So, the headlight lenses on my car are frosted from age and pitted.

And while I have paid a detailer to 'restore' them, it was useless. I haven't yet tried one of the aftermarket kits or tried the $199 dealer 'restoration,' as my suspicion is that both steps are going to be far less worthwhile than replacing the lenses altogether.

I have seen multiple threads on this forum where folks have painted their headlights and repaired the tabs, etc., but have no real sense if the lenses are truly removable. Are the lenses and housings a one-piece unit? Or can I buy new lenses (and a gasket) and swap them in? Or have a bodyshop do it?

I found this thread, which suggests they are not:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w203...s-removal.html

Here's a repair thread, but it only mentions the tabs, not the lenses themselves:

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...enon-tabs.html

Anyone have input on this? TIA and happy xmas!

~ Bill

 

There is a thread somewhere on the W203 forum by C24owner that fully describes removal of the lenses using a hot air gun.

There is also a thread on the 203 forum by Cintoman showing how to restore the lenses & coat them with a UV protector to prevent deterioration.

You can't buy new lenses. There were aftermarket Chinese ones on eBay at one time but they deteriorate far quicker than the OE ones.

Repairing broken tabs with an epoxy is common practice. Benz sells a repair kit.

Good luck!

 

Many dealers don’t refinish headlamp lenses. They farm that work out to companies who come to the dealer and refinish the lenses. This is commonly done to their used car inventory. Several years ago I hired a company called Superglass to do this. Superglass is a franchise and the one I called does this for many dealers. For $50, a Superglass tech came to my home and did the work. I’m going to guess they charge dealers about half that rate per car.

I have also used the Sylvania kit. The Sylvania kit costs about $25, will take you under an hour, and your headlamps will look new when you’re done. The Sylvania kit includes everything you’ll need to do the work, except water.

The last photo in this page shows my headlights immediately after I used the Sylvania kit. It's been about a year and the headlamps still look new. The same page also has a video that describes how to use the Sylvania kit and shows a Superglass tech working on my car.

 

3m kits works pretty good. Although I started to just sand and polish by hand for better results. There's threads on this in the detailing section.