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Headlights!!

HadiBenoy

E500E Newbie
New Member
Hello y'all! so recently I noticed my 230CE driver side light getting brownish reflection from the inside and water was collecting inside the light assembly itself whenever I'd have the car washed, until sadly I disassembled both sides today, and this was what I've found.

So I'm posting for the first time ever on here asking for help in terms of what to do with them, are they restorable? the chrome inside; can it be restored somehow or replaced or painted with a reflective sort of paint? maybe a reflective sticker kind of thing? what about the glass rubber gasket? any certain brand I can use for it? what type would the gasket maker be?

Thank you so much guys in advance
 

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You can have the reflectors re-chromed, but it is not cheap. Search the forum for more information.

The glass is supposed to be glued into the plastic frame. You can re-glue the glass into the channel, I used clear RTV for this once, there may be a better adhesive though.
 
Since these are the normal 124 light assemblies I suggest that you get a used pair. They made over two million of 124 with these headlights on, so they are out there for sure. No need to spend money on re-chroming them IMO.

Since these are the normal 124 light assemblies I suggest that you get a used pair. They made over two million of 124 with these headlights on, so they are out there for sure. No need to spend money on re-chroming them IMO.
Thank you for your reply sir, problem is; even the used ones are so badly detached (the glass and the assembly it sits in), I eventually used RTV silicone on the pair I had, only issue that it was red coloured haha, anyway I’ll see how red looks, hope it’s not going to be as bad because it was definitely a task removing the old rubber from both headlights!
 
You can have the reflectors re-chromed, but it is not cheap. Search the forum for more information.

The glass is supposed to be glued into the plastic frame. You can re-glue the glass into the channel, I used clear RTV for this once, there may be a better adhesive though.
Thank you for your reply sir, I’ll definitely look around for a place that would re-chrome them, for the time being I’m going to use a Dremel with a grinding bit that removes rust, I might even try to polish them tho it would be my first attempt, I bought a used pair of lenses so it’ll be my way of learning how to do grinding and polishing!
 
Thank you for your reply sir, I’ll definitely look around for a place that would re-chrome them, for the time being I’m going to use a Dremel with a grinding bit that removes rust, I might even try to polish them tho it would be my first attempt, I bought a used pair of lenses so it’ll be my way of learning how to do grinding and polishing!
Those reflectors are gone, sorry, at least the left side (on the car) are way beyond repair due to corrosion. And if you just touch the other one with any equipment like Dreml and their polishing tools, that one will be gone as well. Any chroming requires a high gloss polishing process prior to adding a reflective material like chrome or nickel. The chrome/nickel layer is just some microns thick, so the surface finish determines how perfect it will be after the reflective material is added. Just think mirrors, where the glass already has a perfect surface finish and by adding chrome you get the reflective effect.
There are many headlights in decent condition out on eBay:
 
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