My headlights have seen around 200k miles and you can really tell. The 3M headlight restoration kit only lasts a few weeks. I really would like to get new headlights because they are the only thing that doesn't look good on the outside of my car.

Everywhere I go they are 200 each at least. I just want to know if any of you guys have found a good website to order these.

Thanks

 

The 3m kit is useless if you dont seal the lens after you use the product. There is a way to totally restore your lenses to near perfect IF you know how to use a paint gun, or know someone who does.
Take your headlights out of the car, sand them down with 800 grit, preferably wet. Make sure there are no crazy marks in it from a rock or something else. Go and purchase a decent clear coat. Nason 496-00 would be alright its priced well or if you want to spend some money get the dupont 496. Spray 3 coats, one dusted and two wet. Done...

 

My uncle works at a body shop and paints there. The only thing is it wouldn't be volunteer work. It's about an hour away in a small town, they don't have much time to spare. I'm not sure how much it would end up costing for the labot and clear coat but it may be worth looking into.

I used 3M headlight restoration kit again today and was wondering if theres and protective layer you would suggest for the mean time.

 

My Question to you would be are you using JUST the polishing method or are you using the sand paper that comes with it?
Because whats happening when you just ise the polish is that all you are doing os polishin the uv coat of the lens. Which is still technically garbage. You'll have to use the wetsand method with the kit. There are a couple uv clear coats you can purchase locally at any store that sells good rattlecans. BUT if you are going to do that i would start at the 800 grit and go all the way up. Then 1 SUPER light coat of the clear followed by two light ones just so it doesnt run. Then polish that after cured which is about 2 days with the amount youd be putting on.

 

find a shop that will do this whole willingly, and has experience doing so,

the 3M kit is literally like make up on a girl, it wont last and u have to keep re applying.


all this is better than buying cheap headlights and looking at those cheap pos headlights turn yellow a lot quicker than oem.

think long term here...

 

Are you still in Raleigh?

I just did mine. It's pretty easy if you have all the tools.




I start with wet sanding using 600 grit, then 1000, then 1500, then 2000, and finish it with 3000.

After sanding, I used Meguiar's PlastX and Headlight Protectant. No clear coat spray.

If you can do without your headlights for a weekend afternoon and drop them off with me, I'll get them cleaned up for you.

Just cause I'm a nice guy

 

Yeah I use the whole sanding kit and everything that comes in it.

500 grit
700 grit
3000 grit
Polish

I'm thinking about grabbing some 1000 grit and 1500 grit for the in between. Just seems like a large jump for me.

 

Yep, still in Raleigh. Just cleaned up my headlights yesterday and they look good again. I will order some of the Headlight protectant and give it a go.

Thanks for the offer though, does it have an expiration date?

 

Haha. Sure thing man. I'm in the middle of doing a retrofit right now so Ive got everything out. I figured I would offer to help a fellow max owner.

The headlight protectant has UV protection which should stop the yellowing. When you're sanding it, you basically remove the old coat and apply a fresh one with the meguair's.

 

don't want to rain on anyones parade, as you did all the hard work, but just so you know the Meguai'rs Plastix is also like make up and you will have to keep reapplying to keep the hazing at bay,

if you did the wet sanding and have the actual lense off like you did then do it 100% and do a true clear coat,

then if you really want you can continue to use the Meguair's as maintenance.


did you clear your turn signal since you disassembled the headlights??

if not you should !

 

Oh yeah. Not to hijack the thread, but clearing the turns was one of the mods I was doing to them. I had to make some custom clear lenses since I couldn't find the ones that everyone else uses from the home depot landscape lighting in other threads. That, and I got impatient from searching. I was thinking about making a thread, but I'm pretty sure Genes1s has covered everything in his own build thread.

I used two different products after sanding - the PlastX (which is basically plastic polish, i.e. "make-up") and the headlight protectant went on after that (which is the different stuff that seals and has UV protection). I think how I typed it before, it made it seem like the PlastX and headlight protectant were one product.

I've heard mixed reviews about the clear coat. Some say it yellows, peels, etc. and others swear by it. I'm guessing the people that have done it and it yellows are using the wrong clear spray... maybe? What type of clear spray or urethane would you recommend?

 

I had clear coat on the right headlight and it yellowed/peeled as you are saying. Impossible to get off. So irritating. I am doing what I can to stay away from clear coat because I've spent 6 months trying to remove it.

I know I have to keep re-applying with the 3M, but I'd much rather re-apply every 6 months and have great looking headlights than risk the clear coat nightmare. I will probably apply the headlight protectant from time to time and see if I can't extend the re-apply timeframe of the 3M kit by a few months.

 

thanks for the input, i never did clearcoat, and have been "protecting" mine with the "make-up" style meguair's plastix

 

You CAN use any clear coat out of a rattle can but you run the risk of it yellowing. BUT if you use a single stage clear that is used on automotive finishes then it wont yellow. Is the clear coat on your car yellow?? I would hope not... Which is why i gave the Nason and or DuPont number in my post. They are true clears that have the uv protectant in the product. The Dupont is better BUT quite a bit more expensive.

Go out and pick up a paint gun, Devilbiss makes a starter kit that has two guns and 3 needle sizes. Was 240 CANADIAN last time i checked... makes life a whole fork load easier.

 

Yeah it yellowed hard. I'm sure it was just bad clear coat, so I won't rule out clear coat entirely. But for me I think it's just easier to clean it every 6 months. Takes no more than an hour.

 

moral of the story, get the proper clear coat ! and you wont waste this time on maintenance of the headlights