Finally finished up this morning after trying to get the lenses looking as good as possible. Unfortunately, these lenses are so bad that even after 3 hours of sanding/buffing they still look like crap. It kills the whole look of the retrofit

So just ignore that one little part and enjoy lol. I'll be getting new lenses in as soon as I can find a decent pair that are clean/cleanable.

Acura MDX halogen projectors, E55 shrouds, H11 4300k bulbs

Thanks again nalc for all the help on hidplanet.

 

Looks good, lenses don't look too bad.

 

lenses dont look bad, IMO you should smoke/AE those corners to so they match the headlights

 

Yeah. I got frustrated doing it manually so I finally got the brains to use a Dremel with a buffing tool bit, and it made it a lot better.

 

Good point. I didn't even think of that...but now that you mention it there is a mismatch lol. Thanks for the advice.

 

Looks like it turned out pretty well.

E55 shrouds are just about a perfect fit for stock housings... they just barely squeeze in there.

Might want to check out something like this:
http://www.doublehornproducts.com/pr...8&cat=1&page=1

I don't know why everyone gets obsessed with brasso or wetsanding or other ghetto methods... a real restoration kit with the correct buffing materials and clearcoat costs less than half a tank of gas.

Almost twins!

 

looks really sweet cant wait to get mine in

 

They look good bro! Lenses aren't that bad but you still wanna change them so they're clear and have better output. But still they're nice.

 

Lookin good, I could really use some shrouds for my FX projectors...

 

I like em...looks professional

 

need nighttime pics man.....

 

not bad...but the blacked out headlight doesn't match the clear corners. look almost like mine:



time for some output shots....you know we're all waiting

 

i wanna try a retro bad, but I don't think it's as easy as it looks. You wanna teach a young grasshoppa?

 

it's not really that hard. there's a DIY somewhere on this site that I created a long long time ago. let me see if i can find it.

here you go: http://www.vqpower.com/v2/articles.php?article_id=75

this DIY is quite old but it'll give you some ideas on how to tackle it. if i was to do it again, i would do it differently though. sorry for the off-topic here!!!

 

lenses dont look too bad, lights look good!

 

+1 on this DIY. I looked it over, and it is very similar to the method I have been using.
What way would you recommend doing differently? I've been pretty happy with the results I've gotten from a very similar method.

 

I'm still a complete newb when it comes to HIDs and what not, but my conclusion after this project is that anyone can do a retro, as long as there's sufficient time. There are a couple of videos on youtube that are very helpful as well so you can visualize what you're going to be doing. The most challenging part of this project was actually getting the headlights out...everything else was cake

Also, nighttime pics coming up by this weekend so just sit tight

 

changed my headlights to glass, took 20 mins trying to figure out how to get the one screw holding down the passenger side light out. anywho, going to get a HID conversion since you're on halogens? friend picked up set from ebay, and they've been running strong for over 6 months, plug and play for $40-$50.

 

Did you really need to quote all his pics to say that??

 

Look good, better then just a "decent retrofit"
FYI, a dremel has the tendency to burn so be carefull. For plastic lenses a powerball on a drill would be suffice.
Use a nice plasti polish such as mothers.

 

The retrofit looks Very good. From the pics, the lenses don't look too bad. I high speed polish with some find compounds should have those things looking brand new. I've done that to countless headlights, and it always looks nice when it's done. I also add 3M clear bra to them so they don't fade again.

 

The reason I say it's decent is because the light output is slightly deteriorated than it should be. Cutoff can definitely be sharper, and bluer. But what can you expect out of a retro that cost less than 90 bucks?? I'll have pics up by this weekend...so you can see then.

 

Cloudiness isn't a problem to deal with, it's the damn scratches. Idk if this is normal or not, but my passenger side lens has micro-fine scratches all over it. It's as if someone tried to clean these things up but used a coarser sandpaper than necessary. I sanded this lens for hours using 2k grit sandpaper; it did absolutely nothing

It's so frustrating because my light output isn't what it should be. The color isn't nearly as sharp as it should be with these projectors.

As far as my driver side lens, well it's just crappy. It doesn't have scratches on it - just some road grime that appears to be a permanent part of it. Like I said, I think these lenses are beyond "repair." I don't think they'll ever look brand new. I'd say they've definitely have gotten 150% better after I buffed them with the Dremel tool bit.

I'm going to have to buy a second pair of headlights anyways because NJ State Inspections requires that you have high beams. So I'm going to look for a pair that has very good lenses and replace those lenses with the ones that are housing the projectors.

 

Looks great man!

 

they look nice

 

nice job on the lenses man