Headlight lens refurbishment.

[james2747]

I've just removed 18 years of crud from my headlight lenses on my 2003 E270 CDi.
To start, I used 1200 grit wet & dry paper, with lots of water and you could definitely see all the yellow tinted film coming off.
This was followed by 2000 grit wet & dry paper as second session .... then finished off with 3,000 grit wet and dry paper.
I spent about 10 to 15 minutes with both the 2,000 and 3,000 grit sessions on each lens.
Final session was with polishing compound on a 10cm dia. foam disc pad in my drill ... slowish speed and again about 10 minutes on each lens.
A final dry and a buff with good quality wax polish had them looking o.k.
The result is a definite improvement but not as 'crystal clear' as I was hoping for .... I'm sure I can still detect (if looked at on acute angle) very fine swirl marks that I assume are from the sanding sessions.
Has anyone done this job and can suggest how I get that 'new crystal clear' finish that everyone seems to achieve on the YouTube videos I have watched on this topic.
Thank you for reading this.
James

 

[Craiglxviii]

If your lenses were yellowed then you’ll need to get a bottle of UV sealant, and apply to the lens before too long. Otherwise it will re-yellow.

 

[Mr Greedy]

Try the option in this linked post #8

I've inherited the car i grew up with

Hello all. I'm Adam. From a little town in the west Midlands. As the title suggests I have inherited my late father's car, who sadly passed away just over a month ago. It's a 1998 Mercedes 240. He bought it way back in 1999 when I was 7. I've just given my old car to my sister and today is...

forums.mercedesclub.org.uk

 

[morgluis]

I know others used marine varnish as UV protection.