I ordered some vintage ZKWs from the Netherlands and their outer glass housings are somewhat pitted. I looked into removing the pits with a polish but it seemed as though most people say it's simply not possible to do so. My fog lights were so pitted that they really needed to be replaced anyways so I figured why not take a shot at polishing them and see what happens.
I grabbed a DA from harbor freight which I desperately needed anyways and got some sanding discs from home depot. Next I stacked up some styrofoam and carved them out to make a nest for the first fog light. I started with 80 grit and then went to 150, 220, 320, 400, 800, 1500, and then cerium oxide powder which is a special powder used for polishing glass and other hard materials like gems. It's made with the rare earth metal cerium but is surprisingly cheap on amazon. All you do is mix it with water until you have a wet paste and you have a polishing compound.
This was not a quick process. Glass is very hard, but still sandable. It probably took me 6 hours with breaks, but I could probably do the second one in 4 now that I've got it figured out. I had the DA turned all the way up and stared sanding the glass wet. After a while I switched to dry until the 1500 grit where I started wet sanding again. The most important thing to keep in mind is not to let the glass get too hot or it could crack, but the dry sanding was much more effective on the glass which is extremely hard.
Overall I'm really not sure it's worth it. On the one hand it's obviously cheaper than new lights but the time investment is pretty hard to swallow. For me this was kind of a test run before I tackle the ZKWs for which the alternative is a much more expensive proposition just to remove some pitting.
But I did prove it's doable! and it felt good to bring it back from the dead.
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You forgot the felt pad for use with the cerium oxide.
I personally think $200 for a pair of new ZKW is a far better deal. Not sure what you mean by vintage? They are still sold new and have remained unchanged in design.
I did use the special glass pads with the cerium oxide, forgot to mention them.
When you say $200 for a pair, are you refering to the fog lights or the ZKW headlights? Last time I checked a new pair of ZKW headlights was like $800, and when I said vintage I just meant that the headlights were original units ~20 years old now.
New Bosch complete headlights (the better of the OE Euro variants)
https://old.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-e...ct=63121387041
https://old.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-e...ct=63121387042
ZKW Genuine BMW Lenses only
https://old.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-e...3-12-8-363-075
https://old.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-e...3-12-8-363-076
Shipping is very affordable. Again, I think new is a far better value here. Also, as far as RealOEM goes, ZKW were only used on the M3 vert, the rest is all non-M.
Careful polishing on the larger glass area of the headlights too. I’ve cracked a lens myself.
Last edited by Braymond141; 11-20-2017 at 02:34 PM.
*Sigh* that's a bummer. I'd never heard of that vendor before and I have never even seen new Bosch units for sale. I thought the only option was ZKW and I swear they were like 400 per but I guess they've come down or something. I got the pair of headlights for 200 FWIW. Either way at this point I'm pretty far in so I may as well try to get the pits out. It's nice to know the new covers are available even though knowing what I know now I would have bought the Bosch ones
What makes them better than ZKWs? The quality looks excellent on them from what I can tell.
+1 I purchased ZKW fogs (these come with the receiving brackets too) from FCP for less than $150 for the pair. That's including free shipping and lifetime warranty. Especially good considering they're so low to the ground.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/BMW-parts/M3...95&m=20&page=1
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