3M Headlight Restoration success
03-18-2011, 02:13 PM
#1
3M Headlight Restoration success
I had the usual yellow glaze hazy headlights on my 98; I do not have pictures of those though. So, I decided to buy the Meguiar's headlight restoration kit. They worked pretty well, almost like brand new OEM headlights. Right after, I made a rookie mistake and sprayed clear coat on one of the headlights not really looking into the type of clear coat I sprayed 
.
It hazed up the headlight pretty bad and I was quite angry with myself. My buddy gave me a tip to wet sand them using his sandpaper. I ended up getting the clearcoat off but my lens still look scratched because the sand paper was used. Here is how the lens looked with sandpaper scratches from a 600 grit I believe? Tried to polish them with a polishing bit, no dice.
Instead of buying new sandpaper, I just went ahead and bought the 3M headlight restoration kit that had 10? pieces of 3M sandpaper including a pad I could wet sand.
Not the best picture to show the clarity of the headlights, I'll get some more.
Tails are next!
.It hazed up the headlight pretty bad and I was quite angry with myself. My buddy gave me a tip to wet sand them using his sandpaper. I ended up getting the clearcoat off but my lens still look scratched because the sand paper was used. Here is how the lens looked with sandpaper scratches from a 600 grit I believe? Tried to polish them with a polishing bit, no dice.
Instead of buying new sandpaper, I just went ahead and bought the 3M headlight restoration kit that had 10? pieces of 3M sandpaper including a pad I could wet sand.
Not the best picture to show the clarity of the headlights, I'll get some more.
Tails are next!
03-19-2011, 03:45 AM
#4
I used the exact same kit for my 96 i30 and the kit was awesome. I think i do have to before and after pics i can also show up. may not be the best since i have all those alignment things on the headlights not the clear headlights. I used this on like 4 different cars and worked great. much clearer for sure then before hah
Would anyone by any chance know where i can get a pair for cheap?
Would anyone by any chance know where i can get a pair for cheap?
03-22-2011, 05:53 PM
#5
I used this kit as well. IMO its well worth the money vs going out to buy all the tools to do it to this quality. It seriously was a night and day diffrence. I recently gave kevlo a review of this product.
The only downside is the packaging that the compound comes in. But other then that it is a great product
The only downside is the packaging that the compound comes in. But other then that it is a great product
03-22-2011, 08:37 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 469
Another satisfied 3M kit customer. I've got pictures somewhere; I'll dig them up.
I did feel like there wasn't enough of the lubricant for more than one or two sets of headlights, but it's still worth the money as you won't have to do it very often.
I did feel like there wasn't enough of the lubricant for more than one or two sets of headlights, but it's still worth the money as you won't have to do it very often.
03-23-2011, 12:10 AM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 469
Here's my pictures.
My headlights were actually just yellowy, not really cloudy. I don't know how well you can tell in these pictures, but in person the improvement was pretty tangible.
Driver's side lens done, passenger's not.
It's worth noting that I did this on a cold day in an Ikea parking lot in Bumble**** Nowhere, MI, so the lens could probably have ended up cleaner. I just couldn't be bothered to spend more time on it. I finished the job and went over the first lens a few days later. The lenses look much better when they're not the same color as the paint.
My car is not very photogenic, is it...
My headlights were actually just yellowy, not really cloudy. I don't know how well you can tell in these pictures, but in person the improvement was pretty tangible.
Driver's side lens done, passenger's not.
It's worth noting that I did this on a cold day in an Ikea parking lot in Bumble**** Nowhere, MI, so the lens could probably have ended up cleaner. I just couldn't be bothered to spend more time on it. I finished the job and went over the first lens a few days later. The lenses look much better when they're not the same color as the paint.
My car is not very photogenic, is it...
03-23-2011, 07:21 AM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Worcester, MA
Posts: 4,011
Ehhh dont worry bout it. Nothin a lil touch paint cant fix.
THe headlights looks good man. I used Meguiars kit last wk and got real good results.
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is no transparancy and 10 is complete headlight transparency... I went from like 4 or 5 to 9 or 10. The difference is that dramatic. Highly recommend this product.
03-24-2011, 09:53 AM
#12
Yes, you would use a lower grit to remove the clear, then move up to smooth out the scratches. Using a 1k-2k as the final grit, and finish off with some plastic polish and you can buff them back to OEM quality. Thats basicly what the store bought kits are.
03-24-2011, 11:05 AM
#13
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