If, like me, you’re a regular watcher of basic cable programming (yay for House marathons on a dreary Sunday!), you’ve probably seen the ads for those kits that promise to restore car headlights that have fogged over or dulled from oxidation. They promise to clear up that haze quickly and cheaply, but do they work?
Luckily, we know the testers at Consumer Reports, who decided to try out a handful of these kits to see if they could make good on their promises.
CR tested out the following four kits, all retailing for less than $25:
3M Headlight Lens Restoration System 29008 ($15)
Fast Brite Auto Headlight Restorer Kit ($17)
Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit ($21)
Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer ($9)
The good news is that even the worst-performing of the bunch was able to drastically improve light output.
However, while the ads for the kits make it seem like a simple wipe-and-you’re-done process, CR discovered that most of the products required several steps, and you could spend upwards of an hour just to restore two headlight lenses. The 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System actually requires the use of an electric drill and sanding discs, which means you could risk scratching the paint on your car if you’re not careful.
The whole CR report on headlight restoration kits can be read here.
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Lately, I’ve just been hitting deer and getting the headlights replaced completely. Been thru 2 headlights on the right, one on the left.
There was a guy that would come to my dad’s auto shop and sell this service. He did it on my car and it was like a night and day difference. Ya it does take some time and effort to look nice, but so does a wax job on the paint. I think this is a great option for plastic lenses if you aren’t looking to replace them just yet.
It really gets me when people are complaining about foggy headlights and then gripe when it takes a little elbow grease and time to save yourself two or three hundred dollars. That means that you are getting paid $175 to $275 for an hours work. If doing actual work for an hour is so bothersome go buy the new lens But stop griping about a little work
I DIY’ed it with some fine sandpaper and a buffer- lot of elbow grease is necessary with this method, and a little bit of faith, because you basically make it horribly worse, to eventually make it all better.
http://public.fotki.com/veekachu/2010/headlight-restoration/#media
Just have it done at Wall-Mart for $40 and get it over with. No muss, no fuss.
When I had this issue, I used Meguire’s PlastX. It’s $5! None of these products prevent future oxidation which can come back within less than a year. Why waste more money?
When I had this issue, I used Meguire’s PlastX. It’s $5! None of these products prevent future oxidation which can come back within less than a year. Why waste more money?
Hey Detroit. Want to make your cars stand out? Replace that stupid plastic lenses with Gorilla Glass. The same glass used on the current generation of mobile phones like the iPhone. It is made my Corning Glass, a US company! Win, Win, Win.
Hey Detroit. Want to make your cars stand out? Replace that stupid plastic lenses with Gorilla Glass. The same glass used on the current generation of mobile phones like the iPhone. It is made my Corning Glass, a US company! Win, Win, Win.
“We Don’t Take Ads!” is listed prominently on this page. Oh really? This article was nothing but an advertisement. All of a sudden I doubt the usefulness of this site.
I bought one of the original CLEAR kits many years ago and it worked great.
A few years back I then bought one of the turtle wax box kits. I’ve only ever used the 1st stage polishing compound and have never had to use the sanding pads or other stages it came with. There was enough in the bottle of polishing compound that I have used it for years now on many different cars for myself, family and friends. That stuff goes a long way.