Headlight refurbishment polish/kits

[HDM]

We have a CRV that goes on like a champ, but the headlight covers are getting very cloudy, and really need some attention as winter looms.

Has anyone had any experience with the headlight refurbishment kits that are out on the market today, as far as I can see quite a few manufacturers have them available, 3M, Mothers and McGuires to name a few.

Then once cleaned up, does anyone have experience with replacing regular bulbs with higher output units, are there any issues with fuses etc?

Thanks in advance,

(Mods, if this is in the wrong area, apologies, please feel free to re-locate)

[HughesR1]

They look like they would do the job.

What I've always done is got some wet and dry (1200, then got finer) and then used some G3 or whatever cutting compound I have lying around and they come up a treat everytime. (I am not a professional in anyway so I'm sure anyone could do it!)

Sore wrist though

[GTdave91]

people say toothpaste works not sure if it does or not haha
i used some t-cut on mine the other day cleared them up quite a bit.

[MJG280]

HughesR1 said:

They look like they would do the job.

What I've always done is got some wet and dry (1200, then got finer) and then used some G3 or whatever cutting compound I have lying around and they come up a treat everytime. (I am not a professional in anyway so I'm sure anyone could do it!)

Sore wrist though

1200 grit Then T cut and finally silver polish. Took forever but nice and shiny. First time you will panic after the 1200 grit as it looks like it will be impossible to get shiny again

Found this site
http://www.ehow.com/way_5567008_home-remedy-headli...

[Ug_lee]

Got the 3M kit which I'm about to use on the RS6, so shall update how I get on.

[mattman]

i used T-cut and a electric polisher on our XC90 headlights and they come up well - not quite got rid of all of it, but will have another go

[DanDC5]

I used Meguiars PlastX and the polishing pad drill bit a week or 2 ago and it came up really well. Can't recommend it enough.

[Roger Woods]

I had a go at our well pitted XC90 lights on Saturday with a turtlewax kit and the result was good, not perfect, but they were bad, I will have another go before the next wash, well worth doing

[Ug_lee]

Had a go on my headlights the other day using the 3M kit.

Here's what they looked like when I bought the car:


Started off with the 500grit pads on the drill attachment:

^^^at this point is where I started thinking what the hell have I done to some expensive headlamps!!!
Went up to 800 grit until the headlights were a lighter frost.

Then used the soft pad with a decent amount of water and started to look better:


Then finally the foam attachment with the cutting paste:


How they both look now:


Took me all of about 90 mins to do them both, just make sure they are well masked off and do not dwell on any areas at all otherwise it will overheat the polycarbonate and you'd be lucky to get that out. Overall I'm quite pleased with the outcome!

[Hoonigan]

I did the same last night to my 2000 A6 difference was like night and day...... Can't beleive the FIL (who gave us the car) could have seen anything in the dark before, I could not even see the bulbs when looking down on the lights before I started!

I used Menzerna PF2500 Followed by the 4000 and they look almost like new now.

Ug_lee said:

Had a go on my headlights the other day using the 3M kit.

Here's what they looked like when I bought the car:


Started off with the 500grit pads on the drill attachment:

^^^at this point is where I started thinking what the hell have I done to some expensive headlamps!!!
Went up to 800 grit until the headlights were a lighter frost.

Then used the soft pad with a decent amount of water and started to look better:


Then finally the foam attachment with the cutting paste:


How they both look now:


Took me all of about 90 mins to do them both, just make sure they are well masked off and do not dwell on any areas at all otherwise it will overheat the polycarbonate and you'd be lucky to get that out. Overall I'm quite pleased with the outcome!

[VxDuncan]

Did similar on my old shed. 800/1200/2000 grit wet and dry (used wet), then homemade mild abrasive (bicarbonate of soba and salt) in a paste. Then polish. Worked well, they they were really yellow after being attacked by fly remover spray that was supposed to be save for use on headlamps...

[TomV8]

Previously - worn by sand rather than UV


Following wet and dry - I did wonder if I could get it back from this!


Following Meguire's PlastX - and a lot of elbow grease! Still a way to go but there's a lot of pitting from the sand.


Hard work but satisfying!

[GC8]

I resurrected my MX-5 plastic lenses with TCut and elbow grease. Even a mild abrasive can make a massive improvement and finished off with polish, they looked almost as good as new after about half an hours effort.

Before that Id been about to buy new lamps!

[HDM]

Thanks to all, it looks pretty scary after the first stage, as mentioned, I too would be wondering if I could get back from there!

I have the 3M kit waiting for action, just have to get back on track after Hurricane Sandy, we have been without power since last Monday!