mk1 vrs headlamp replacement. gen or non-gen?

[TauntonVRS]

I know it's been covered before ages ago, but is there really much difference in the quality of genuine and non-genuine replacement headlamp units? I need to replace my o/s one asap as it's pretty much yellow now!

[@Lee]

polish it up. Given a bit of patience they come up really good. Have a search on here.

[alex_e3]

DEPO non-genuine headlights do look the part, but obviously the build quality isn't quite as good as OE.

 

A lot of aftermarket lights such as the DEPO have the insert in black too - looks much better in my opinion.

[Tech1e]

DEPO lights are just fine. Don't forget to swap the motors over though

[TauntonVRS]

Thanks all,

I've tried polishing, but at nearly ten years old they are passed the point of repair.

I'll go for the DEPO one I expect.

[devonutopia]

Fancy a trip down the M5 to see what I can do with them?   I've brought MOT failure lamps back to very good clarity indeed

 

I also have a complete pair of original lamps if you want to do a swap on my drive      I'd be happy to take your old ones in part-ex too.

 

 

[Avalon]

13 years old here and still come up looking like new, all it takes is a little effort.

[muppo2000]

Yeah definitely give them another go at polishing up, just did mine over the weekend with a cheapie quixx kit off Amazon, spent about 20mins with each level of wet n dry paper (2500 grit, 3000 grit & 5000 grit) per light alternating between left and right and up and down, then applied the acrylic glass scratch remover then polished in the UV sealant and now they look a million times better! Was going to do a thread on here with pictures but didn't think anyone would be interested.

Trust me though... your arm will ache like crazy when youve finished but £12 is much better than £200!

[Tech1e]

DEPO lamps were about £40 each when I bought mine.

[TauntonVRS]

Thanks for all the offers and advice. I am going to give the Qwixx kit a go. As I am looking to sell in 6 months anyway I will do the replacement as a last resort "needs must" if I have to.

Cheers.

[muppo2000]

Hope it goes well for you buddy! Just a quick note of caution, when doing the wet'n'dry sanding make sure you use a sanding block behind the paper and not just your fingers 'coz it wont apply even pressure if you don't.

The Quixx kit did have one but it's quite small and naff. I used one I had got from Wilko's it was a bit bigger and more robust and gave me a slightly wider sanding area.

Try to apply a decent amount of pressure when sanding and keep it very wet. Just take care when you get close to the bodywork! Pop the bonnet open while you do it so the grille is out the way... also gives you bit more space to play with.

I didn't mask around the lights... just tried to be carefull. But some prefer to mask off incase they get a bit enthusiastic :-) but it's up to you!

Let us know how you get on... take a before and after piccy if you can.

Hope it does the job though!

[devonutopia]

You could always give me the chance to clean them up.

[ChipUK]

So what did you do to yours devonutopia? - please tell all!

 

Chip

[muppo2000]

A before and after of my lights and a piccy of the Quixx kit I used.

Didn't have an electric buffer but they came up OK!

Edited 30 April, 2014 by muppo2000

[devonutopia]

So what did you do to yours devonutopia? - please tell all!

 

Chip

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/312299-jasons-fabia-headlight-restoration-guide/

 

Plenty of photos in there from my car I did.

[ChipUK]

Cheers bud. Great guide!

[kennedy]

A before and after of my lights and a piccy of the Quixx kit I used.

Didn't have an electric buffer but they came up OK!

Just bought one of those kits, looks a decent job