Here is a guide on how to refinish your hazy headlight covers and/or install angel eyes.

Refer to this excellent thread for removing your headlights and taking off the covers: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=893721

A different method(baking) is used to remove the covers from 2001+ cars.

Here is a pic of what my covers looked like after 8 years of driving.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes008.jpg

Once you get your covers off, clean them up a bit. We don't want any dirt or grit on them. Ok now for the almost scary part.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes017.jpg

That's right. You are going to sand them. Don't be scared. I chose to start with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper from 3M because I had a million small pits that I wanted to get out. I put it in my kitchen sink and ran a small stream of water over the covers as I was sanding. I recommend only wet sanding. Here is what they look like after the first pass with 400 grit.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes023.jpg

Haha. I got you. You're screwed now!!!:evil2 Might as well buy some new covers. These are goners.:D Seriously though, don't worry. Now, move up in grit(finer) using the same process. I went to 1000, then 1500, and finally 2000. You can start as rough as you want, and finish with as fine as you want. Keep in mind though, you will want to use several stages(ie. don't go from 400 to 2000). Take your time on the sanding if you want it to turn out good.

Don't use too much pressure and let the stream of water constantly rinse off the cover. You will want to sand using a back and forth motion. Don't use circular motions.:nono

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes023direction.jpg

This took me a while as I did it by hand and each time you go finer in sandpaper, you need to sand out the "scratches" made by the coarser paper. If you don't get them out, you will see it in the end. TAKE YOUR TIME!!!

Ok, so you're done with sanding? Time to bust out the polish. I chose to use Meguiars PlastX(and some old boxers:lol).

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes025.jpg

Again, use a back and forth motion. Hopefully you sanded well. Here is what mine looked like after the polish.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes032.jpg

Nice! Obviously you don't have to use old school methods(read: cheap) of polishing, but it will save you from going out and buying additional tools and materials.

That's it! Put your covers back on OR if you were going to also install angel eyes, keep reading.

We all know maintaining a BMW costs a little more than your average car so if you are into saving money like me, this is a relatively inexpensive way to improve the looks of your lighting. I found some angel eyes on Ebay for about 50 bucks shipped to my front door. This guide may work for other brands of angel eyes or it may not. I don't know as I haven't seen the design of others. So on with it...

Take the lenses out of the covers.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes016.jpg

Once they are out, clean up the plastic surface right behind where the lenses used to rest with some rubbing alcohol. This is so the glue that you are going to use has a clean surface to adhere to.

Now, I cut out 2 small notches on each opening for lights. These are for the wires coming off of the rings. If you don't cut these notches, the wires will be pinched when you put the lenses back in. Position the rings where you plan on mounting them and mark the plastic so you will know exactly where to grind/cut/saw. Remove the ring before you make the notches. I used a small metal grinding bit with a dremel because it was convenient. Use whatever you want but be careful of the cover.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/notches.jpg

Now get a ring out and position it. This can be tricky so take your time and keep your cool.:cool Keep in mind that the lense is curved so when it rests in its place, it will be resting against the angel eye unless you space the ring away a bit. Not too much though, you don't want a huge gap between the ring and the headlight "hole". I used a small vice grip to hold the ring in place as you can see.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes034.jpg

Make sure this is a stable clamp(not too much pressure though). Time for some Goop. You can use whatever you want to but this stuff worked pretty good for me.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/Goop.jpg
Squeeze out a little bit at a time onto whatever you want. I just used the bottom of a plastic cup from Taco Bell.:lolIt develops a skin quickly so that's why I only used a small amount at a time. Use a toothpick to precisely apply the glue. The ring is already in position so all you are going to do is let the glue fill the space between the ring and the "hole" it's resting in. I ended up doing about 6 or 7 3/4" strips of glue all the way around the ring. When dry, it's secure.

Do both rings. Now put your lenses back in. At this point, I used some 3M mounting tape to hold down the wires from the angel eyes so they don't get in the way.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/mountingtape.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes0373Mtape.jpg

I didn't want the ballast for the angel eyes in the engine bay so for a cleaner install, I chose to put it in the headlight assembly. I hope this won't be a problem. Maybe I need to get a fire extinguisher just in case.:stickoutt
Using mounting tape again, I placed 2 small strips on each end of the ballast and mounted it to the cover. How nice of BMW to give me this extra space.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes036ballast.jpg

See the gray and brown wires? Those are the power and ground wires for the rings. I ran them out of the vent because I didn't want to drill any holes and the vent was conveniently located near the ballast.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes038.jpg

Make sure everything looks right(ie lenses are installed correctly, wires are tidy and out of the way, etc.) and put the assembly back together. :redspot

Now all you have to do is put your headlight back in and wire it. I tapped into my parking lights because I would like to be able to control when the angel eyes are on.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes044.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/angeleyes042.jpg

There you have it. An inexpensive solution for a headlight makeover. Feel free to pm me with any questions. I'll try my best to help.

Mike

Dude I salute you! Now thats getting the "job" done! This is must see TV!

Very nice work!! Came out great.

great post-one of the best I have seen! I just ordered a set of these myself so you just did me a huge favor. Nice work. Using the vent was smart. Very clean install.

Bill

Ditto..I'm going to do this to mine. Can you please get the the ebayer you bought these from?

Nice write up :buttrock

Awesome write up! Would you mind a link to the Angel Eyes you bought on Ebay so I can look into them myself??? Thanks!!

:redspot

Very nice writeup. You explained the process and the variables within it very well.

**applause***

Dude!!!
Awesome DIY.
Very much appreciated.
Great job on the wet sanding!!!
Cant wait for more pics!!!
I'll be sure to link this thread whenever somebody asks how I got my AE's done.
:thumbup:

so he went from 400grit then 1000,1500 to 2000 grit cause my headlight cover look exactly like that before he polish it.

Awesome write up! Would you mind a link to the Angel Eyes you bought on Ebay so I can look into them myself??? Thanks!!

:redspot
I'll second that! :drink1

so he went from 400grit then 1000,1500 to 2000 grit cause my headlight cover look exactly like that before he polish it.

Tha whaa? :confused

Yes, i believe so, but he started with 400...

looks great... ive been contemplating doing this but was scared to sand my head lights.....

one question tho... eill the lights turn back to a haze when the polish wears off? do you constantly need to polish them to keep them clear?

either way look really nice congrats on the job and awesome write up...:drink1

From my experience, they can haze back over, but if you poilish once a year, or when you notice some haze, you should be OK. Hey, it's a lot cheaper than replacements.

Or, you could do the polishing and then put Laminix (or similar) clear covers on the lights. ;)

Thanks guys! Glad I could help someone.

Once you polish the headlights, they are done. There isn't some film that will wash off next time it rains. However, like philboski said, occasional touch-ups might be beneficial.

This is an excellent DIY! - it should be posted permanently in the DIY E39 section...

towed to e39 DIY section for all to benefit from in the future.

Rock on! I plan on doing this soon!! Thanks for the write up.

Ditto..I'm going to do this to mine. Can you please get the the ebayer you bought these from?

Awesome write up! Would you mind a link to the Angel Eyes you bought on Ebay so I can look into them myself??? Thanks!!

:redspot
Linky, please.

Nice job!

Thanks for the write-up! I'm doing this when the weather gets warmer for sure!

one question tho... eill the lights turn back to a haze when the polish wears off? do you constantly need to polish them to keep them clear?

either way look really nice congrats on the job and awesome write up...:drink1

Like he said, do it once and you're done. It really helps the look of the car, and it only takes like 30 mins. In retrospect, it's not a big job when you're done. I did mine while still on the car.

Dude, you rock! You jsut saved me $$. Excellent write-up!

Really nice write up mark. I'm going to do this later today.

But did you change to clear corners? the pic of the car in your signature has clear corners, whereas the writeup has yellow ones.

Thanks guys!

Really nice write up mark. I'm going to do this later today.

But did you change to clear corners? the pic of the car in your signature has clear corners, whereas the writeup has yellow ones. Lol, that pic is in black and white. I kept the ambers.:D

how exactly do you wire them into the parking lights though?

how exactly do you wire them into the parking lights though?

this is a DIY i too could use.

Thanks in advance

Dubs

I chose not to include the wiring part because of time constraints, as well as many different ways people wire them.

Basically, you need a power and ground. All I did was find the hot wire for the park lights(can't remember colors), and tapped into that. Just go the bulb housing and move back 1.5" to 2" to find a place to tap in. I had to extend the wire from the AEs so I just soldered a section in between the AE wiring, and the parking light wire. You can use wire taps to get power from the parking lights or do like I did and strip some wire and then solder the AE wire into the existing parking light wire.


Then you need a ground. I didn't feel like drilling any holes in my car so I just found an existing hole that was occupied by a screw. I stole this picture from wquiles(author of the DIY mentioned earlier) and edited to show the screw I'm talking about.:devillook

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee126/evolvedrs/Angel%20Eyes/IMG_2973.jpg

There are other places to ground them but this one was convenient as it was located right above the headlight vent(the ones the AE wires run through).

who from on Ebay did you get these angel eyes from?

nice detailed thread. It sorta helped me with my dingy fog lights on our new toy. still need some touch up, they were very similiar of cleanliness of your original shots of the headlights. I used 2000 grit, possibbly should go down...did not think that they were too bad to need a rougher paper....very nice write up and welcome to the import world!:redspot

Thanks!

Justin?

when I had my m3 I was a member on here so just starting this stuff all over again.....how i ended up in the e46 now is that last week i found my m3 and tried to buy it back...some young chick bought it and there is no way she will be able to handle it or afford the maintence involved!...n e ways..got the e46 and kinda want to do stuff, so we should get the e39 & e46 together in the garage!!!:buttrock

Wow gorgeous. Am doing that for sure!

when I had my m3 I was a member on here so just starting this stuff all over again.....how i ended up in the e46 now is that last week i found my m3 and tried to buy it back...some young chick bought it and there is no way she will be able to handle it or afford the maintence involved!...n e ways..got the e46 and kinda want to do stuff, so we should get the e39 & e46 together in the garage!!!:buttrock

Sounds good. I need to replace my thrust arm bushings:( Hell, a porter cable and a good buff should be next after that.

OK, Mike... I'm getting a list going now.
1. Resonator delete
2. AE's
3. ? (Your next DIY)

Sooooo, what kind of beer and what weekend are you free? :D

Haha. I only get Sundays off(and one day during the week) and every other weekend I have obligations....so, a weekday off might be better.

Don't you have an extra set of covers? If so, get to polishing them. :D If you want to do something let me know. I'll help with what I can.

looks great :buttrock:eek: I'm assuming you don't have/disabled the DRL's...or are they not on due to the way you wired the AE's? I'm going to definitely clean my covers...the installation worries me...not that you didn't detail it to a T..I just have two left hands and am blind when it comes down to anything other than brakes, oil..ya know ez DIY $#!+...also who'd you hookup w/on ebay?

looks great :buttrock:eek: I'm assuming you don't have/disabled the DRL's...or are they not on due to the way you wired the AE's? I'm going to definitely clean my covers...the installation worries me...not that you didn't detail it to a T..I just have two left hands and am blind when it comes down to anything other than brakes, oil..ya know ez DIY $#!+...also who'd you hookup w/on ebay?

The guy he got them from on ebay no longer sells them...I've already looked :(

What! Wonder why he would just quit. I'll look into finding if we can still get them from where he did.

Thanks! keep us posted...do you have pics of the packaging? We might be able to find them elsewhere by that.

Nope, just came in a small brown box, with no brand name markings on it. I'll take a look at ebay later to see if I find some that look similar.

I found them again on Ebay so pm if you want sellers name. :D

Mike- You are the man! I too found Jersey Phones and just this afternoon finished the install and it went perfectly thanks to your excellent directions. And for the price, these angel eyes are a steal. The only difference between our installs is that I used silicon sealant in lieu of the faster hardening stuff. I fought the urge to finish it yesterday and let the sealant dry over night. I must say mine look as good as yours and that is saying something. And, best of all I only broke a couple pieces of plastic crap. I always break a plastic tab or two no matter how careful I am! Got the UGO installed and the aluminum pedals in the m5 too, so overall it was a good day! Your instructions help a bunch and I can't wait for the other set of AEs to get here so I can do the M5 as well. Thanks Bill

Yeh I ordered from JP too, but living in the back end of the planet, Western Australia, I have to wait a while for them to get here - by carrier pigeon and then by pygmie marathon runners.

:)

Dubs

That was a great DIY!

Another method I have found that works great (but is probably more expensive for DIYer) is to wet sand the lens with 1000 and then shoot them with a nice automotive clear like you'd use on a 2 stage, base/clear paint job. You can have the shop doing your M5 bumper install do it while it's being painted! A bonus is that the Clear is crystal clear and diamond hard, as well as being a UV inhibiter so your lenses will never yellow or fade.

I've done this to most of the cars I've painted. There's nothing worse than having fresh paint and dingy headlights.

awesome writeup +10

i dont know if this has been asked but what angel eyes did you purchase. are they the ones for E39's.

Yes, I purchased angel eyes for an E39. Read back through posts and you will find the sellers name.

"Once they are out, clean up the plastic surface right behind where the lenses used to rest with some rubbing alcohol. This is so the glue that you are going to use has a clean surface to adhere to."

This part I was looking at last night, and it seems like on one edge or side, there isn't a whole lot of space to attach these rings to. I guess I'm a little apprehensive to do this, worried that it won't fit right. How big are these rings, and will it just be nice and cozy on the one 'short' side?

Thanks..

I actually put mine on the back of the glass bezels so that they fit better and the lights look the same until you turn them on. This is the best way to do it in my opinion.

That's not a bad idea, especially since I have extra glass bezels incase I screw up.

One last dumb question, routing the power and ground wires out the breather hole.. On my covers (98 528i), that is on the opposite side of where the ballasts can fit. Is there enough length in the wires and how did you get them thru the breather hole? I didn't see how to snake the wires thru...

Mine look just like his in the pictures as we have the same year car and same OEM HID headlights. I had to add more wire to wire in the parking light though.

You can't screw up with the bezels, just use some clear silicone on top and bottom and let it dry for a few hours then replace them. Done! No drilling, etc.

00 - Thanks for the tips.. I think I will do it this way.

I just can't figure out how to snake the wires thru the breather hole..

I ordered my AE from Jerseyphones 5 weeks ago and they havent arrived I am having to make a paypal claim, I know this isnt the case with everyone but FYI

Dubs

I ordered my AE from Jerseyphones 5 weeks ago and they havent arrived I am having to make a paypal claim, I know this isnt the case with everyone but FYI

Dubs

Send him an email, he's always been quick to reply for me.

I did email but none the less, for USD$45 shipping i should have had it in 5-10 days to OZ.


Dubs

I just finished my AE retrofit. Here are a few pics of them mounted. http://picasaweb.google.com/pihled/CCFL

http://www.saunalahti.fi/pihled/IMG_3363.jpg

Nicely done tcdoe...

How did you snake the wires thru the breathe hole? Did you hook up to the parking wire for power?

Actually I used an idea from another site (http://www.netikka.net/anninajathomas.laine/angeleyes.htm), here's a picture of that persons install.
http://www.netikka.net/anninajathomas.laine/kuvat/ccfl_angeleyes/09.jpg

I pulled the wires thru the parking light hole. I ground the smaller tab off the parking bulb holder and ran the wires through the small notch that the tab previously sat in. Then I drilled a hole in the side of the holder and ran the wires inside it, folded the connectors to make them thicker and pushed them into the connector on the car's end. I also ground the pins down inside the holder to accommodate the wires. This way I didn't have to solder anything or modify the headlight itself. If I wanna return to stock, I just buy two new cheap parking bulb holders.

Simply amazing!

I used the breather hole and put the AE's behind the glass bezel and it went very quickly and you can't see the AE's unless they're lit up so it's perfect.

i ordered rings up yesterday, hopefully they show up this wknd, ftw. Planning to put them behind the bezels as well.

Hi all...I have a 1999 528i... Do I have to remove the front bumper to change the headlights or upgrade it...

Thanks

Hi all...I have a 1999 528i... Do I have to remove the front bumper to change the headlights or upgrade it...

Thanks

No. 4 bolts hold in each headlight. Pops right out.

btw: if anyone wants to experiment with some stock 997 headlights i have an extra set lying around if anyone wants to shoot me a reasonable offer .

great job on the polish, looks sweet

added mine today, but I have one bad ring... ftl

emailed the guy, hope to get another ring soon.

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff208/kerryb8448/ae.jpg

Did you check it before you installed it? I guess not or either you damaged it during the process.

I didn't do anything different with the rings installing them. I tested after i reopened them up, one bad ring. The guy I bought them from is sending another ring, so soon to be FTW.

great contribution to board. Good sense of humor, too!

Maybe I can sand and polish my 1998 headlights and sell ' em since I did the Umnitza P39 thing last year as you can see below.

This is awesome.
I'm excited to try it out for myself now!

Let's just all hope it turns out as well as everyone else's haha :eyecrazy

Wish me luck!

PS: Has anyone else tried putting the AE behind the lense rather than in front of it? Does it look the same either way? I would like to see some more comparisons if possible.

Thanks!

just wet sanded my brothers set of lights...they were uber bad and his car is 3/96 so its been a long time

did 400, 1000, 1500, 2000 and they look damm near brand new

how long did it take, or does it take?

A couple hours if all you are doing is refinishing. Like I said, don't rush. So if you don't have time to spare, don't bother. Do it right the first time and enjoy the results.

took me to sand 20 mins per head light...took me allmost longer to take each one out

just go easy and if it dont look good just do it again...its so easy and quick that you can redo it till your happy

i did his drivers side twice as i didnt take a big enough bite the first time

here are some pics

i windex'd the glass lens while i was at, i should have windex'd the inside of the covers as when the lights are on it is a wee bit foggy

when he gets his new bumper and angel eye's i plan on sanding them again as there is some wee spots that i missed and i want to clean the inside of them

a note: sorry about thumbs, imageshack was being funny and this was the only way i could get it to work with anthoner site

http://s2d1.turboimagehost.com/t/315529_P1000943_copy.jpg (http://www.turboimagehost.com/p/315529/P1000943_copy.jpg.html) http://s2d1.turboimagehost.com/t/315530_P1000952_copy.jpg (http://www.turboimagehost.com/p/315530/P1000952_copy.jpg.html) http://s2d1.turboimagehost.com/t/315531_P1000954_copy.jpg (http://www.turboimagehost.com/p/315531/P1000954_copy.jpg.html)

Was the pic on the far left after being sanded? That's the worse case I've seen if not.

far left is before and the middle and right is after

Unless the haze is on the inside, I'm confident you can get them even clearer.

me too...the fog is from water on the inside from wet sanding the outside

Sorry guys I'm a newbie. Had a few questions. I purchased some clear corner headlight lenses recently. They will fit fine but the round glass lenses inside do not match for my Xenons. Can I swap my old glass lenses and insert them into the new clear corners if I were to remove and clean them up?

Also are the Angel Eyes shown here able to be used with factory Xenon systems?

Tremendous write-up! I hope I'm able to at least add the Angel eyes to my Xenons...if I have to keep my factory corners then I will wet sand and get them close to new again possibly.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Sorry guys I'm a newbie. Had a few questions. I purchased some clear corner headlight lenses recently. They will fit fine but the round glass lenses inside do not match for my Xenons. Can I swap my old glass lenses and insert them into the new clear corners if I were to remove and clean them up?

Also are the Angel Eyes shown here able to be used with factory Xenon systems?

Tremendous write-up! I hope I'm able to at least add the Angel eyes to my Xenons...if I have to keep my factory corners then I will wet sand and get them close to new again possibly.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Yes, you can swap old glass bezels in. Yes they'll work with factory Xenons. ;)

just ordered me a set of ae's for 59.99 to my door...i'll have to post some before/after pics of my covers as well...their about as bad as the op's

I missed this thread the first time around. OP, you did an awesome job. As Gumbi so eloquently put it "this is MUST SEE TV!"

Anyone know where to get Laminix online? I want to get mine covered.

i bought mine at advance auto...maybe your can have them ship it to your?

anyway mine ae's came in and they only sent me two rings and two inverters.....and while trying to test to see if the two rings would work i couldnt get them to turn on....whats the best way to test if the rings work?

i bought mine at advance auto...maybe your can have them ship it to your?

anyway mine ae's came in and they only sent me two rings and two inverters.....and while trying to test to see if the two rings would work i couldnt get them to turn on....whats the best way to test if the rings work?

Thanks Sapphire.

I tested mine by taking them out to the car. Running the ground wire to the chassis and the power wire to pos terminal under the hood(obviously while they were plugged into the inverter).

Great write up. Just ordered a set as well. Will be the first "mod" to my BMW. Yay

some posted that they wired them to the wipers power...i couldn't find the post but does anybody got any other info on this......

i went to town with my multimeter and couldnt figure it out

Hi,
First mod on my E39 was the headlight polish + ae install that I completed last Monday...
Next was the DICE ipod install-- easy install...
Last was the thrust arm bushings-- finished last night...
Next mod??