It’s time to restore some headlight lenses. Now, I could take my car to a detail shop and have it done for $90 or so. Or, I could buy a kit for $25 to $75 and do it myself, and do more than one vehicle. The thing of it is, there are a lot of options at amazon, and they ‘all’ seem to have great reviews.
Any recommendations?
I bought a Meguiar’s kit from my local auto shop, it was about $25 and includes a buffer pad for my drill and a bottle of polishing compound. It works well (my truck is 18 years old) and is easy to use, squirt some polish on the pad, use a drill to polish the headlights for a few minutes, buff it off with a lint-free cloth and it makes a noticeable improvement. My headlights don’t look absolutely crystal clear but it’s quite good, easy to do, cheap and the kit will do several jobs on both of our cars.
If the detail shop guarantees clear lenses for $90, I’d let them do it.
I’ve tried a couple lens restoration products (3M’s kit and something (I think) from Novus) and the recurring theme was “MESSY!” 3M’s kit included the drill buffer pad, which sprays stuff in all directions, including onto you. The Novus worked with much more elbow grease. Either way, you’ll want to do the polishing immediately before washing the car so you can wash off any stray specks of polishing compound.
I’ve tried cheapie and expensive kits and none of them really worked.
Consider having a detailer who guarantees results do it for ya.
Every now and then, outside the local supermarket, is some guy with an EZ-Up tent and a lawnchair who will do them for $30.
Never tried. Never needed. The only car with lights that could possibly benefit is the big-ass BMW, and if its lights were any brighter, I’d need to wear shades. Truly astounding lights!
Checking on the thread to get “real world” reviews from trusty Dopers.
I believe you have to keep doing it, at increasingly frequent intervals, although the results look impressive the first time… For many (or most) cars, you can replace the whole headlight assembly for less than a hundred bucks each. Otherwise, use white non-gel toothpaste and do it yourself in a half an hour for pennies.
This guy’s video on YouTube gives a pretty good and honest demonstration of what it takes to do it yourself (and he doesn’t bother with kits, just some cheap auto-body supplies). It isn’t impossible, but it isn’t super-simple or easy either. Basically you have to wet sand them with progressively finer grit sandpaper, clean them, and paint them with clear UV protectant. Consequently the kits are a waste of time (and money). $90 for both headlights is a decent deal (if they guarantee them for at least a year).
IME, most headlights that need “restoring” have dirt and moisture on the inside of the lens because the bulb-replacement cap wasn’t reinstalled properly.
This. You can get some improvement using inexpensive polish, but you’ll never get them fully restored without buying new ones or paying that much anyway.
I used the Sylvania restoration kit and it worked like a charm.
You have to take the time to properly wet sand the lenses. It does take patience, elbow grease, and a full 30 minutes per lens for prep if you want great results. It’s been a year since I did my lenses and they still look brilliant.
Price new ones before you waste time and effort on polishing the existing ones. I bought headlights for a friend’s 2003 Sentra for ~$70 and it almost looks like a new car now.
I’ve done this a few times, with very different results. Used the 3M kit on the flat headlights of my 1998 Grand Cherokee, and they came out perfect. Once they are polished, they can be protected by applying a plastic protection designed for clear lenses, such as one of the products by Novus. Tried to do the same on my old Porsche Boxster, and did not come out nearly as well. I think something different about the actual plastic used by the manufacturer.
It is a giant mess, and now I would be really tempted to get a pro to do it. Someone who does this multiple times a day is going to be better at it than I am. I don’t mind paying a reasonanle price for expertise.
Also, in regards to whether polishing the outside of the headlight is even effective, which Really Not All That Bright brought up, is a viewpoint I would challenge. In both of the above cases, the Jeep and the Porsche, the inside of the headlight was perfect, it was the clouding on the outside of the lens from UV damage that was the issue.
While I’m being contrary, I will also say that the OEM headlights are usually of a much better quality in overall construction than aftermarket copies. The reason I wound up polishing the Jeep headlights was that I bought a set of replacements from an online seller. The mounting tabs were weak, and the headlight did not line up with the mounting points exactly. In trying to tweak it to the right position, I was putting stress on the mounting tabs, and they were opn the verge of breaking. I sent them back for a refund, and polished my OEMs. They were still looking good when I sold the Jeep 2 years later.
The headlights on my old 2003 Saturn were very hazed. Last year I used the 3M kit and a hand drill, and now they look like new.
I used Turtle wax’s Headlight Cleaner and Sealer on my 2002 Santa Fe around 8 months ago.
Today, I decided that they needed a touch-up, and in 30 seconds they were back to crystal clear.
I’m happy with it.