Polishing headlights on a Mercedes CLS

Vehicle is a 2013 Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake. Full LED headlights are nice but have a lot of wear from use. No major damage, just stone chips that make the lights look really old and dull.

This is an easy and cheap fix, but requires a little work. Wet sanded both headlights first with 600, then 1500 and finally with 2000 grit. Make sure to alternate the direction you sand; e.g. first horizontally, then vertically. This will help minimize the marks from sanding. The end result should be a milky white even but dull finish.

The next step is to polish. You can do this by hand, but it will take some time. An orbital polisher is highly effective here. I used a heavier cutting compound and wool pad first to remove sanding marks, then a polishing compound and a finishing pad to bring the shine back. Finally it's important to protect the surface from damage. Used the sealing compound from a Philips Headlight Restore pack that I had laying around. Below is the after image.

The difference is pretty substantial. Time 2-3 hours, cost next to nothing (with sanding and polishing gear and materials already on the shelf).