*DIY Fog Light Glass 'Restoration' on the *CHEAP*

[scyrusurcys]

So I got bored and decided to clean out my foglights to see if the accumulated dust over the past 14 years might be causing dim projection. I found a very, very thin layer of dust in there, nothing major. But the problem that arrested my attention was the chips, pits and scrapes on the glass lens of the foglight (outside, not the orb). After washing and drying the lens, I decided to add some clear, acrylic nail polish ($1.99 est.) to the outside to see if it would fill in the chips. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves:

Before (the foglight is turned upside down so that it would sit level)


Before


Half In Process, Half Original:


Again:


Completed and Dried:




Let's face it - we drive $2-8k cars and sometimes home remedies are better than nothing at all, especially when you're stricken for cash. So how do these perform now? The light is focused A LOT more on the front of the road, as it should. Standing at the side or looking down at the lights, the amount of "glow" to the entire glass has diminished DRAMATICALLY. The light actually slips through the glass instead of lighting it up like a lamp-shade. The color was also affected - with halogen bulbs, the color is much closer to white than before. The color before was almost a very light amber/yellow - now it actually looks decent

Hooray for cheap fixes, now pass it on!

EDIT: FWIW, the same method can be applied to the high-beam and low-beam glass -BUT!- the cutoff for the projection will be spread out over an extra 3-4" (vertically) at 12ft away, due to the convex placement of the nail polish which disperses the light. The cutoff color will also change from purple/blue to green/yellow but the majority of the light projection should stay the same color [with HID bulbs, anyway.. not sure with halogen].

[nmp411]

Good idea! It looks a lot better.

[scyrusurcys]

Aww.. no love, guys?

[Ned Ryerson]

Congrats, looks good!

[Frzninvt]

How did you apply it? Just use the nail polish brush? Did you put it on vertically or hozintally? I want to try it on my yellow fog lenses I think the clear would work on the yellow. Great work!

[scyrusurcys]

How did you apply it? Just use the nail polish brush? Did you put it on vertically or hozintally? I want to try it on my yellow fog lenses I think the clear would work on the yellow. Great work!

Thanks!

And yes, I just used the brush that was in the nail polish bottle - doesn't take very long at all to apply over the entire lens (3-5 minutes). I used both horizontal and vertical strokes because it runs together pretty easily without a noticeable trail. Totally effortless job

Also, if it doesn't work out like you want it to, just take some acetone to it and it rubs right off.

[Green525iT]

Will clear varnish work too?

[scyrusurcys]

Will clear varnish work too?

Did a quick Google search and found this:

http://krylon.com/products/clear_varnish_coating

I suppose it would work - wanna be our test subject?

[Ar15bimmer]

Good thinking. It turned out pretty nice

[camaroguy]

Will clear varnish work too?

Would clear spray paint work for that matter?

[Green525iT]

Did a quick Google search and found this:

http://krylon.com/products/clear_varnish_coating

I suppose it would work - wanna be our test subject?

Yeah why not? I'll probably try it this weekend. But I think the clear nail polish is more thicker than the krylon varnish thus, would cover the pits effectively. Anyway, I'll give you a feedback if the krylon works.

[raceyBMW]

The only problem with acrylic is that it can yellow in UV.

[Fred in Houston]

Great idea! I'm curious as to how it's going to withstand the heat with the lights on?
Please let us know.
Thanks
Fred

[Binjammin]

I've used clearcoat on some of my headlights, it isn't perfect, but it's pretty damn good.

[moroza]

Looks good for now, but how durable is this stuff for future sandblasting?

[Binjammin]

Looks good for now, but how durable is this stuff for future sandblasting?

It doesn't really matter, the headlight is already pitted. If it needs a quick blast of clearcoat in another 6 months to a year... there's still enough paint left in the can to do another couple coats.

[Boogieboy]

Looks pretty good! I am going to have to try this.

[daflameking]

Good to know! Useful cheap cosmetic fix.

+1 to you and your experimentation sir.

[scyrusurcys]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Great idea! I'm curious as to how it's going to withstand the heat with the lights on?
Please let us know.
Thanks
Fred

Just found an article stating that the temp. at which nail polish melts is 120°C -- so I don't think we'll need to worry about the heat .

After turning them on at a standstill for a solid 15 minutes, the outside of the foglights were barely even warm to the touch (compared to the 90-100F heat I could feel on the foglight housing, behind the bumper). I would imagine it could only get better if there was a constant flow of air over them to cool them down even more. I'll have to report back in a few days/weeks to let everyone know how they're holding up with the everyday driving conditions.

EDIT: After searching around - the worst thing that can happen to the nail polish is the chemical reaction between polish and acid rain. The polish is alkaline after it dries and the acidity of acid rain may convert it to a liquid state = bad news. But oh well, 10 minutes of reapplication is worth it .

[jehu]

So I got bored and decided to clean out my foglights to see if the accumulated dust over the past 14 years might be causing dim projection. I found a very, very thin layer of dust in there, nothing major. But the problem that arrested my attention was the chips, pits and scrapes on the glass lens of the foglight (outside, not the orb). After washing and drying the lens, I decided to add some clear, acrylic nail polish ($1.99 est.) to the outside to see if it would fill in the chips. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves:




Let's face it - we drive $2-8k cars and sometimes home remedies are better than nothing at all, especially when you're stricken for cash. So how do these perform now? The light is focused A LOT more on the front of the road, as it should. Standing at the side or looking down at the lights, the amount of "glow" to the entire glass has diminished DRAMATICALLY. The light actually slips through the glass instead of lighting it up like a lamp-shade. The color was also affected - with halogen bulbs, the color is much closer to white than before. The color before was almost a very light amber/yellow - now it actually looks decent

Hooray for cheap fixes, now pass it on!

EDIT: FWIW, the same method can be applied to the high-beam and low-beam glass -BUT!- the cutoff for the projection will be spread out over an extra 3-4" (vertically) at 12ft away, due to the convex placement of the nail polish which disperses the light. The cutoff color will also change from purple/blue to green/yellow but the majority of the light projection should stay the same color [with HID bulbs, anyway.. not sure with halogen].

$2-8k huh? lol..in yearly mods/maintainance/repairs maybe..lol

[scyrusurcys]

Hah, true. Fortunately for me, though. I've only HAD to spend about $200/year on my 540i to keep it running nicely. I'm sure there are PLENTY of other things I could spend money on to make it nicer and run even better than it does now.

I am very surprised at how the reliability has been for the 60,000 miles that I have owned it. Another reason to love my car

[hellohi]

i had just spray painted my headlights and foglights with a clear coat from walmart, it looks great, perfectly smooth and no beam distortion whatsoever. just use real light coats.

[TouringGuy]

this varies from the condition of the glass, but compound and a buffer will remove fine scratches and the fogginess from the lens. I did it to my lows and you can notice a difference and defiantly feel a difference.

[Gregs///M]

Great job! One of my fog lights needs this! Good to know how to restore it!

[attack eagle]

also SEM chipguard will both fill in the pits (keep glass horizontal) as well as provide further chip and sandblasting protection.


isn;t $2 cheap though!