Head Lamps - refurb

B

Brazilianhipster

Member
 CV35
Hi all,

Hope the weekend is treating you well.

I've recently picked up a 2006 Z4 Coupe. The front headlamps and lower fogs have moisture egress inside. Can anyone guide me on how best to tackle this?

Also, any recommendations on how best to freshen up the headlamp screens, they have faded and need a buff up! I've seen head lamp restoration kits. Any good? If so, can anyone recommended a decent kit that I can try? This kit seems to have good reviews:

https://www.thesafetysupplycompany....esafetysupplycompany co&utm_content=All pages

Thanks all.
 
Hi,

I have used the Autoglym kit, which I bought for around £22. It was alright, but there are better kits out there.

This was on a little Clio 182, which has surprisingly large headlights and I still managed to get 3 applications out of it.

Just make sure you use plenty of water, to avoid scratching them. I have heard applying sealer afterwards does help it last longer, but I've never used any myself so couldn't say.
 
Headlights: I just sand them down and lacquer them up. Lasts forever.

Fog lights: Best thing is to paint them black and take the bulbs out. Honestly. I stripped one of mine down while the bumper was off and a) it's a absolute fag to get them apart, b) the chrome plating reflector comes away from the ally body leaving a rough non-reflective surface (I scraped it back and sprayed the last of the lacquer over it) and c) it started filling up with water again in fairly short order.
 
I got a pretty good result just using T-Cut on my 3 Series headlights!

Foglights on the facelifts are a constant problem. If you can live without them you can get blanking plates as some E85 models didn't have them as standard. I honestly can't remember the last time I used front fogs anyway.
 
I've found the 3M kit to work well.

ebay.us

3M Headlight Restoration Kit - Polish your headlamps or lens with a drill - UK | eBay UK

3M Headlight Restoration Kit 3M 39073. First, apply our high-performance masking tape to the painted surfaces around the lens you are restoring. Use our progressive system of Trizact abrasive discs to remove yellowing, scratches, dirt, haze, and other material buildup on the plastic lens.
ebay.us

Although I have bought some bottled polish, as the 3M stuff just dries out if not used, even though there's life left in the sanding discs.

www.cleanyourcar.co.uk

Sonax - Profiline Headlight Polish

Sonax - Profiline Headlight Polish Sonax Headlight Polish is a Special abrasive polish for freshening up yellowed and matt plastic headlights. The Sonax Research and Development team has developed a polish that is especially adapted to the materials of modern headlamps. Both the innovation’s
www.cleanyourcar.co.uk www.cleanyourcar.co.uk

Whatever you do, make sure to protect them again against UV afterwards! I use a Meguiers UV blocking spray and a protection film like lamin-x or 3M over the top


Here's a recent E92 I did with the 3M kit and that polish in comfortably under an hour for both sides...

PXL_20251012_111045629.RAW-01.MP.COVER.jpg
Screenshot_20260103-221927.png


And my Z4 and R53

PXL_20240505_160522840.jpg

PXL_20250529_173723305.RAW-01.MP.COVER.jpg
 
Mr Tidy said:
I got a pretty good result just using T-Cut on my 3 Series headlights!

Foglights on the facelifts are a constant problem. If you can live without them you can get blanking plates as some E85 models didn't have them as standard. I honestly can't remember the last time I used front fogs anyway.
Click to expand...
Oddly, I hadn’t used my car’s fog lights in my 4 years of ownership until driving home from Ottery St Mary over Christmas, luckily the switch was easy to find :) :thumbsup:
 
Hulloha, I'm posting to see if anyone has thoughts on the part of @Brazilianhipster 's post on "moisture egress inside" the headlight unit as, funnily enough, I have a lot of moisture egress inside one of mine!
 
Last edited:
richyrich said:
Hulloha, I'm posting to see if anyone has thoughts on the part of Brazilianhipster's post on "moisture egress inside" the headlight unit as, funnily enough, I have a lot of moisture egress inside one of mine!
Click to expand...
That doesn't link to the post you're talking about, just to their posting history, so not sure what they've been saying.

However, moisture inside the headlamp is usually caused by a crack in the lens or housing, or more commonly a poor seal on the bulb cover.

You can try to dry it out on the car with a hair dryer or desiccant packs, but even if the seal on the bulb door looks okay it probably isn't and will need replacing.
 
thanks @mmm-five - I was trying to tag Briazilianhipster in my post, I've edited it so it hopefully now does!

If it is a crack in the lens housing can it be [somewhat!!] easily and cheaply replaced or is it a case of buying a new full headlight unit?

Thanks again, Rich
 
richyrich said:
thanks @mmm-five - I was trying to tag Briazilianhipster in my post, I've edited it so it hopefully now does!

If it is a crack in the lens housing can it be [somewhat!!] easily and cheaply replaced or is it a case of buying a new full headlight unit?

Thanks again, Rich
Click to expand...
It's usually a very temporary solution to seal a crack, and the more permanent solution is replacement (possibly replace just the lens if you're comfortable heating, removing, sealing, replacing yourself - I'm not).
 
I've read on this post https://z4-forum.com/threads/headlight-overhaul-e85.82010/

R7VOX said:
Also underneath the light itself there are two ventilation shafts which drain and allow condensation to expel. One is covered by a rubber boot, but the other is open. One of mine was blocked completely which I suspect caused the light to fill with water when combined with the bad seal on the back. Once vacuumed out there was a bit of damp on inspection, so I left the whole light in a warm place overnight to ensure it was completely dry.
Click to expand...
I've asked @R7VOX, these three questions - would anyone on this thread know the answer to them please?

1. if this is for a xenon unit, are the ventilation shafts the same on a halogen unit?
2. if there are two ventilation shafts, why would one be covered by the rubber boot?
3. can a blocked shaft be cleared without taking the unit out of the car

With thanks in advance, Rich
 
richyrich said:
Hulloha, I'm posting to see if anyone has thoughts on the part of Brazilianhipster's post on "moisture egress inside" the headlight unit as, funnily enough, I have a lot of moisture egress inside one of mine!
Click to expand...
A friend of mine recently removed his headlights, took out the dipped beam outer reflector then pushed a piece of cloth wrapped around a magnet inside. Used another magnet on the outside to wipe it all around. Finish by leaving the light unit under a radiator for 24 hours before putting the back cover back on. Worth swapping the seals left and right to get a better fit and a smear of grease on them helps too. He also put a bag of silica gel inside the unit.
 
thanks @enuff_zed - my seals were swapped and greased recently yet I'm wondering if that has simply trapped the moisture in there - ergo the question about my ventilation shafts potentially being blocked.

I have previously been advised to cover the outside of the unit with silver foil [to reflect the headlight] then cover it with a big cushion [to trap the heat] then put full beam on to evaporate the moisture, yet [again!] I'm wondering if the evaporating moisture doesn't have an exit from the unit.

As you have probably noticed, I'm trying to see if I can resolve this without having to take the headlight unit out of the car!!

[Mainly as I don't have the tools for the job and don't trust myself to break something on the bumper while trying to get to it!]
 
What’s the best approach to staining/marks on the inside of the headlight lens? All those kits are fine for the outside, but the inside?
 
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