Best Headlight Restoration Kit? Let's find out! 3M, Sylvania, Meguiar's, Mothers, Turtle Wax & HF

if you own a vehicle long enough sooner or later the headlights will become foggy in yellow and need restored so do you just use a little wd-40 to restore them or do you go out and buy yourself a kit now I really like kits because they make things simple they include everything you need but the question is there are so many amout there so which ones really deliver good results we're gonna test a whole bunch of different headlight restoration kits today and we'll see which of these products works the best most headlight lenses are made of polycarbonate which is not the same thing as acrylic Plexiglas actually polycarbonate is around 250 times more impact resistant than glass the downside is that it scratches very easily and is sensitive to UV exposure to protect the polycarbonate manufacturers coat the headlight lens with a primer and sealer during the manufacturing process UV exposure and heat causes the protective coating as well as the outer layer of the polycarbonate to deteriorate resulting in cloudiness and yellowing so basically all of these kits do the same thing they use various types of abrasives such as sandpaper and rubbing compound to remove the damaged coating and damaged polycarbonate from the headlight lens once the damaged coating is removed these kits also polish the fresh outer layer of the polycarbonate headlight lens it's not possible for me to find 10 equally cloudy and hazy headlight lenses from the same car manufacturer in order to create a fair comparison I'm going to replicate similar conditions using some polycarbonate sheets I'll first begin by sanding the polycarbonate with 120 grit using an orbital sander I'll use a new piece of sandpaper for each sheet of poly carbon to make sure the damage is consistent after sanding all the polycarbonate sheets I'll spray on a yellow tinted protective coating then I'll wait 24 hours for the protective coating to fully cure it's been right at 24 hours and our test samples are ready to be tested the least expensive product will be testing costing only 5 dollars and 59 cents is this product made by Turtle Wax like new in minutes Ilyn seal technology increases clarity brightness and visibility designed to remove medium oxidation and yellowing to improve headlight performance the kit includes precision polishing pads spray lubricant lens clarifying compound and base coat and lens sealing wipes made in USA wash headlight lens to remove surface dirt use masking tape to protect surrounding paint surfaces step to apply lens clarifying compound to a cotton cloth and rub over the entire lens using firm pressure with a clean terry cloth if lens turns clear proceed to step three below if lens is not clear after using lens clarifying compound proceed to step two a below step two a apply spray lubricant to Greene polishing pad and directly to lens use pads on only those areas requiring restoration begin rubbing pad number one using firm pressure any back-and-forth motion over the lens until the oxidation is removed use the spray lubricant as necessary to keep the lens and pad wet in order to do a good job of removing this coating as well as the polycarbonate that's been roughed up I really need a lot larger piece of sandpaper this sandpaper is already pretty much worn out I'm gonna go and move on to step two flip to the tan side of the polishing pad rub back and forth an opposite direction ninety degrees of the green pad for one minute keeping the pad and lens surface wet using the spray lubricant step be using the teal side number three of the second pad repeat process in the opposite direction of previous pad for one minute flip to the purple side number four and repeat process in opposite direction of previous pad side for one minute dry lens with a cotton towel apply lens clarifying compound and rub thoroughly until the lens turns clear let compound dry the haze and buff with a cotton cloth lens clarifying compound can be applied by machine with a foam pad at 1500 rpm open pouch containing the lens cope wipe using a plastic glove included in kit quickly coat both lenses with the white once dry immediately follow with the lens sealing white which helps prevent future yellowing coating will cure within 24 hours however vehicle can be driven immediately after application the second least expensive product will be testing at 13 dollars and 96 cents is this vist bella brand DIY headlight restoration kit it claims to be quick and easy I first thought this product was made in the United States because of the American flag but after closer look made in China sandpaper polishing paste UV protective liquid step one is sanding what the sanding disc and attach it to the backer pad sand with three different grits to completely remove the heavy yellowing fading and corrosion polishing attach the orange sponge disk to the backer pad and apply the polishing paste polish the lens until shine is restored to its original condition for best results use an electric buffer or polisher if polishing by hand polished with no less than 200 circular strokes clockwise protection cleaning the headlight lens and make sure the lens is dry before the protection step use the white sponge kit provided in the kit evenly apply to protect liquid on the surface of the lens after apply it stay for 10 to 15 minutes to let the liquid flow evenly itself then dry it in direct sunlight immediately 1 to 2 hours is suggested passing only $13.99 is this Pittsburgh brand which is sold at Harbor Freight if their deluxe lens renewal system to end refined polish to restore cloudy and dull headlights improve nighttime visibility and brightness easy four-step process masks and refined polish masking tape polishing compound this pad holder polishing pad pittsburgh has six pieces of five hundred four pieces of 802 pieces of three thousands unlike to vist Bella wet sanding is not required for the first two steps using the 500 and the 800 grit sandpaper clean the lens with soap and water mount the disc pad holder into the drill attach instead of the 500 grit abrasive disc to the disc pad holder sand lens using medium to light pressure to remove yellowing and surface defects Sam lens using a slow and steady back-and-forth action when the disc is clogged or no longer sands effectively replace with a new 500 grit abrasive disc unfortunately it's Harper Freight sandpaper just clogs very easily wipe off and inspect the lens all yellowing and defects should be completely removed if yellowing defects or a portion of the surface coating still exists continue sanding with G 500 grit abrasive disc until they are completely removed remove the 500 grit abrasive disc attached and cinah the 800 grit abrasive disc to the disc pad holder SAN lens using a medium to light pressure to reduce sanding scratches from a 500 to an 800 grit scratch wipe the lens the scratches should be finer if any coarse scratches are visible continue sanding with the 800 grit abrasive disc until coarse scratches are reduced attached incinerate 3000 grit abrasive disc to the disc holder pad using a spray bottle apply enough water to dampen both the 3000 grit abrasive and the lens surface before sanding a 3000 grit abrasive disc can be used flat against the lens sand lens using medium to light pressure to reduce the 800 grit scratches to 3000 grit scratches miss the surface with water if it dries during sanding attach and center the orange foam polishing pad to the disc pad holder dispense a dime-sized amount of polishing compound to the orange foam polishing pad before turning on the drill smear the polish with the orange foam polishing pad around the lens holding the polishing pad on the lens polish the lens until the cloudy haze is gone and the clarity is significantly improved costing 14 dollars and 43 cents is this 3m headlight restoration system sand refined and polished to restore cloudy and dull headlights compound pads in white P 800 grit disc made in USA gold P 500 made in Canada grey 3000 grit made in UK adapter made in China rubbing compound polishing pad very similar to the Pittsburg kit the 3m kit also includes six pieces of 500 grit four pieces of 800 grit only one piece of 3000 grit sandpaper cleaning the lens with soap and water not the dish pad holder into the drill attached to the center the P 500 gold disc to the disc pad holder using medium to light pressure begin sanding to remove the yellowing surface defects from the lens wow check out how quickly the 3m sandpaper is removing the material instead of the yellow coating and polycarbonate clogging the sandpaper the sandpaper is doing an amazing job when the disc is clogged or no longer sanding effectively replaced with a new gold disc by pop the lens and inspect ensure all yellowing defects have been completely removed attaching Center AP 800 white disc to the disc pad holder using medium to light pressure begins sanding to reduce the sand scratches from a 500 to an 800 grit scratch once again the us-made 800 grit is doing an amazing job by far the best sandpaper we've tested remove the white disc attached and Center the p3000 green grey foam disc to the disc holder pad using a spray bottle apply enough water to dampen the green grey disc and the lens surface before sanding the disc can be used flat against the lens compounding the lens remove the p3000 foam disc attached to the center the orange foam compounding pad to the disc pad holder dispatched a dime-sized amount 3in rubbing compound to the orange foam compounding pad before turning on the drill smear and polish the orange foam pad around the lens this will reduce the splatter holding the pad flat on the lens polish the lens until the cloudy haze is gone and the clarity is significantly improved costing fourteen dollars and seventy cents is this mother's new lens headlight renewal kit it claims to be fast and easy made in USA para plastic for lights plastic polish backing plate power ball for lights three-inch soft flex backing plate the mother's includes two pieces of eight hundred two pieces of 1500 and only one piece of three thousand sandpaper step 1 eliminating pitting and major defects Center and attach one 800 grit sanding disc to the backing plate spray liberal amounts of water on the surface of lens hold the drill flat when sanding run at four to six hundred rpm using light to moderate pressure sand using back-and-forth overlapping motions at slow and steady pace adding more water as necessary to rinse away residue wipe lens dry with the towel and inspect it should have an even visible haze throughout step 2 reducing the haze center and attach one 1500 grit sanding disc to the backing plate spray liberal amounts of water on the surface of the lens hold the drill flat when sanding running at four to six hundred rpm using light to moderate pressure sand using back and forth overlapping motions at a slow and steady pace adding more water as necessary to rinse away residue wipe lens dry with towel and inspect step 3 preparing for polish Center detach the 3000 grit foam finishing disc to the backing plate ensure surface is dry and do not wet surface hold the drill flatlands sanding running at 1300 to 1700 rpm using light to moderate pressure sand using back and forth overlapping motions at a slow and steady pace polishing the lens centered attach the parable for Lights foam polishing tool to the backing plate apply a nickel sized amount of powerful lights to the center of ball start to drill slowly to reduce slinging use moderate pressure as polishes spread increase speed to 1300 to 1700 rpm adding polish as needed polish in a small area until entire lens is clean and clear using back and forth overlapping motions buff and clean with a dry microfiber towel costing nineteen dollars and ninety nine sense is this Sylvania headlight restoration kit three time award winning product lifetime warranty surface activator clarifying compound UV block clear co-locate three sheets of sandpaper supplied in the kit identify the 400 grit 1000 grit and 2000 grit sand papers fold the three sheets in half using one-half of each sheet for each headlight begin sanding with the 400 grit sandpaper fully wet the headlight lens and sandpaper with clean water sand the surface of the headlight lens using even circular motions and medium pressure continue to add water as you perform the sanding process keeping the headlight and the sandpaper wet sand the entire surface until the headlight lens feel smooth to the touch step 2 sand and polished using 1000 grit sandpaper and medium pressure sand all headlight lens surfaces multiple times adding water is necessary for approximately 5 minutes using a 2,000 grit sandpaper and firm pressure sand all headlight lens surfaces multiple times adding water is necessary for approximately 5 minutes open the packet labeled clarifying compound apply a quarter-sized dollop onto one of the white towels provided about one-half of the contents of the package wet the headlight lens and rub the compound over the entire lens using even circular motions and firm pressure rub all surfaces multiple times for five minutes when complete rinse the lens thoroughly and completely dry it off you will still see a light white haze to the lens this is normal reapply the surface activator for 30 seconds and then thoroughly rinse with water step 3 UV block clear coat application thoroughly soak the entire folded edge of the blue towel with UV block clear coat until the liquids extend 1/2 inch from the folded edge starting in one of the upper corners of the headlight lens wipe the moist and edge of the towel across the lens from side to side and a smooth and continuous motion the most expensive kit we'll be testing is this McGuire's headlight restoration kit costing $23.99 pro results restores clarity to severely oxidized and yellowed headlights headlight coding headlight lens polish hand pad finishing disc wires yellow polishing pad great applicator pad remove any dirt dust or debris from headlight using glass cleaner and a clean towel Tatsu 1000 grit finishing disc 2 hand pad maintain or keep the finishing disc wet by dunking it into a small container with water or spring water directly onto the disc frequently wet the disc for lubrication the challenge I'm finding with this McGuire's is it starts off with a thousand grit sandpaper with all the other brands had somewhere between a 400 and up to an 800 grit as the starting point and obviously you want a more coarse sandpaper especially if you're trying to hand sand it's a lot of work using a 1000 grit to cut off oxidized material remove the 1000 grit finishing disc and attach the 3000 grit finishing disc to the hand pad maintain or keep the finishing disc wet by dunking it into a small container with water or spring water directly onto the disc wipe the headlight dry with a microfiber towel step 4 attach the Maguire's yellow polishing pad to drill step 5 apply a nickel sized amount of McGwire's plastics polish to pad place the pad face flatly on the surface to be restored then tilt the pad to one side before activating the drill heavy pad pressure is not required spray restored headlights with a glass cleaner to remove all product residue and wipe clean and dry with microfiber towel step 8 ensure the headlight surface is clean and dry apply the coating to the great applicator pad begin to apply the coating from top to bottom evenly continue working your way across the headlight with overlapping strokes until the entire headlight has been treated product dries to touch in 15 minutes product fully cured in 24 hours in my opinion the most important factor when restoring headlights is having a really good quality sandpaper just a quick comparison between the harbor freight Pittsburgh which I believe is the worst in a 3m which I believe is the best both the Pittsburgh as well as a 3m are 800 grit we'll begin with the Pittsburgh and then use the 800 grit 3m we'll be using the Pittsburgh applicator pad you can see it's already clogged up and quite frankly it really didn't do much as far as removing material Wow look at all that material 3m is just getting after it and doing a terrific job the difference between the 3m and the Harbor Freight is the 3m is removing products the product is actually sticking to the harbor frame let's look at how these products perform beginning with the last place finisher Turtle Wax new undamaged polycarbonate is on the left and Turtle Wax is on the right you can see tiny air bubbles in the new polycarbonate but there aren't any scratches the tiny pieces of sandpaper and the turtle wax just didn't last long enough to remove the yellowing or deep scratches and the protective coating remained sticky even after several days of cure time and fairness to the product is not designed for badly damaged headlight lenses the turtle wax is on the left and harbor freight Pittsburgh is on the right Pittsburgh definitely did a better job than Turtle Wax but deep scratches remain and without a protective coating the headlight lenses will become damaged by UV exposure in under a year this Bella is on the left and McGuire's is on the right why the vist Bella did not remove the deep scratches the protective coating definitely did help however even after several days of cure time the protective coating remained sticky the big difference between the two is that the protective coating on Maguire's is not sticky and it's fully cured McGuire's is on the left and mother's is on the right mother's definitely did a better job of removing the deep scratches the protective coating for both brands seems about the same mother's is on the left and 3 M is on the right 3m did an amazing job with all deep scratches removed and only very fine scratches remaining buying a UV protective coating will fill in the minor scratches and provide a long-lasting finish with a 3m 3m is on the left in Sylvania is on the right the Sylvania kit did an amazing job removing the deep scratches into protective UV coating filled in the very fine scratches the fully cured top coating is not sticky or oily and looks amazing Sylvania is on the left and the new polycarbonate is on the right so veiny is the only product that returned the polycarbonate to a like-new appearance but I almost fell for the trick that comes in a big box it must be better than something comes in a smaller box the trick that a lot of marketers tend to use 3m as well as a Sylvania did by far the best compared to the other products those two products I would highly recommend purchasing now if you buy the 3m you're definitely going to want to put some type of protective coating over the finished product or the UV exposure will definitely cause the headlight lenses to once again fade within about a year all my video ideas including this one that come from viewers so if you'd like more headlight lens test kits tested please leave a comment let me know which brands I missed and I'll try to do another round if you have other video ideas please leave a comment on those as well I read and reply to as many comments as possible and really liked your feedback so thanks so much for watching the video please take care and I look forward to next time

Channel: Project Farm

Views: 1,640,334

Rating: 4.9220476 out of 5

Keywords: project farm, headlight restoration, head light restoration, headlight restorer, headlight cleaner, visbella headlight, meguiar's, meguiar's headlight, mother's nulens, mother's nulens headlight restoration, harbor freight, harbor freight deluxe headlight, 3m, 3m headlight restoration, sylvania, sylvania headlight, sylvania headlight restoration, turtle wax, turtle wax headlight, turtle wax headlight restoration, headlight, oxidized headlights, headlight restoration amazon

Id: iDB5U4QUdD0

Length: 18min 12sec (1092 seconds)

Published: Mon May 25 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/CaldronCalm]

I kinda wished he tested the two winners on an actual headlight side by side. I understand why he didn't test all 10 (or however many there were) on a headlight, but the two winners should have gone head to head on an actual headlight.

Also, the dream team would be the sanding properties of the 3M kit + the coatings of the Sylvania kit.

I've personally used the Sylvania on my now crushed car a few years back. It worked well, but it still left some hazing, although I was too afraid to keep wetsanding so that's definitely why. I wish the non-drill required kits would come with a simple sanding block to aid in more level sanding.

[u/[deleted]]

Love his videos, and I'm interesting in this because if it ain't glass it'll do this. I wonder why they don't use glass anymore, and, again will start a business with anyone that makes custom glass lamps for cars.

[u/DallasTheLab]

I’ve never understood why people spend so much money on these cheesy “headlight restoration kits”. Maybe it’s just me but I’ve never had very good luck with those. Every single time I resort back to my 400 > 600 > 800 > 1000 > 1500 > alcohol wipe > 2K clear coat method. I haven’t found anything else that even compares in terms of quality, longevity, and resistance to further yellowing/hazing from UV. Plus I almost always have the sandpaper on hand, and yes the clear coat can be pricey but it’s one of the best on the market.

[u/Itsa-me-nulwhalio]

I actually bought the 3M one after watching the video. It arrived yesterday so I tried it out. You need to take your time with the final step (polishing) but it work really well. Before hand I had the Maguire's brand but gave up after no difference. I will say it still isn't perfect but not far off. I also had my own UV protective clear coat so it's worth buying that desperately if you don't have any..

[u/ghojezz]

The problem with my headlights is discoloration on the DRL halo rings which located inside the headlights. Are these a sign of UV damage? Because the headlights itself aren't showing any kind of discoloration/fading. I just ordered replacements for my headlights and looking for ways to keep future discoloration on the inside.