I noticed when Greenie arrived that both sideview mirrors were in the retracted position (i.e. folded toward the rear of the car), which is not uncommon when transporting a Jag to protect them from getting hit. However, after popping them both back into place, I was shocked to see the mirror glass in both assemblies appeared to be badly fogged or something. 
At first I figured maybe someone tried to clean them with something that left a bad residue on the glass. Iāve tried using all kinds of glass cleaners, but nothing seems to affect it. 
Never seen mirror glass like that before in any of my Jags. Did the '95 MY X-300s have some kind of flaw in them that might have caused it? 
Strange that they would both suffer that same malady and to the same degree. 
I did wonder if using one of those āheadlight clearingā products (i.e. with the gritty paste + fine grit sandpaper) might remove the fog/haze. I guess it canāt hurt to try it, and, if not, Iāll either need to get new mirror glasses from a salvage yard or those aftermarket pre-cut ones that adhere to the old glass surface with double-sided tape. I donāt dare try to drive her until I can see clearly on both sides. 
btw, if the X-300 mirror glass is like it is on the XJ40s, I believe you can take a wooden tongue depressor or large popsicle stick and, inserting them under the edges of the glass piece, carefully pop it out. IIRC, it is a āball and socketā arrangement under there. Is that correct?
A) are you sure they are glass?
B) if they are glass then I should think trying the H/L cleaners might work.
C) yes I think they do just pop off but have never done it on any of my cars.
Just talked to the seller ā¦ He says they were fine when the car went out, which really makes for a mystery. 
He said even a tiny crack in the mirror glass can cause āfoggingā like that, but I havenāt found any on either of them (and, again, odd that they would both go bad at the same time). I think Iāll try the āpoor manās headlight clearerā (i.e. a swipe of acetone 
) on them, and see what happens. Looks like Iām correct, though, according to him, as to how the mirror glasses are removed when necessary.
Gāday Paul,
I canāt help you with the fogginess of your mirrors but the mirror glass can be separated from the motor drive underneath by using a tongue depressor or as I have done use a small scraper between the inner edge of the mirror and the mirror frame and easing the mirror outboard a little where it should release with minimal effort.
It just clips back into place.
It is a spring loaded mount though not a ball and socket.
You donāt need to remove the mirror from the door to do this.
Cheers,
Jeff.
Very helpful ā¦ thanks for posting that info. and pic, Jeff ā¦ 
Itās probably coated on the outside and any āpolishā will scratch it up further. Replace.
The problem Iām running into there is that no one seems to want to sell their (used) mirror glass pieces only - if the glass is good, they want to sell the full assemblies (which makes sense, I guess) ā¦ The āstick overā aftermarket glass pieces - I donāt know if the mirror heater function will work with those kind of pieces ā¦ my hunch is that it will only work on the OEM piece and not on the overlay piece. No big deal with summer coming up, but with next winter, different story ā¦
Gday Paul,
You would think that if you stuck a good mirror on top of your foggy ones then when the heater was on then it would eventually warm up by conduction. The ambient temp has to be below 50degF and speed over 30 mph for the heat to come on.
Cheers,
Jeff.
Ah, I always wondered when the heating element was triggered (automatically) in the mirrors ā¦ same thing for the āheated jetsā for the WW washers and the headlamp washers.
Check with Safelite Auto about getting a replacement glass for each mirror - I had to get a replacement glass for my wifeās 2003 VW Beetle and it was no problem getting it - Tex.
Wow, whatās the point? They hardly use any power and you want them in the morning mostly?
Interesting ā¦ I never had any idea they carried mirror glasses ā¦ Curious as to how much it was, TexTerry?
Had a deer collide with the VW, on the driverās side front quarter - damaged the windshield and the mirror glass (but not the mirror housing) on the driverās side - they replaced the windshield and the mirror for me I will check and see what the mirror glass did costs - if you give your local Safelite Auto a call, and provide them with your vehicle year, make, model and VIN, they would be able to look up the replacement for you - Tex.
Will do. Actually, our local S.F. shop closed up many years ago (I was under the assumption the chain itself may have gone out of biz., as I had not seen their nifty T.V. ads n in quite awhile ). However, not long after the start of the Pandemic (ironically) they had a shop back up and running here. 
I am curious to see what kind of prices they are charging these days, as back with the old shop their (cash) prices $$$ were ridiculous, 
IMHO, and in fact, I wondered if that what might have led to their closing ā¦
I realize that a lot of shops are run as a franchise so this may be why the difference in many areas - I know that the Safelite auto in my town has been very knowledgeable, very competitive in pricing, and very customer orientated - I was able to assist āDave the Limeyā in acquiring a windscreen for his car from the Safelite Auto shop here in my town, whereas the shop close to him had told him that they could not help him - this is why I suggested that you at least ask and see if they might be able to assist you - Tex.