbles. i actually got impatient with the 2nd coat and screwed up one lens. you can see it in the last picture if you look just below the reflection of the bike helmet on the lens. sunday morning, i took some 2000 grit to it along with the M105 and it was like new again. similar to working with clear coat removing orange peel. very easy to correct.

the biggest coup to me in this process was the need only to use the M105 and that 3M cutting pad with a drill. made the compounding EASY with little risk of burning the lens etc. also, the small compounding pad was the perfect size for these lenses. anyway, i may add a few more tips as i remember additional parts of the process! All in all i was extremely happy with the end product. Much happier than with the 3M kit! Also, i think taking the lenses off gives a better ability to sand and compound the edges of the lenses, which (admittedly could be placebo) seems to give them more depth to me.

[Ricky Bobby]

Awesome job! Look brand new again! You could always just not use the min spirits/urethane sealant, and just put a nice sealant on the lenses every couple of months to keep them looking shiny!

[sunny5280]

Regarding the air bubbles. Applying the mixture a little slower should resolve that issue.

[Russianblue]

i think you are correct. i think (3.5 hrs in and needing the car back on the road) i was getting in a hurry to finish. i suppose i am fine going back and adding another coat pretty much any time. 2 or 3 coats should build up quite a protective layer.

[DGreekStallion]

Great work!

[pezho405]

Nice! love how you put pics of the stuff used at the top.
Never heard of using that wood stuff...
Try some opticoat headlight coating next time!

[Russianblue]

I'm not sold on the urethane yet. may splurge for some opticoat yet. but it is a little pricey.

[pezho405]

Originally Posted by Russianblue

I'm not sold on the urethane yet. may splurge for some opticoat yet. but it is a little pricey.

I just ordered the regular opticoat not the headlight stuff, first time doing it i ay do my entire car first (i can use it on headlights as well), before i do it on any customers cars. maybe.

[sunny5280]

Originally Posted by pezho405

I just ordered the regular opticoat not the headlight stuff, first time doing it i ay do my entire car first (i can use it on headlights as well), before i do it on any customers cars. maybe.

The individual who wrote up the original how to I followed also prefers the opticoat (I assume opticoat is the same as Optimum Polymer Technologies Opti-lens headlight coating) but says it's fairly expensive for doing a single set of headlights. Given how well my Subaru headlights turned out I have no problem with the urethane / mineral spirits. I could probably get better but I'm not sure if it's worth it. My lenses look brand new but I'm sure upon close inspection I can find flaws. To me that's more than good enough.

[pezho405]

I really need to redo my headlights soon