After a while, you may find that your E36’s headlight covers have become cloudy and yellowed. This is because the headlight covers are plastic, and plastic simply doesn’t last forever in the sun. Naturally, the headlight covers cannot be replaced on their own — you have to replace the entire headlight unit, for $100 per side.
My car’s headlight covers had gotten so bad that the headlight beams were significantly dimmed. What to do? In addition to looking rather fugly, this is obviously a safety hazard.
Bavarian Autosport sells a product called the PolyClear Plastic Refinishing Kit for $35. It consists of two buffing pads that attach to a power drill, and a polishing compound. I figured I would give it a shot before replacing the headlights.
Results: very impressive! After a few minutes of buffing, the headlights look almost brand new:
I am quite happy with the results.
Tags: BMW, E36, headlights
I have a 1995 Ford with plastic headlight covers. While washing the car, I sprayed some Westley’s White Wall Cleaner on a paper towel. I rubbed the covers and then rinsed. The covers were almost like new. I followed up with a coat of plastic polish.
So easy, really cheap, with “great” results.
I have heard of other people using plastic polish with good results. The Plastic Refinishing Kit is obviously “heavy artillery” when it comes to cloudy headlight covers.