I have read over and over again about the headlight restoration with the foggy outside surface due to UV rays. The lenses that are on on mine have been refinished before. I can see where they stopped sanding and buffing along the bottom edge. The lense is still a little foggy and not to my liking.

I am sure that I could brighten them up a bit by doing it again but really just want that showroom clarity.

So since I didn't stumble across any prices of the claimed expensive oem replacements in the searches I did through our threads, I decided to call a local chrysler dealer just to hear it for myself......

Chrysler - $1,260.00 a set!!!!!!!!

Ebay - $800.00 a set if I were to win the lowest bid and hope they were in perfect condition!

This is just to replace a piece of garbage lens that will just do the same thing all over again. You would think they would use a quality piece of polycarbonate to go with the rest of the german perfection.

So after calming down about this rediculous headlamp assembly price thing I started wondering why a cheap knock off hasn't been produced by one of those foreign companies? They can't be that expensive to fabricate but I guess the demand is just not high enough for them.

Despite knowing that an assembly like this would already be celebrated all over this forum, I will continue to search thinking of new phrases to force google to give me what I want.

Thank you for letting me waste your time and listenen to me vent.....I will now step down from my soap box.

 

If you were to buy another restore kit (3M), and spend an entire afternoon working on them, I think you could get them to your liking without spending cash for new ones. I restored a pair out of the car once, too hard to hold the housings. Keep them in the car, much easier. Just be sure to use a bunch of tape on the surrounding areas to protect the finish from the sandpaper.

Give it a try. James

PS If I have to do it again, I will get them to where I like them, then take it to my bodyshop and have them clear the lenses.

 

I did see in another thread that clear coat or epoxy keeps them clear, longer. But didn't realize it needed to be high quality clear coat. Thanks.

 

When maxcichon refinishes them ( in my opinion, the expert at this ), he uses 400, 800, 2000, 4000
high quality pads on a high speed drill, then the polish. I have seen him go through the process three times before he is satisfied.
Once complete, apply some UV protectant vinyl covers, clear or smoked. ( also your fogs )

Mine were TERRIBLE ( tiny cracks, wavy lines ) when I got the car, now showroom new.

 

My local body shop uses the same process and clear coats them to keep them clear and provides a lifetime guarantee on their work.
$120 to do both sides.

 

My brother fixes them up by sanding and polishing and follows up with a clear epoxy. They look like new when done. Search for Auto Images. On Facebook for pictures

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I go the 3m kit and took about two hours on them. They look much better.