Polishing B10 headlamp covers

Chas · Post by **Chas** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 9:19 pm

I'm sure this is covered elsewhere but I decided to improve 17 years of grit and stone chips on the headlamp covers, which were letting the car down after her recent paint refresh. 20 minutes with some cutting compound on a Porter Cable and I'm happy with the results. I could take it much further with an appropriate pad but this isn't bad 😎

Before

After

Better!

Metrics · Post by **Metrics** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 10:41 pm

Nice work, makes such a difference to the front end.

BarryM · Post by **BarryM** » Sat Apr 08, 2017 1:28 am

That always freshens up the front of the car, I'd recommend putting some 3M clear film protection on them as it will stop them yellowing again and keep the stone chips at bay.

This place is local to me so I popped along and he fitted them but they look easy enough to fit and he has a template so they're cut to the right size & shape: http://paintguard.co.uk/

Broch · Post by **Broch** » Sat Apr 08, 2017 11:16 am

What a difference Chas. Well worth the effort by the looks of it

Roscoe · Post by **Roscoe** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:00 pm

They look such an improvement. I really need to do that on my B3s headlight covers. Could you explain in more detail exactly what you used and how you did it please?
Thank you,
Clive

Post by **Charles** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 9:26 pm

Roscoe wrote:They look such an improvement. I really need to do that on my B3s headlight covers. Could you explain in more detail exactly what you used and how you did it please?
Thank you,
Clive

You could do that Clive, or you could buy new lens covers for the B3S as shown here

Roscoe · Post by **Roscoe** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:58 pm

Thanks for such a prompt response Charles.
I must say WOW, your suggestion looks far too complicated to take out the headlamp, disassemble it, put new glass, reseal, ressemble when Chas did such a good job. I'd rather follow Chas' lead.
Additionally, I do have an issue with my soft top and since you are a moderator, and I'm a newbee, could you explain how I can search the forum and see if anyone else has had the same issue and solved it please?
Clive
(I had to manually close the roof but the light still flashes, the boot won't open without the key and the roof will not open or close now - I do think I know how I caused it but need some help to resolve it)

Post by **Charles** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 8:50 am

Clive,

I originally went down the polishing route on my lens covers, which did improve things. However, whilst the car was in being serviced, I made the decision to buy some new ones and the garage fitted them - which was a relatively simple job as removing the headlights is not complicated. The improvement was even more dramatic than pre/post polishing.

As for the problem with your roof mechanism, this is a BMW feature and you will have far more luck searching E46 forums than here - the pool of cars will be much greater.

A google search for "e46 roof not closing properly" would be a start as it will provide quite a broad range of search items, which you can then narrow down as you see fit based on keywords that will appear in thread titles.

Hope that helps and good luck