Plast X Polish help

[T444E]

I took apart my E38 head lights cause the clear plastic inside was all yellowed and bought some PlastX, I squirted a little bit on the plastic and, with an applicator pad, worked it into the plastic then wiped it away with a mircofiber. I tried it multiple times but it didn't make a lick of difference. Did I do something wrong?

[zaxjax]

I had good results using a Powerball and PlastX, you can only do so much by hand. A Powerball will get you better results

[T444E]

Ah that would make sense. I will try that this weekend, thanks.

[zaxjax]

No problem!

Post before and after pics to show your work!

[T444E]

Will do.

[M0nK3y]

When I use plasticX. I yeild the most results using an agressive pad and a rotary

[PixMan]

Just how bad were the plastic lenses before you started? Plast-X is NOT going to get rid of any pitting, just make the damaged plastic shinier.

If you want them to look new again, there will be more work and more materials involved. Plast-X is simply one of the last steps to a complete restoration.

See here:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1085399

My bad...I just noticed you're talking about yellowing from the inside. I don't know about that. Seems if it's yellowed, that's something caused by a breakdown of the plastic itself, through & through, not a surface contamination. Good luck, let us see you before & after. I think you might end up needing new lenses.

[RyansBMW]

try wet sanding your lense. on my lights, i wet sanded with 600 and 1000, then used a rubbing compound by hand, then finally finished off with plast-x. they look brand new

[NinetyEight740]

i did my e38 lights as well with plas-X by meguiars and it works wonders!!! It just takes some hard work and some time... Just do it right the first time

[dorkpharmer]

Nope, thats pretty much it. Try something more abrasive, like a toothbrush? I use it on the outside of my headlights, not the inside and it works fine.

[T444E]

E36s have plastic headlights I though, my E38s has glass.

[simracer]

Interesting. Your first post said they were plastic, so most people were probably operating under the assumtion that they were plastic. Not having an e38 myself, I certainly wouldn't know.

If they are glass, and they need to be polished, you may need one of the Diamondite kits from Autogeek or the glass polish from Duragloss.

If they yellowed from the inside, I'd bet you have a leak in the sealing of the headlight housing. May have to reseal it with a caulk of some sort to prevent moisture from getting in. Humidity will collect on the glass. I'm just surprised it would stain yellow and so bad that it wouldn't just wipe off with a chemical cleaner.

[T444E]

Well you said you use it on the outside, I just said the out side of E38 head lights are glass. The inside which is what I am working with is plastic.