Headlight Restoration - From cloudy to clear!

My wife's car and mine both needed their headlights resurfaced. The point where I have to ask whether the lights are on or not is a dead give away that something has to be done. Not to mention that it is a safety issue not to have headlights that properly illuminate at night, especially if you have less than perfect eye sight.

I looked into just replacing all 4 lamp covers - on my wife's Jetta and my Rx8 - the total came to nearly $2,800.00!! One headlight cluster alone on my car is $935.00!! Its a few hundred dollars less for a used one ($750.00)- but still even $100 for both cars is way too much!

I bought the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System and got to work!

The only other tools that you're going to need in addition to the polishing kit is a water bottle, for the wet sanding (step 5), a drill (1200-1600 RPM) - common cordless is fine, a fine rag and masking tape.

The whole process takes about 15 minutes per headlight or about 45 minutes per car (The Jetta took a bit longer since it was an older car, with more of a haze.).

The Jetta before and after...

The "8" before and after...

Step 1 - Wash

You could either tape or wash first, I opted to tape. But, you're going to need to wash the headlight first so that you don't grind the dirt into the lens. Not a good thing!

Step 2 - Tape

Tape off the headlight to protect the surrounding paint from the sanding process. The pad WILL overlap onto the paint. You WILL need this extra protection. The idea is you'll sand the tape and not the paint, but you still have to be careful, because the tape is easily worn away, quickly.

Step 3 - Sand

Now the scary part. It took me a good three minutes to get the courage to actually "sand" my car.

Using the 500 grit sand paper in the kit (yellow pad). Sand the lens evenly with LIGHT pressure at a constant slow speed, being careful not to stay in one place for any longer than a second...YOU WILL BURN THE LENS. The final result should be an even white haze on the lens. (left) Wipe the dust off and proceed to the next step.

Step 4 - Sand More!

Same as the 500 grit sanding, use the 800 grit sanding circle (white pad with purple writing on the back). Again, using a slow constant and light motion sand the lens. You'll want to pass over the entire lens about 5-7 times, making sure to get the 500 grit marks to 800 grit marks. The final result should be a more opaque white haze on the lens (left - you can also see a comparison of what the lens looked like before.) White the dust of and proceed to the next step.

Step 5 - Sand Again!

This is when we start to see some results. This is also my first time "wet sanding."

Take the spray bottle and spray to cover the lens and 3000 grit round pad (gray pad) with water. Using the same slow motion, continue sanding the lens. You should, start to see a white chalky mud coming from the lens and pad. This is a good thing. After you see this film in a relatively high density, continue sanding the lens for about 5 complete passes...the more sanding you do here, the "deeper" the shine in the next step.

Step 6 - Polish

(Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this step) Using the orange foam pad included in the kit, evenly polish the lens.

To do so, place a "dime size" dollop of headlight polishing compound on the foam pad, and before turning the drill on, spread the compound over the lens evenly. Once spread, continue to polish the lens as in previous steps - in a slow constant motion. Each dime size portion is good enough for 3-4 complete passes. After the 4th pass, remove the polish film with a towel, inspect and repeat if necessary.

Step 7 - Done!

wash the area again with soap and water, sit back and admire your work!

I found the following video on Youtube and was inspired to try it myself (famous last words...jk). I used to watch this show all the time - "Two Guys Garage."