I have quite a few e-mails asking how to get rid of the lacquer line from a Gen 3 or 3.5 headlight. The headlights seem prone to this lacquer wear almost always at the top of the headlight where the elements and road salt have taken there toll.

Firstly it’s probably best to remove the light from the car. Place the light on a work surface and clean off all the dead flies and road gunge. Wipe the light so that the lacquer line is clearly visible.



Take some very fine wet and dry paper (W+D) 1200 to 2000 grit and using a water sprayer wet the light along the lacquer line, using the W+D paper gently rub along the lacquer line using a small circular motion, rubbing about a 30-40mm area.

The lacquer line should begin to disappear and fade into the lens. Keep rubbing at it until there’s no visible sign of the line.


Once you’re happy that the surface is smooth and the line is blended into the lens apply some T’Cut to the area that’s been flattened down with the W+D be generous with it.


You’ll then need a polishing attachment for your drill these are quite cheap and can be bought for about £3-£4.


Moisten the attachment with water (not too much) and switch the drill on to expel the excess water. Apply T’Cut to the attachment and switch on the drill rubbing the polishing head gently along the area of the light that’s been W+D’d do a small area at a time keeping the polishing head moving. DO NOT ALLOW THE POLISHING HEAD TO DRY! If it starts to dry out add a little more T’Cut and spry the lens with a small amount of water.


Polish off the T’Cut to see if the lens is scratch free, if it’s still a little dull repeat using more T’Cut on the polishing head.

Once you’re satisfied that the lacquer line is gone and the lens is highly polished again polish the lens by hand using a good quality car wax (what you normally use on your coupe should be good enough) and hey presto job done. Each light should take about 30 mins but the more time you spend on it the better the result will be.

Great write up Albert ... seems this is a very common problem i've made it a sticky ... thanks mate

No probs mate anything to help, it really is a common problem now (every set I get to de-amber have the same problem) but i suppose it's inevitable with the lights being plastic, the newest set out there are at least 4 and a half years old now. The only other advise I'd give to anyone who's got some warranty left is try to get them changed through the warranty.

If anyone has acess to a good buffing maching and polishing paste could probably do the job in about 10 mins but the DIY was a cheap and readily available option for most people.

Not really, but I use original T'cut which is just a biege colour not the colour cut variant

Another top writeup

i'll remember this one.....