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[Nick W]

We know there are two problems with the Omega headlamps, broken adjusters and dull lenses. The maintenance guides offer useful advice to fix them, but here are my experiences having done 5 pairs in the last month.





Left to right: what the original adjuster should look like; what they usually look like; the aluminium replacement adjuster; and the recent resin adjuster.


The original ones are a hard plastic shell, and for various reasons crack and then break apart. The one in the photo is cracked, but  hasn't yet broken. The aluminium ones are clearly CNC machined from a 3D model, good quality and are a permanent fix. But they are now longer available.


The resin ones are solid, with a separate metal ball inserted. The mould they are cast in was clearly taken from an original which had been adjusted to suit the process. Although not as well made, they fit well and are likely to be reliable. They are also slightly cheaper than then aluminium ones were. Both benefit from a little fettling; run an M5 tap down the threads and remove the sharp edges with a fine file:







Push the clip onto the adjuster, and using a 4mm allen key screw it onto the thread:





These are very low geared, and using a small electric screwdriver is a good idea.


Clean all the components and reassemble the lamp.


I found that they easiest way of removing and refitting the lens was to heat the entire lamp in the oven for 10minutes at 100C; once you've released the clips you can push the lens off/on with your fingers.

[Nick W]

You can buy headlamp polishing kits, but they are a really expensive way of getting a small amount of abrasive compound and a mop for your drill. There's nothing special required for the compound, and the lamps are such a small area that power tools are unnecesary.


I use 1000  then 1200grit wet&dry paper used with plenty of soapy water to clean the surface, and then Farecla G3 rubbing compound by hand for a good clear finish. A small tube of G3 is about £7 in Halfords -  which is a really expensive way of buying it, and one sheet each of wet&dry will do several lamps for a few pence each sheet.


Like this:


This one is pretty poor







4 passes(2 in each direction at 45 degrees across the lens) of 1000grit







The same with 1200grit









And finally plenty of G3 on a damp cloth. A small circular motion until the compound dried, then a linear motion across the width and then buffed to this finish with a soft cloth









I've just done 4 lamps like this in an hour, and I reckon it's actually easier with them on the car.


It seems to me that this problem is actually dirt baked onto the lens by the heat from the bulbs; it always seems worse on the N/S lamps. This would suggest that a several coats of polish on the lenses would be a good idea to prevent the problem reoccurring.

[Nick W]

Almost forgot:


With a lamp off the car, it's probably an hour's work to strip the lamp, replace the adjuster, clean everything, reassemble and polish the lens.

[terry paget]

Many thanks, Nic. I have changed several adjusters in my time, and struggled to refurbish lenses using a kit. Your tips will prove invaluable next time, especially with lens refurbishing.

[tidla]

Just need a nice admin to ad the info to the guides

[ted_one]

Nah! you don't need it...... ask me nicely and I'll tell you where Nick lives  

[Steve B]

Remember you talking about this lens cleaning a few months ago...Nice guide 

[flyer 0712]

The aluminium units are sold on ebay by a guy who trades as....marribo2.....he appears to do batches of 5 at a time and then disappears until he has more stocks of them....I bought one recently from him on ebay the item number of which was ...301840125595....they are £10 each plus £2..p.and p.....dont think he has any at the moment but you could always contact him through ebay and ask to see when he will have more of them....hope this is of some help..

[Broomies Mate]

Nice write up on the adjusters, but I disagree with the 'resto' part.

A hand polish using the G3 will not sufficiently get the product upto temperature, and as a result will not 'polish' anything. The lens will look clear, but will 'yellow' very soon afterwards, and be even worse to correct.

Machine polishing when using a cutting compound is extremely important (well, the temperature is extremely important).

Lastly, there is no point in going to the work of making your lenses shiny-new if you don't protect them afterwards.  Afterall, the UV protection has all but diminished, causing them to yellow or craze in the first place.  Anything that was left has just been dumped in a bucket of lubricated water along with your sandpaper.

The most important part of Polycarbonate restoration is the final step - UV protection.  There are many expensive creams which claim to do this, none of which I have found to work (unless you apply it almost daily, and who is going to do that)?  3M (along with others) do a UV resistant clear film, which should last 3-5 years in the UK climate.  The Omega headlamp isn't the worst out there to cover with film, but it's still not a nice job.

For the 'average Joe' I'd recommend using a rattle can of Clear Coat Lacquer (the stuff you would use when painting body panels).  Nothing special is required for this, a simple lacquer from Halfords will do the job just fine.  Obviously, removing the headlights from the car would be advantageous, but a decent masking up doesn't take long.

[MV6Matt]

The Daily Telegraph Cars section suggests that toothpaste is a great headlight cleaner.
Has anyone tried this?

Curiously,
Matthew

[steve6367]

I have undertaken the below on all of mine in the past, but then had to buy a new light for one of the cars and the difference is amazing - you think you have them clear (well I did) until you compare with a brand new unit!

[robson]

I assume that it is not possible to buy replacement lenses.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Not the lenses, no, sadly. To be honest I'd say do what I've done, get 2x spare headlamp units, and refurb on your lap, knowing that if all else fails, there's still a pair of lights on your car. Means no rushing to try and refit a headlamp at 11pm for work 1st thing next day 

[robson]

Agreed I have one spare and must get the other one

[Nick W]

Nice write up on the adjusters, but I disagree with the 'resto' part.

A hand polish using the G3 will not sufficiently get the product up to temperature, and as a result will not 'polish' anything. The lens will look clear, but will 'yellow' very soon afterwards, and be even worse to correct.

Machine polishing when using a cutting compound is extremely important (well, the temperature is extremely important).

Lastly, there is no point in going to the work of making your lenses shiny-new if you don't protect them afterwards.  Afterall, the UV protection has all but diminished, causing them to yellow or craze in the first place.  Anything that was left has just been dumped in a bucket of lubricated water along with your sandpaper.

The most important part of Polycarbonate restoration is the final step - UV protection.  There are many expensive creams which claim to do this, none of which I have found to work (unless you apply it almost daily, and who is going to do that)?  3M (along with others) do a UV resistant clear film, which should last 3-5 years in the UK climate.  The Omega headlamp isn't the worst out there to cover with film, but it's still not a nice job.

For the 'average Joe' I'd recommend using a rattle can of Clear Coat Lacquer (the stuff you would use when painting body panels).  Nothing special is required for this, a simple lacquer from Halfords will do the job just fine.  Obviously, removing the headlights from the car would be advantageous, but a decent masking up doesn't take long.

G3 by hand doesn't polish anything? So why are there are instructions on the container for doing just that? I do have a mop, but for such a small area it simply isn't necessary. Power tools are for speed, efficiency and effectiveness; I don't want to compound a whole car by hand again. I have used this procedure for on lots of lamps, and find that the results are good for several years. Which as far as Omegas are concerned is likely to be their lifetime.


UV degradation/protection. I think the biggest problem with Omega lamps is actually baked-on dirt - you can actually see where the beam pattern does this - which is why a big improvement is so easily achieved. A look at other lamps shows different symptoms; the more horizontal surfaces on Focus or Vectra(for example) lamps usually show lots of little cracks which are more likely to be caused by UV, and aren't repairable. Although improvements are achievable.


Lacquer. I've not found any need for it. Nor am I convinced that applying it to an already polished surface is a recipe for durability. Occasional application of a good quality polish works for me; I use the same stuff on the whole car.


New lamps. For a high spec facelift you are going to have to compromise somewhere. I'd rather save the money and refurbish what I have. Everybody has different preferences.


Toothpaste. It's an extremely fine abrasive, which is probably its least important attribute. Try it repeatedly on a tiny area like a watch crystal, and you'll probably be pleased with the results. A larger surface like a headlamp will be a project you'll wish you had never started. I recently refinished 3 years worth of scratches on the only one of my watches with an acrylic crystal with G3 in a few seconds.