Headlight Restoration

[flb_78]

I bought a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis 2 weeks ago and the headlights were horrible on it. I priced new ones and about choked. I saw Walmart did a headlight restoration for $40. I found out it's just a 3M kit that anyone can buy for $20 at AutoZone, Oreilly's,Napa, or Advance Auto. I tried the Meguiar's PlastX and spent an hour polishing them by hand. They looked better but they were still cloudy. I broke down and bought the 3M kit this morning after watching some youtube videos on headlight restoration. This kit works great. My headlights are crystal clear like new. If you have yellow, foggy, or cloudy headlights, this is a MUST!! You don't need the kit to do this. If you have very fine sandpaper (2000 grit or finer), then you could do this yourself by hand. I had no sandpaper nor do I have a polishing pad so the kit was more economical for me.

The kit comes with 2 different sanding discs, a 3000 grit sanding pad, a polishing pad, an arbor and Velcro pad to attach the sanding discs and pad to, and some 3M plastic polish.

You start out with an 800 grit paper and completely sand the headlight until the entire lens is a uniform texture.
Next, sand it with a 2000 grit paper until all the there is a finer uniform texture.
Then, use the 3000 grit sanding pad and water to sand all the scratches out of it.
Finally, use the polishing pad and plastic polish to bring the headlight to crystal clear shine.

Be very careful to keep the sanding discs clean. I apparently had something on one of my discs and now have some tiny little swirlly scratches in my left headlight. I can only see them at certain angles and I can feel them with my fingernail. I could probably sand the lens down some more and polish it out, but I'm very happy with the current results. I also removed three molded tits off the headlight lens. I took a rotary tool and ground them down flush and the 3M kit polished them out smooth.

[flb_78]

Here's 3M's marketing video if you'd like to see this kit in action.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=_t1RBw0IGXA[/youtube]

[ELB]

Very timely and relevant post for me. I was just noticing the other day that the headlight lens covers on my 2000 Crown Vic are pretty cloudy...

[Rokyudai]

I used the 3M kit on my 2000 Toyota Celica headlight lenses. They are contoured, so, at times it was a bit of a challenge. I read a few reviews online and watched a few youtube videos before attempting. What I found most common among the commenters was to keep the speed of the drill constant, keep the pressure lighter and gradually apply pressure rather than bearing into it (this can actually 'burn' the plastic of the lens causing it to morph or discolor permanently-remember we are talking a very thin layer of haze for most of us), and to keep the pad/drill moving (which is also an attempt to keep the heat caused by friction to a minimum.

Honestly, after using the first grit pad of the process on my car's lenses, I though my goose was cooked! They do end up being opaque for a period in the process until you start using the wet pad (which is almost like a slurry when using it). Stick with it. It gets better.

It took me a few hours. I'm sure some can do it in less time but you do not want to rush it. If you do find some circles or missed haze afterwards, you should repeat the process from the previous step. If it doesn't work, go one step back and then proceed forward to the next grit level, rather than 'guess' what grit will remove it. It's logical. The finer the grit for the finer the scratch.

Tips: You may notice that some of the lens plastic and/or residue builds up on the pads and can make them less effective while sanding. I would periodically stop (try to stop after completing a line across the lens rather in the middle) and blow/tap the debris off both pad and lens. The kit recommends you wear a mask. If you have an air tank, then use that. A good swift, fanning with a piece of cardboard works too. No sense inhaling that junk.

I never thought to write about this here. I wish I would have taken pictures before selling that car (just sold it last Saturday).

I hope this helps too.

Rok

[ELB]

Very timely and relevant post for me. I was just noticing the other day that the headlight lens covers on my 2000 Crown Vic are pretty cloudy...

OK, so I got busy and did some looking around. Popular Mechanics ran a test on five products, one being the 3M kit in the OP. It got 4.5 stars and requires a drill. The top ranked one with 5 stars was Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit. All elbow grease, no drills.

I got it at Amazon Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit for $19.71. Got great reviews on Amazon as well.

Took me about an hour including gathering materials (only thing not included is water and some paper towels) and WORKED LIKE A CHAMP!

The lenses look great! very clear and shiny. Well worth the $20 and an hour's time.

There are three little studs or protruberances on the lense, some artifact of the manufacturing process I guess, and I don't think the drill would have worked well around them, and it didn't take all that much to sand by hand anyway.

Recommended.

[Keith B]

The only thing you have to look at is if your headlights are far enough gone that they have small fractures in the plastic that extend all the way through the headlight kits will not fix those. You have to be able to remove enough of the weathered plastic by polishing it to be able to get back to a layer of clear plastic. I have used several different kits, including the Meguiar's and 3M. The one that actually worked easiest for me was a kit from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/12-minute- ... 65938.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jimlongley]

"You have to put your trust in the force, Luke"

I have the Rain-x kit sitting on my table ready for me to stop procrastinating.

[wheelgun1958]

Micro-Mesh kits have been polishing aircraft windshields for decades. Similar idea.

[FL450]

I am ready to do mine so have been reading up on polishing. The only other tip I read is when finished to spray with clearcoat paint to protect from UV to prevent having to redo in 6 months or a year.

[Dragonfighter]

I am ready to do mine so have been reading up on polishing. The only other tip I read is when finished to spray with clearcoat paint to protect from UV to prevent having to redo in 6 months or a year.

Oh that's good. Hadn't heard that before. Is there a type of clearcoat, like Krylon enamel or similar?

[ELB]

I am ready to do mine so have been reading up on polishing. The only other tip I read is when finished to spray with clearcoat paint to protect from UV to prevent having to redo in 6 months or a year.

The last step of the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit is to put on a coat of UV protection (included in the kit). It is also the step that brings out the clarity in the lense. All the sanding and polishing before that step leaves the lense slightly cloudy looking (instructions say this is normal), but after the UV protection coat went on, it came out crystal clear.

Unfortunately, now that it's crystal clear, I can see some fine dirt that has worked its way into the headlight assembly and is laying on the bottom of it.

[Keith B]

The real key to this is not letting them get too bad before cleaning them. The longer they go the more chance there will be damage that is irreparable.