es30000000

After 11 years the foglights on my Es have become very pitted by rocks and such, so I decided to sand the headlights down to a like-new state.

Products Used:
100 grit sandpaper
320 grit
800 grit
1000 grit
2000 grit
Meguiars plastic polish
Black and Decker buffer
Meguiars Cleaner Wax
2-3 hours time
Bench Vise

Step One: Put your headlight in the bench vise and tighten it just enough so it won't move around when your sanding.

Step Two: Sanding using 100grit on a sanding block to make sure you don't cause any flat spots in the plastic. This is where most of the plastic will be removed and a little effort will be need to sand out all of the pits, and some may not even be removable because of how deep they are.

Step Three: Sand using 320 grit until the 100 grit marks are gone. Spend a lot of time on this grit as it is important so that you can get the deeper scratches out that the 100 grit will leave behind.

Step Four: Wetsand using 800 grit paper until the scratches become finer

Step Five: Wetsand using 1000 grit paper until scratches become finer

Step Six: Wetsand using 2000 grit paper until the scratches become almost non-existant. It will still be dull after using 2000 grit, but the polish and wax will take care of that.

es30000000

Step Seven: Apply the Meguiars plastic polish to the lense and let dry for about 5 minutes, then buff off using a power buffer for best results, but hand buffing should work too. I repeated this step twice for better results.

Step Eight: Apply the Meguiars cleaner wax to the lense and let dry, then buff off using power buffer for best results. I also repeated this step twice for the best results.

Step Nine: Clean up all the water or polish left around the foglights.

Step Ten: Re-install and admire your new looking shiny foglights

The second to last photo is a comparison photo, refinished on top, original on bottom. The other two are both finished shots

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Very nice job, just make sure you apply some UV protection to them and maybe even get some clear film so that you wouldn't have to do it again.

LexLuger31

very nice. gotta question though. what would be the diff in cost if I just replaced the foglights with some OEM casings?

es30000000

By oem casings you mean buying brand new foglights? I'm thinking the difference in cost would be ALOT seeing as this only cost me about 3 dollars as I had everything but 2000 grit already. If you were to buy everything besides the buffer it would probly only be about 20$ and I'm sure the foglights are over 100$ a piece.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

MSRP for new Lexus housings is $221 each.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

I did the same thing to my foglights, but while still in the car and with 3m, turned out a lot better then before, but not nearly as good as yours

es30000000

Wow thanks for the info MrBooby! Makes me feel even better! And @gray_es300 yeah im sure there are simplier ways to get lesser results like you said, but this method gave me, imo, great results! Definitely worth the time, effort, and money.

LexLuger31

great info

deanhavie

*bookmarks thread*

Holy wow - my fog lights are not as bad as yours, with some elbow grease and time this will be worth the effort. I nearly bought new lights a few weeks back and gasped when the parts guy told me it would be nearly $400 for a set.

imherenow

thats a nice write up but how did u remove the foglight..do u have pics ..i am having hard time figuring out how to remove the foglight from the assembly...thanks

es30000000

will post pics of how to remove foglights on sunday when I get back, stay tuned! Can also post pictures of how to remove front and rear bumpers, and lower door moldings since I will but putting those all back on the car on monday. If anyone is interested let me know!

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

There is a guide on here (look in the sticky at the top of the ES300 forum). Basically, you need to remove the corner/turn signal light and then reach inside the bumper and unbolt the fog light, then pinch a little clip and the foglight will pop out.

Here you go.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...7-99-more.html