My 2011 X351 has developed what look like (but probably aren't) salt stains on the inside of the headlamp glass. Has anyone else experiemced this and if so have you found a way of getting inside the glass to clean it?

Showing the marks on the inside of the headlamp

 

It's not glass it's plastic. It's the decay of the plastic because of UV exposure. It's returning to the elements from whence it came!
Common on most any car these days too.

Now there are a TON of polishing kits out there and with a bit of work I bet you can get them sparkling! This will require sanding and buffing the plastic until it's clear. After doing this you will have removed all the UV resistant coating so be sure and either clear coat the head lamp afterwards or put some plastic film over them like XPEL or something similar. Otherwise they will cloud up again and your right back to sanding and polishing.

I would redo the outside first because I doubt any of that is inside. If it is I see no way to remove it by polishing?
Plus it's really satisfying when you do cut and buff them as they will look brand new.
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Thank you for that response, which gave me two surprises:
1 I had no idea they are plastic
2 I was convinced the marks are in the inside as they feel smooth to the touch.

I will go out and look more closely in the morning.

 

I just did our headlights last weekend with the Cerakote headlight kit.
https://cerakoteceramics.com/cerakot...storation-kit/

It's amazing how well these kits work, and how new the headlight lens looks after using it.
I used the Sylvania headlight kit the first time I did them - maybe 18 months ago, but it began to cloud up again recently.
But the sanding/buffing part of the job doesn't result in the clear headlights - it gets cloudier until applying all the polishing is done and the coating "wipe" of the kit is applied. That applies the surface coating that clarifies the headlight.
And in the Cerakpote case, it claims to last longer. BUT I do plan (maybe) to apply some sort of protectant for the polycarbonate (fancy plastic) lens.
I've been planning on upgrading the 2012-style headlights to the newer style for a couple thousand $$. But each of the 2 times I spent $10 or $15 for a headlight repair kit and they look like new after the simple taask, that idea goes out the window.

 

Brilliant (ha ha). I have just ordered the kit. Many thanks

 

I think, the best solution is to replace new cover. I recommend purchasing a cover from Ali. I replaced the cover of my damaged headlamp, and I’m very very very satisfied,

(It's mine)

 

That is exactly what I want to do! I have the replacement lenses saved on Aliexpress. Only reason I haven't ordered them is I'm not sure what is involved in removing the old ones. He didn't really show the process in the video.

Did you have to bake the lights to soften the adhesive?
Thats what I had to do on my old car.

 

Here is a good example video. Very similar.

 

Thank you! I see now that there are other threads exploring the use of replacement covers. It looks to be a good solution for those confident enough to tackle it. I may try it f I don’t get a satisfactory result with the polishing route. However, if I go that way, I think I will try and buy a used headlamp unit to try it out on just in case it goes wrong!

 

not being a do it yourselfer, I took my 2012 Jag xjl to the local car detail shop that had a special for $99 to clean and polish the covers. For $99 ,they were able to
get all the outside issues totally cleared up, making it look like new, except for two barely noticeable inside discoloration. Well worth the $99
GPK

 

Yes the baking method it what I have used in the past BUT these late model lights are a whole nother ball game!
So far we have had one guy on the F-Type forum do it. That's it as far as I have found.

Now it took 20-30 minutes at 220F-250F. He also mentioned that at those temperatures the entire housing was now soft so don't get too rough and the adhesive is still stuck pretty good. He has NOT posted back on how he re-attached them and how easy or hard that was. Another poster mentioned the extreme care required to accurately get the lens back on so the body lines look right.

The video's above are of no use because it's not a Jaguar or an XJ. Can anyone post an ACTUAL XJ headlight being taken apart and successfully reassembled?
I have seen these replacement lenses for a while now but all I can get from the vendor is a bunch of hand waving about dealer or professional installation.
What ever that is!
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I tired to replace the lens on my XJR as it took a shackle to it at freeways speeds and had a hole in it. My headlights have the adaptive lighting that moves so I tried a heat gun instead of the oven.

After hours of trying. Heating and prying I gave up. I couldn’t get it to budge and wasn’t willing, at the time, to risk the damage.

I ended up having to pay almost $1,000 for a USED adaptive lighting on EvilBay.

Then I smashed the old lens off and tried picking the glue out and got bored, tossed it in the trash. Hats off to Jaguar. They make a robust headlight assembly - in my very limited experience.

 

This is EXACTLY what I have read before. Another thread had the guy cutting the lens off with a power tool! He never did show how to cover up that mess.
Someone will figure this out we just have not seen it yet.
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If & when the headlight repair kits stop working I'll spend the $$$ to update to the new headlight assemblies, but until then I'm okay with spending $15 +/- and about a half hour every couple years to polish them to as-new condition. It's worked fine so far.
I probably would do better to apply a protective UV film on them to make it last longer.

 

Well, I have cleaned them up using the Cerakote product recommended above and ........ WOW! Fantastic result. I was very sceptical right up until I put the final coat on but then couldn't believe how good they look. See photos below for before and after. I should admit though, I did have to do it twice. With the front of the car under cover as it was raining , as recommended in the instructions I lifted the bonnet to be able to get to the top of the headlamp glass and did the job with the bonnet up. Proud as punch, when finished I dropped the bonnet only for water to run down over my newly cleaned glass. The instructions are clear that it must be kept dry for an hour afterwards. I tried to mop it up but it just smeared so I did an abbreviated version of the process again. Luckily, there are enough pads etc to do two cars or to do the same car again if needed!

 

Nice work and thanks for following up with the thread.

 

Looks very nice after the sanding working! Keep it up. I am using a transparent PPF (which is scratched in some areas) but it does protect the original clear plastic underneath.