What to do with pitted Headlight Lenses?

[LikeCDoos]

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/wetoddimage.wtdr/wNDE2OTk3NnM0MTNkZmQzMXk1NDE%3D.jpg

As you can see in the link above my passenger foglight and lowbeam lenses are in perfect condition due to an accident or the PO just replaced them. On the other hand the other 4 lenses are all rock pitted and old looking.
I've read this article:

http://bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=articles&report=view&ID=00029&Section=01

I went in to a wax shop today and the guy tried some very aprasive cut and polish by hand and it did nothing to the glass surface. I need some input from you guys. I'm thinking if I use a buffer and spend alot more time and elbow greece it would polish the surface of the glass, therefore making the tiny rock pits less noticible. I know a few guys here have done something similar to this. Any comments/suggestions welcome.

[BMWM5LOVER]

Id be interested myself

[DanGillan]

my foglights are the same... one side perfect, the other pitted to shit. Let me know what you come up with!

[egk2]

I heard you can polish them up a bit then clear coat them or you could lamin-x them, I'm in the same boat but I'm just going save up for new smoked hellas.

[natorious]

im going to be picking up some polishes for my car as soon as the weather gets better i'll see what they have for glass cut and polish and try it out with my porter cable buffer

i'll post the results

[M-technik-3]

You can start out with a simple polish ( Tooth Paste)

[bimmerphile]

Pick up some Cerium Oxide, or Ferric Oxide (rust). Then, pick up a glass buffing attachment for your dremel (you do have a dremel, right?). Then:

1. Place dremel in a slurry of CeO2 or Fe2O3 (slurry = paste w/ more solute than solvent. If you can, use glycine to thicken it up)
2. Buff out headlights.

[LikeCDoos]

Pick up some Cerium Oxide, or Ferric Oxide (rust). Then, pick up a glass buffing attachment for your dremel (you do have a dremel, right?). Then:

1. Place dremel in a slurry of CeO2 or Fe2O3 (slurry = paste w/ more solute than solvent. If you can, use glycine to thicken it up)
2. Buff out headlights.

I hate chemistry with a passion, that probably won't work for me. I'm thinking of trying the Meguires #2 in the tan bottle like that article says along with a buffer. i think that might do the job.

natorious Please post results if you do this anytime soon. I plan on attempting this in 2 weeks or so.

[bimmerphile]

Pick up some Cerium Oxide, or Ferric Oxide (rust). Then, pick up a glass buffing attachment for your dremel (you do have a dremel, right?). Then:

1. Place dremel in a slurry of CeO2 or Fe2O3 (slurry = paste w/ more solute than solvent. If you can, use glycine to thicken it up)
2. Buff out headlights.

I hate chemistry with a passion, that probably won't work for me. I'm thinking of trying the Meguires #2 in the tan bottle like that article says along with a buffer. i think that might do the job.

natorious Please post results if you do this anytime soon. I plan on attempting this in 2 weeks or so.

It wont work. How do I know? I tried just about every out-of-the-bottle on a set of headlights I had, and it was a lost cause too. I was using a rotary buffer aswell.


Dude these are very, very basic and available chemicals. They should not be hard for you to get at all.

[LikeCDoos]

Dude these are very, very basic and available chemicals. They should not be hard for you to get at all.

Point me in the direction of these chemicals you speak of, and if they are fairly cheap i will give it a try. I'll probably be contacting you on exactly what to do though.

[bimmerphile]

Dude these are very, very basic and available chemicals. They should not be hard for you to get at all.

Point me in the direction of these chemicals you speak of, and if they are fairly cheap i will give it a try. I'll probably be contacting you on exactly what to do though.

Glass Polish (CeO2)

http://www.deltakits.com/dki-catalog/co1.html

Polishing Wheel

http://www.deltakits.com/dki-catalog/ph1.html

$51, and I bet it could be passed around the board 3 or 4 times before it was done.

[LikeCDoos]

I think i might attempt this over summer. It looks like the Polishing Wheel attaches to a dremel, that would be real nice.

[Jordan]

It looks like the Polishing Wheel attaches to a dremel, that would be real nice.

The description says it has a 1/4 inch shank = drill

dremels use a 1/8 in shank.

[KenC]

If the polishing wheel has a 1/4" shank, that thing must be about 5" in diameter.... which would be just about perfect.

[LikeCDoos]

If the polishing wheel has a 1/4" shank, that thing must be about 5" in diameter.... which would be just about perfect.

I can only hope :D . Anyone interested in using it after me?