E500 Headlamp Restoration

Long overdue, at last, I’m sharing the details on my headlamp repair.  Keep in mind, that there are many ways to bring life back to your headlights and get rid of the awful haze however, this worked amazingly well for me.  Here it is everyone, how to restore your yellow and aged car headlamps.

What you’ll need (minimum):

Painter’s Tape.
– Clay Bar.
– 600 grit Sandpaper, 800 grit Sandpaper, and 1000 grit Sandpaper.
– Water sprayer bottle.
– Microfiber Towels.
– Polish.
– Polishing Pad.

With this post I’ll go over the broad strokes, else this article could be very, very long.  I also recommend The Chemical Guys and their video, it’s available when you Click Here.

Here’s what you’ll do (working one lamp at a time):

1. Tape all trim, car body, etc. ensuring you don’t damage your vehicle.
2. Dampen the lamp surface with the spray bottle.
3. Rub out the lamp with the clay bar ensuring it’s clean.
4. Sand the lamp in circular, vertical, and horizontal motions maintaining a wet lamp the entire time.  Keep the lamp wet while sanding else you run the risk of burning the lamp.
5. Sand with the 600 grit.
6. Wash down.
7. Sand with the 800 grit.
8. Wash down.
9. Sand with the 1000 grit.
10. Wash down.
11. Dry the lamp thoroughly with your towels.
12. Apply polish to your polishing pad.
13. Polish the lamp in various directions (circular, horizontal, and vertical).  Understand it will be necessary to apply polish many times as you run out.  If you’re using a polisher be cautious not to burn the lamp.
14. Wipe the lamp clean with a towel.

It took about an hour per lamp when I restored my lamps, be sure to have ample time when taking on this effort.  Send any questions and good luck!