Gave my headlights a second life!

I have been having issues with my headlights on my Baleno for over a year now. It all started over a year ago when I was replacing a fused headlamp bulb on the right side. I had not put the rubber seal or boot back properly and it dropped off, while the other side was getting dull with use. This now started allowing the dust to enter in and the reflectors started getting weaker and weaker. I tried all kinda bulbs but none gave me a good view of the road, also not to forget that I have tints on the windscreen which already hampers my view. My car was also looking bad as the headlights were faded. On many of my recent vists to JC road, I always passed by the this shop where this guy gives the lights a new lease of life. He is the only guy on JC road, who opens the lens of the lights, cleans them and buffs them. The only thing that was holding me back was removing the lights and taking them to him. Two weeks back I went to him again and he said that he could arrange for a mechanic to remove them for me, provided I pay for the labour which I agreed to as he was only charging me 100 bucks! However I told him that I will come the following weekend as I was busy. Got some time this Sunday that went by, and went to him at 12:45. The mech removed the headlamps in about 20 minutes, and here is where the actual process begins. He first removes the screws from the headlamps and the bulbs. The he heats the sealed area on the light with a kerosene splinter, this is done to melt the silicon gum that hold the head lamp and the lens. Once opened he wipes the reflector with a waste cloth no water is applied on the reflector for obvious reasons. While the owner is doing this his, workers are cleaning the lens with a scrub pad like the one used at home for vessals (read scotch brite type :p) and the local steel wool and some soap. This actually scratches the glass all the more. I was zapped but the owner said that i will all get cleaned off as the lens will be buffed. After the cleaning the buffing is done and all the haziness is removed and the silicon is heated again and the lens is put back in place which gets sealed again once cooled. The pic below will give a better explanation. I still haven't figured how you write a line or two below or after a pic to explain the pic, any help in this regards is welcomed! For the time being, the first pic is of the headlight before the work started. 2 & 3 is of the lens being cleaned, 4 & 5 pics are after the cleaning. All the other pics are of the final product. I must say the visibility has improved by more than 75% and trust me thats huge in my case. 1 big mistake I made here is I did not take the pic of the driver side headlamp as that would have given you all a perfect idea of what you can expect. Oh, and the last pic if u look at the top u can see a few small blisters, these are something that this guy was referring to as air crack I guess. He said that this will not go, though not visible in the day, they can be easily noticed at night when lights are ON! Lastly, since he was anyways opening the headlamp, I did one small keeda, and asked him to remove the orange lens, as I always wanted to have white bulbs for the indicators. Something different!! lol: oops, I forgot the million $$ "kitna liya question." - Well, he charged me 1500 for the buffing, 100 fitting and 70 for the rubber boot. I felt it was worth the money considering a SGP headlight costs around 5k for a single unit. I think I can use them for atleast 12-15 months minimum!! PS: I will be going to him this Sunday again as my brother wants to get his Santro done too. For the Santro he said that he has the lens available, claims its the original Lumax product. Said it will be 850 with labour, so lets see! Attached Images      &n! bsp;

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