Headlight lens restoration? Is 3M the best, or what?

[cprainwater]

I am going to need to clean and restore the headlight lenses on an SVT. I've seen the 3M headlight restoration video, and searched Forum archives for information. Any comments, pro or con, about the 3M, and are there other recommendations? Thanks.

[Sponsor]

[bringler26]

I have never used any but I bought a mother's kit to use that was very niche because it had a thin film to apply after you finished to help keep them clear

[sleepyboy]

I dunno which one to tell you to use. I used the Mequires restore kit, but I've found hitting it up with some very fine sand paper before really helps.


I took a headlight that looked like this and felt like sand paper




Sanded with 800grit, then 1000grit, and finally with 2000grit in a criss cross pattern so as to not making any gouges or marks.





Once that was done then I started using the polish and buffing pad that attaches to the drill. This is half the light done.





Just about done and used the micro fiber towel that came with the kit for final polishing by hand just like the directions say





Here is the end result





Depending on how bad the light is I would maybe start with a much higher grit like 1000-1500. The light you see was in very bad shape but came out fantastic. I do suggest doing something to the light to keep it that way. A lot of guys like to use lmain-x or some sort of clear coat to keep them from oxidizing and getting that way again.

[ebiegas]

I used Turtle wax headlight lens restorer. I worked pretty good.

[sleepyboy]

I think any one will work fine as long as you follow the directions, but sometimes you need to help it along since most are just polishing kits and some headlights are in much poorer shape than others.

[Deftmetal]

If you use a kit that uses a drill use slow speed. As long as you take your time it's easy

[jdetzel]

I have used the 3M kit and it worked very well.

[mac.mogul]

If you don't have the proper polishing tools at home its probably best to take it to a body shop and have them restore the lenses for you. It may cost more money, but it will definitely be worth it and you don't run the risk of damaging your lenses if you do it wrong.

[SkyPilot]

The 3M kit is really great if your headlights are really bad, it comes with all the sandpaper discs needed and easy directions to follow. Ive used both Mothers and 3M. My headlights were so bad only the 3M kit got the job done.

[cprainwater]

Everyone, great information. Thanks for sharing, plus the photos. Plus the idea to use i-mainx or clear coat to prevent further oxidizing sounds good. Any comments on this? And how long should a 3m, or similar, restoration last?