Cleaning INSIDE of headlight lens

[tuj32]

Does anyone know of a good technique for cleaning the inside of the headlight lens on an E36. I am not talking about the plastic cover on US spec headlights but the inside of the light housing lens. (where the bulb is located)

Mine are starting to look cloudy and I have noticed that there is a film on the inside face of the lens.

Thanks

[tuj32]

bump

[UKFan4Sure!]

I'll tell you what I have done on my motorcycles before. Of course, you will have to remove the light assy. Take a warm, wet, soapy paper towel and stuff it into the rear hole where the bulb goes in. Then add more liquid soap and water and swish the entire mixture around. The paper towel will actually be INSIDE the lens assy floating around. The agitation action will clean the foggy mess off the inside. Remove the towel, dump the soapy water and then rinse very, very well and use an air nozzle to get as much of the water out as possible. I then take a hair drier and let it blow into the openings (with room enough for the air to circulate out the hole). It is an arduous task, but well worth the time if your lenses are cloudy. Greatly improves the light output, too!

Good luck!

[tuj32]

Thanks for the suggestion...I thought about soaking a cotton ball or small cloth with rubbing alcohol and stuffing it into the light assembly and then use a blunt rod or something and swabing the lense with it. I thought the alcohol would quickly evaporate out of the assembly. Any thoughts?

[UKFan4Sure!]

Thanks for the suggestion...I thought about soaking a cotton ball or small cloth with rubbing alcohol and stuffing it into the light assembly and then use a blunt rod or something and swabing the lense with it. I thought the alcohol would quickly evaporate out of the assembly. Any thoughts?

Alcohol doesn't cut the dirt very well for some reason....Regular rubbing alcohol has lanolin or glycerin in it anyhow, so if you try that I recommend denatured....

[tuj32]

Done I removed the bulbs and stuffed a paper towel dampened with window cleaner into the hole and swabbed it around inside the light housing. Removed the film without having to much moisture introduced into the housing. It's not perfect but, still a lot better than it was.

[beatniks325]

you can really clean them up on the outside with mcquiers metal polish or something like that. pretty sure there is a diy for it at www.bimmerdiy.com

i used it for mine and it looks a ton better and you can hardly see the little remaining amount on the inside.