C219 CLS55 and CLS63, 2004-2010

CLS55 Headlight Restoration

Old May 12, 2013 | 12:22 PM
  #1  
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CLS55 Headlight Restoration

So my right headlight was starting to haze and get yellow really really bad, left one still looked brand new, to the point someone commented on it on the other night ...grrrrr... so lazy weekend project .. I think so ! Started with 400 grit then 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3 coats of headlight restore and 3 coats of polish ! Its looks BRAND NEW !!! only took about 35-40 min to knock out !!

The goodies:

All Taped up


400 Grit about 5 minutes of sanding:


800 Grit at 5 minutes


1000 grit at 5 minutes


1500 grit at 5 minutes


2000 grit at 5 minutes


3 coats of headlight restore using a cheapo orbital polisher


3 coats of polish using a cheapo orbital polisher and done !

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Old May 13, 2013 | 08:43 PM
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Let me know if this lasts....I tried this and comes back every month or so. Can you post which headlight restorer and polish you used?
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Old May 13, 2013 | 08:54 PM
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DJrabbi - check out the first pic for the info your looking for
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:41 AM
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Nice job, but this is pointless to do if you don't use a sealant to preserve the headlights after. If you just polish, they will quickly haze up in a couple of months and have the chance of becoming worse since the factory sealant MBZ put on the lights has been sanded down.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:42 AM
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I think my shop just sanded them and polished and they are hazy again. Any good sealants?
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:44 AM
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Jawzey - as Djrabbi asked, whats a good sealant to use on the lights ..? Im also curious to this as well.

Thank you
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by djrabbi
I think my shop just sanded them and polished and they are hazy again. Any good sealants?
Don't want to get in trouble for links, but fixmyheadlightsDOTcom has what seems to be a good sealant. I will be trying their kit on my CLS this weekend. Ill tell you all how it goes and if its worth buying or not.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:45 AM
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I am going to get blue magic sealant from amazon has i can get it by weekend and try it out.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:46 AM
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Perfect ! And thanks, keep us updated !
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:47 AM
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I think it's kinda BS that we have to deal with restoring headlights on a $100k car. Can't believe they used this crappy plastic for our lights. Those glass lights on the new CLS's is what our models should have come with.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:56 AM
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Oh yeh that and the ****ty chrome rings in the cup holders ! Ive had rental cars chrome last longer lol
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Old May 21, 2013 | 11:59 AM
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http://autogeek.commerce-search.net/..._field-Ratings

List of headlight Sealents ...thinking of trying the WOLFGANG line.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 02:14 PM
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Originally Posted by whyask
Oh yeh that and the ****ty chrome rings in the cup holders ! Ive had rental cars chrome last longer lol
Haha couldn't agree more! The chrome on my door handle has pealed as well
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Old May 31, 2013 | 03:28 PM
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I got blue magic headlight sealer. seems to work as I can see see the "streaks" in the lights meaning its working? lol
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Old May 31, 2013 | 11:09 PM
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Originally Posted by djrabbi
I got blue magic headlight sealer. seems to work as I can see see the "streaks" in the lights meaning its working? lol
What streaks are you speaking of? The streaks from the actual sealant?
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Old Jun 1, 2013 | 12:15 PM
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Yeah...far away you can't see but looks great.
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Old Jun 1, 2013 | 07:16 PM
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Headlight Restoration

Some time ago I read a post here that toothpaste would do a good restoration job.
So I tried it.
Bought a new tube of Colgate Total whiting toothpaste. Sprayed the headlight plastic with water, wiped dry with paper towel, applied small amount of toothpaste to damp paper towel, rubbed toothpaste onto plastic and wiped off yellow with another paper towel. My 2006 S-350 headlight plastic covers were not as dirty as the ones in your pictures but they cleaned up like new and still are months later.
Worked so well I did several of my friends old cars while they watched. Only takes 3-5 minutes. And toothpaste is inexpensive compared to Restoration Kits!
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Old Jun 2, 2013 | 12:31 AM
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Originally Posted by djrabbi
Yeah...far away you can't see but looks great.
You shouldn't be seeing streaks on the headlights. How did you apply the sealant?
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Old Jun 2, 2013 | 12:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Tropical
Some time ago I read a post here that toothpaste would do a good restoration job.
So I tried it.
Bought a new tube of Colgate Total whiting toothpaste. Sprayed the headlight plastic with water, wiped dry with paper towel, applied small amount of toothpaste to damp paper towel, rubbed toothpaste onto plastic and wiped off yellow with another paper towel. My 2006 S-350 headlight plastic covers were not as dirty as the ones in your pictures but they cleaned up like new and still are months later.
Worked so well I did several of my friends old cars while they watched. Only takes 3-5 minutes. And toothpaste is inexpensive compared to Restoration Kits!
Tried toothpaste once - didn't work. However, if it worked when you tried it, then all the power to you. Protect the headlights with a sealant to slow down the re-hazing.
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