3M Headlight Restore Kit review w/pics..

[gabbygenier]

been wanting to do this for a while now. someone posted a thread about the meguires kit. i tried that and it failed. im sure you can see y haha. used it on mazdabaetty's car and it worked good, but her lights were in good shape compared to mine.

so here are the pics. the pass side isnt as good but if you look at the shape of it from before its amazing. im very happy with the results. 10$ and 2 hours of work, includint taking the bumper off and putting it back on.

cant wait to go for a drive tonight to see what diff it made

before.
driver side
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/b47a9a68.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/65a99e1c.jpg

pass side
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/5f4ed117.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/96e4e77f.jpg

during
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/be776e18.jpg


after
driver side
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/85024a8c.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/6f253555.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/373b7fff.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/f927a5f1.jpg

pass side.
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r418/gabbygenier/25951c9f.jpg

[Takumi616]

looks amazing, i want to do mine as well just lazy.... did ou use a power drill to buff?

[speed77]

+1 on the 3M Headlight restoration kit. I used one on my dad's minivan. The headlights were so bad you could hardly see the bulbs inside. I took the lights right out of the grill and put them in a vise while working on them. The kit is super easy to use, comes with everything you need, and the results were awesome! The lights look brand new now, I really couldn't believe how well it worked.

[m_a_t_r_i_x]

i used the same product, it works for awhile but after a month or so they look hazy again.

[Souls]

good post, great to see a product that actually works as intended!

[m3rk]

Really great product if you want to save money instead of buying replacements

[Default User]

I will endorse the 3M kit also

Here's my Before and After pics

http://tapatalk.com/mu/4ac609fd-9472-cd76.jpg
http://tapatalk.com/mu/4ac609fd-9487-5027.jpg

[gabbygenier]

looks amazing, i want to do mine as well just lazy.... did ou use a power drill to buff?

just a cordless drill. as posted. kit comes with the adapter to put on the drill and everything is just velcro onto that.


i used the same product, it works for awhile but after a month or so they look hazy again.

i guess we will find out. worst come to worst, rebuff it every few months. still cheaper then getting new headlights.

[STeeLy]

I gotta do my WRX headlights soon. They're not as bad as Gab's, but it's getting there.

[Takumi616]

maybe i'll do this project after winter :chuckle

[Darkfrosty7]

i know what im doing next week now... lol

[Shen]

This kit is on sale this week at CT
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444331 6230&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672077&bmUID=1315763306144

[gabbygenier]

so its been over a month now. washed the car last night and the headlights still look just like they did when i did it.

also, the kits on sale this week for 20$ at CT

[mazdabetty]

:like

[BMWWW]

My personal recommendation after wet-sanding it once: Go and buy Duragloss's Plastic Polish. If you wetsand too many times, you remove some *insert technical term here* UV protection or something, and the 'haze' will return progressively over a few months.

The key, if you've only wetsanded once to remove the largest imperfections, is to minimize the abrasiveness of all following remedies. The duragloss product has very little 'grit', and is the least abrasive cure to haze that I've found. Cheap, and takes less than 5 minutes for both headlights (2001 civic) via a rotary.

I'm getting a clear film installed (hopefully next week), and I"ll report back on its long term effectiveness.

[gabbygenier]

i was thinking of getting clear film for them. but then again, my car has 215 000+ kms, so its not cause the headlights were bad parts, just used. my front bumper used to look like them. sandblasted to shit. that got repainted, fixed the headlights. now only have to replace the windshield. i think my ex used to follow ppl closely when she drove :flaming

i have the meguires 3m kit and i was thinking of just polishing them with that every once in a while to keep them good. not much i can do about rock chips though.

[FreshTHREE]

Looks good but still not the best way. One, there's no need to remove the entire bumper. 2. 2 hours is way to much time spent. Here's how I do it at the shop I work with.

1. Tape edges (depending on vehicle) if edge is too difficult to work around then just slide bumper forward and down.
2. Water sand headlights with 3M 2000 grit paper.
3. Finish in 3M 3000 grit paper.
4. Wool pad with g3 farècla polish
5. G-Mop sponge pad with G3
6. Finish in g10 farècla finishing compound
7. Then I add my little trade secret stuff and wham! Brand new


Usually takes me half hour for this entire process.

[mazdabetty]

One, there's no need to remove the entire bumper. 2. 2 hours is way to much time spent.

One, the inner corners are impossible to get to without taking the bumper off. Two, the pictures do no justice as to how bad his headlights really were. 2 hours were much needed for this particular case lol

[gabbygenier]

Also if you read the thread, i had the bumper off already since i had to fix my horns. so no extra work really.

and like mazdabetty said. the inner corners are impossible to get to with the drill since the pad holder is round. and also that way i dont have to worry about accidentally damaging my 1 month old painted bumper cause i went too close.

[FreshTHREE]

Well I've been doing this since I was 18. Experience is a major factor here. I've done it plenty of times with my 05 gt. Dealer thought they were brand new after I returned it back for the lease. I've done it more than 3848383873 times. I have over $2600 in just pads and different compounds. I'm not saying why you did was a waste of time because it wasn't. There's just an easier way in doing it and the overall product looks spectacular. But like I said, it looks great. Goodjob :)

[FreshTHREE]

Ignore my advertisement as I am still new here and didn't not know about the whole sponsorship thing. Extremely sorry for this. :(

[cwp_sedan]

Ignore my advertisement as I am still new here and didn't not know about the whole sponsorship thing. Extremely sorry for this. :(

Not at all. The information that you provided is useful. We appreciate anything that can help members out with their rides. :)

[gabbygenier]

oh come on Ryan. he said he'd some to Ottawa to do it for 20$. that's a sweet deal haha

i guess its like anything else, experience matters. there may be easier ways but i try and take care of my baby, well second baby :P.
first time for me and im very happy with the turnout. it was worth the time. :)

[cwp_sedan]

Here's a pic of a quick job my brother did on his headlights (Grand Prix GTP). They could be better but he didn't spend a lot of time on them. He'll probably touch them up more another time but they are 100x better than they were. This kit is great for $20 (on sale).

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/296415_10150414579002642_514492641_10595994_816365 421_n.jpg

[gabbygenier]

Here's a pic of a quick job my brother did on his headlights (Grand Prix GTP). They could be better but he didn't spend a lot of time on them. He'll probably touch them up more another time but they are 100x better than they were. This kit is great for $20 (on sale).

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/296415_10150414579002642_514492641_10595994_816365 421_n.jpg

:like

looks way better then before.

[gabbygenier]

update for those who are wondering. i have not touched my headlights at all in a year and they still look awesome. need a bit of buffing (mark on one from the body shop) but they didnt haze or go yellow after a year.

[Pacman]

update for those who are wondering. i have not touched my headlights at all in a year and they still look awesome. need a bit of buffing (mark on one from the body shop) but they didnt haze or go yellow after a year.

thanks for hte update!