So my father has a 2003 yellow 996 that he absolutely loves, but he isn't so great with getting on message boards etc, so I'm asking for him.

The other day he was telling me that since his headlights look all foggy and bad that he was going to call a few places to get them restored. He said that all the places looked at it and said that the problem is inside of the headlamps and not on the outside and that for 996 it is common to replace the whole headlamps if you want to resolve the problem. Well I find this hard to believe, and quite expensive to buy OEM headlamps. The OEM halogen headlamp assembly is about $2700 total, and the oem xenon is about $5500. I notice that bosch sells a headlight assembly but not sure if it looks exactly like OEM. http://www.paragon-products.com/Left...631.157.07.htm

Anyways, I'm attaching some pictures below, but is there anyway that these headlamps can be restored without having to replace them? And if so by what type of shop? Thank you all for your help, it may be able to save him thousands!

 

I've restored countless 996 lenses.... Upon close examination it will appear the 'haze' is inside the lense, it's not. You'll need to cut the top layer to get rid of the oxidation. Easiest way is to remove the lense completely with the supplied lock tool in his kit, pop it out and prop it up against a wall on table so you can apply firm pressure. Take your time and it's quite simple, you'll be amazed. Worst case scenario you're out 25 bucks. Give it a shot: http://3mcollision.com/products/head...9008-4218.html

(You can get 3M's kit from O'Rielly's or WalMart, as well as a number of other parts stores)

 

Can you try taking them apart and doing the lens restoration on the inside, if indeed the problem isn't on the outside surface of the light assembly? I've not had to do this with mine, but on the other side of the coin, if I get a flat, I'm going to fix the tire, not buy new rims, pads and full brake system.

 

I agree, but for whatever reason shops have told him that the plastic is too flexible or light or something and that a restorer kit won't work and will scratch it up more than anything. iJeremy are you sure its not on the inside? My dad is fairly handy but not great, he can pop out the headlights and use the restorer kit on the outside, but I'm not sure he will be able to successfully get into the headlamp assembly to restore it, unless its very easy.

So the majority opinion is that new headlamps wont be needed and this will be able to be corrected with a standard 3m restorer kit? I don't have a buffer or anything...

 

Where are you located at? My brother just restored my headlamps on 02 Targa. They looked similar to yours, at one point i thought the sun was baking them so long that the actual acrylic cracked. But after 4 hours of sanding and special acrylic finish, they came out like new.

 

If you're afriad to give it a shot box them up and mail them to me... I have no problem lending a hand, shipping there and back will be a lot cheaper than replacements. Otherwise just give it a go... the first two pads will make you think you've made them worse, then suddenly as you polish at the third step they start to look like new. PM me if you need help.

 

You can buy them for $600 ea on ebay if it comes to that.

 

Located in Palm Beach County, Fl

 

Yeah but those are bosch ones, and not sure if they look exactly like the oem's.

 

Thanks, my dad is on vacation and will be back next week, I'll show him the thread and ask him what he wants to do in general, he's fairly handy so he might give it a go.

 

I used a company called Doctor Headlight to refinish mine. They did it at my house in about an hour. It was $90, and it has a lifetime warranty. They polish out the imperfections and then coat the lens with a UV protector. They don't look 100% brand new, but they look pretty damn good. I'm happy with their service.

 

More details on the process with some photos below.

The tech started by wet sanding the headlights with an emulsifier. He hand sanded progressively, going from 320 to 600 to 1,000 to 1,500 to 2,500 grit. He then treated the lenses with a conditioner, and finally 3 coats of epoxy applied from a small air gun.

 

You in luck Dr Headlight is in palm beach.
http://drheadlight.com/dealerlocator.html

 

Awesome thanks Dennis, I'll give them a call and see what they say. I noticed this was interesting from their site:

Is any of the cloudiness inside the lenses?
Yes, generally 40% of all headlight assemblies have cloudiness that is within the light assembly itself. Often dealerships, detailers, or repair shops, will claim you need to buy new headlights once they have cleaned the lenses and notice they have condensation or HID haze within them. Services often lie to customers and claim expensive replacement is their only alternative, this is simply not true. We can dry, clean and reseal any headlight Failed assembly -- Guaranteed New or It's Free!

 

Great info! I am going to look into this as well!