The purpose of this guide is to help you restore the headlights by sanding and polishing the lenses of your Mercedes-Benz. Make your Mercedes-Benz look nice again by restoring the headlights if they look foggy, hazy, or dull. This headlight restoration and polishing method described here works and requires at least one hour to achieve excellent, long-lasting results on your Mercedes, be that an E, C, S, CLS, SLK, CLK, ML, or GL Class. While this procedure requires hard work, it will make your Mercedes-Benz headlights look new and crystal clear again. Check out the BEFORE & AFTER results below.
To restore and polish headlights on a Mercedes-Benz car, you will need a $20 headlight restoration kit. When you finish restoring your Mercedes-Benz headlights, people will think you replaced the headlights. This Mercedes headlight polishing method restores your lenses to the same condition as when the car came from the factory.
Here are the main steps you will go through to polish the headlights on your Mercedes Benz. Step-by-step instructions are provided below.
- You will sand the headlights starting with 500 grit, then wet sanding with 800 grids.
- Polish headlights
- Clean the headlights
- Seat the headlight lenses using the provided headlight restoration sealant.
Following this process, you will polish and restore your headlights to crystal clear, even if they are completely oxidized, yellow, or cloudy.
Tools and Parts Required
Headlight Restoration Kit. One of the best headlight polish kits is the 3M Headlight Restoration Kit, which we use in this tutorial. There are other kits out there as well. If you purchase a different brand, ensure it has at least 6 sandpaper disks (including 500,800,1000 grit). Masking Tape Electrical Drill TowelsDIY Mercedes Headlight Restoration Instructions
Step 1 Start by cleaning the headlight lens with some water. Tape the area around the headlight. Apply two layers of tape in case you accidentally sand the tape. |
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Step 2 Start sanding your foggy headlights with the 500 grit sandpaper. Continue until your headlights look entirely dull. Even if you had clear areas, you should sand over those areas as well. With the 3M kit, you will have three 500-grid sandpapers for each side. Going through all three sandpaper disks will require time, but this step is crucial. |
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Step 3 Next, use the 800 grit disk to remove a more cloudy yellow layer from the headlight. Please continue using the disk until it is no longer releasing any oxidation. During this step, you should remove the yellowing and any lens defects. Spend at least 15 min per headlight during this step. Step 4 Once you are done using the 800 grit, attach the 1000 grit to the sanding pad. Use the spray bottle to apply water to the surface as you sand with the 1000-grit disk. The 1000 disk is a black foam disk. White residual should come off the headlights, and the lenses should start to look clear again. Spend at least 5 minutes with the foam sanding disk for each headlight. Step 5 The next step is to use the P3000 foam disk. Sand the headlights with the 3000 grit for several minutes. Continue to polish the headlights to remove as many excellent scratches as possible. At this point, the lenses should look better but may still appear cloudy. You may notice minor scratches if you look closely at the headlight. Step 6 The last step is to clean the headlight lens with a clean and dry cloth. Place a small amount of the rubbing compound on the polishing disk. Buff the headlights until they look crystal clear. This allows the headlight to be sealed and makes them look new again. If they don’t look clear, apply some more rubbing compound on the disk and continue to buff the headlight. Once the headlight starts to look clear, use a clean cloth to clean the headlight. Remove the tape from the car, and you are done! |
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Conclusion
The final results depend significantly on the kit you are using and following the proper instructions. That’s why it is essential to use a high-quality headlight restoration kit. Most kits sell in the $20 range. This job is labor intensive, so don’t go through this process using cheap equipment.
Once you are done cleaning the headlights of your Mercedes-Benz, you will have a big smile and no longer be impressed by the foggy headlights.
Here is a list of bestselling headlight restoration kits that you will find on Amazon. These are similar to the 3M kit we used in this tutorial.