3M Headlight Lens Restoration System Review.
"Pleasantly Surprised" 2008-10-08
By Daugenet Breaux (Charleston, SC)
I own an 11 year old car and the headlights had become significantly glazed over. The only thing the drill doesnt come with is a drill. (which would really drive up the cost of the kit) The steps are pretty easy to restore your headlight
1. Clean the headlight and tape around the headlight edgeds to protect the paint job.
2. Use the "yellow" sanding disk with the drill attachment. The headlight will take on a more cloudy, but uniform, appearance
3. Use the "white" disk and smooth out the surface
4. Use the "gray" disk (with water) and begin the polishing of the surface
5. Finally use the "orange" foam disk with the polishing compound and complete the job.
Instructions are included with the kit and are pretty straightforward. I would say that anyone can do this job in approximately 2 hours or less. The drill attachment is WELL worth the money.
I was actually able to do two cars with one kit. Obviously this will depend on the condition of your headlights. I would recommend buying one kit per car though.
When using the kit I actually wiped off the "dust" that was created between steps. This wasnt mentioned in the instructions but I dont feel that it effected the results either. If you do the same thing then you will not see much of the "white slurry" described in the instructions when using the gray disk.
I hope this review helps and I will try to check back later to see if anyone has some comments that need answering.
"SAVED ME HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS" 2008-09-07
By Michael H (Indiana, USA)
WOW! I drive a 12 year old car that is in very good shape, with the exception of the headlight lenses. I looked into replacements, they were priced at over $100 each, ouch! So while in the local AutoZone I found this kit for 17 bucks, and thought why not give it a try. It took less than an hour to have my headlights looking like new. It was also very easy to use, with all the supplies in the kit all I had to furnish was a drill. Easy, Inexpensive, and it works! I will tell everyone I know how great this product is!!
"Shining Results" 2008-11-30
By Mike M. (Long Valley, NJ)
I was a bit sceptical about how effective this product could be for its relatively very low price. The competitive "3 and 4 stage" type products cost at least three times the price and are a lot more involved to apply. However, the 3M results were truly impressive. You do have to follow the instructions and be sure to use the foam cushion backing pad included in the kit as well as a drill with the recommended RPMs. With that said, you will get truly impressive results at a cost less than any other do-it-yourself product and certainly well below the hundred dollar plus you would have to pay a professional shop. Definitely a "best buy" and highly recommended!
"Fantastic Product - I thought my lens was beyond repair. Not so!" 2009-07-19
By Art Diefenbach (Newport Beach, CA)
This product is just incredible. I have a 6 year old Jetta which had deep pits in the headlight lenses. They looked like they had been sand blasted. [...]. The results were fantastic. The lenses now look as good as new.
Some tips from my experience:
1. If you're going to wash your car the same day as you restore the lenses, wash after you do the lenses. Some plastic dust blows around and there is some spatter on the wet sand.
2. Be sure to really protect the surrounding paint. 3M recommends two layers of automotive masking tape, which I did. But I did cut through in two places with the edge of the sandpaper. So if there is any chance of touching the body of you car with the edge of the sandpaper, put on 3 or 4 layers of tape.
3. The kit comes with plenty of supplies: sandpaper and plastic polish. The directions warn that there may not be enough supplies, but I had plenty left over, although admittedly the Jetta headlights aren't that large. I don't see any need to buy the kit with the large bottles of plastic cleaner and polish unless you need that stuff for other projects.
4. I followed the directions exactly. I went the extra mile of doing extra passes on each level of sanding to insure I got out all the original damage and then each level of sanding scratches. I got as uniform level of appearance as I could. As the instructions say doing more at each level makes the next level easier. I also ended each level with a few passes with lower pressure.
5. I'd say the only tricky part is holding the drill steady while you sand away. It can jump around if you're not careful. I set up a stool with the appropriate height so I could rest my forearm that was holding the drill on my thigh. I held the drill with both hands and then moved it steadily across the lens. I sanded the whole lens with horizontal passes overlapping on each pass and then repeated vertical passes. I used about 10 total passes at each level.
Each lens took me about 30-45 minutes. I was skeptical that my damage could be repaired. But there is absolutely no evidence of the original damage and the lenses look as good as new. It is so satisfying to see the results, what a difference.
Oh, and the price is a terrific bargain too.
"Great product" 2008-11-09
By J. B.
This item is simply amazing, I used it on my 2003 VW Jetta's headlights and they now look like new. I tried a different kit from auto zone and didn't work at all (complete waste of money). Just be sure to follow the instructions and take your time. 3m has also put a great video on youtube with detailed instructions. Also there is a nice write up on Popular Mechanics web site that also recommends this product (the reason I ended up buying this).
Also a friend of mine paid $100 to have his car done by a "pro" who sprayed varnish on lights. This is a bad idea, it lasted about 3 weeks and they then looked worse then before. So if your on the fence about how to polish your headlights buy this, and use a nice wax like Meguiars nxt or some other wax with UV protectant to keep them looking new. You wont be disappointed.
By Daugenet Breaux (Charleston, SC)
I own an 11 year old car and the headlights had become significantly glazed over. The only thing the drill doesnt come with is a drill. (which would really drive up the cost of the kit) The steps are pretty easy to restore your headlight
1. Clean the headlight and tape around the headlight edgeds to protect the paint job.
2. Use the "yellow" sanding disk with the drill attachment. The headlight will take on a more cloudy, but uniform, appearance
3. Use the "white" disk and smooth out the surface
4. Use the "gray" disk (with water) and begin the polishing of the surface
5. Finally use the "orange" foam disk with the polishing compound and complete the job.
Instructions are included with the kit and are pretty straightforward. I would say that anyone can do this job in approximately 2 hours or less. The drill attachment is WELL worth the money.
I was actually able to do two cars with one kit. Obviously this will depend on the condition of your headlights. I would recommend buying one kit per car though.
When using the kit I actually wiped off the "dust" that was created between steps. This wasnt mentioned in the instructions but I dont feel that it effected the results either. If you do the same thing then you will not see much of the "white slurry" described in the instructions when using the gray disk.
I hope this review helps and I will try to check back later to see if anyone has some comments that need answering.
By Michael H (Indiana, USA)
WOW! I drive a 12 year old car that is in very good shape, with the exception of the headlight lenses. I looked into replacements, they were priced at over $100 each, ouch! So while in the local AutoZone I found this kit for 17 bucks, and thought why not give it a try. It took less than an hour to have my headlights looking like new. It was also very easy to use, with all the supplies in the kit all I had to furnish was a drill. Easy, Inexpensive, and it works! I will tell everyone I know how great this product is!!
By Mike M. (Long Valley, NJ)
I was a bit sceptical about how effective this product could be for its relatively very low price. The competitive "3 and 4 stage" type products cost at least three times the price and are a lot more involved to apply. However, the 3M results were truly impressive. You do have to follow the instructions and be sure to use the foam cushion backing pad included in the kit as well as a drill with the recommended RPMs. With that said, you will get truly impressive results at a cost less than any other do-it-yourself product and certainly well below the hundred dollar plus you would have to pay a professional shop. Definitely a "best buy" and highly recommended!
By Art Diefenbach (Newport Beach, CA)
This product is just incredible. I have a 6 year old Jetta which had deep pits in the headlight lenses. They looked like they had been sand blasted. [...]. The results were fantastic. The lenses now look as good as new.
Some tips from my experience:
1. If you're going to wash your car the same day as you restore the lenses, wash after you do the lenses. Some plastic dust blows around and there is some spatter on the wet sand.
2. Be sure to really protect the surrounding paint. 3M recommends two layers of automotive masking tape, which I did. But I did cut through in two places with the edge of the sandpaper. So if there is any chance of touching the body of you car with the edge of the sandpaper, put on 3 or 4 layers of tape.
3. The kit comes with plenty of supplies: sandpaper and plastic polish. The directions warn that there may not be enough supplies, but I had plenty left over, although admittedly the Jetta headlights aren't that large. I don't see any need to buy the kit with the large bottles of plastic cleaner and polish unless you need that stuff for other projects.
4. I followed the directions exactly. I went the extra mile of doing extra passes on each level of sanding to insure I got out all the original damage and then each level of sanding scratches. I got as uniform level of appearance as I could. As the instructions say doing more at each level makes the next level easier. I also ended each level with a few passes with lower pressure.
5. I'd say the only tricky part is holding the drill steady while you sand away. It can jump around if you're not careful. I set up a stool with the appropriate height so I could rest my forearm that was holding the drill on my thigh. I held the drill with both hands and then moved it steadily across the lens. I sanded the whole lens with horizontal passes overlapping on each pass and then repeated vertical passes. I used about 10 total passes at each level.
Each lens took me about 30-45 minutes. I was skeptical that my damage could be repaired. But there is absolutely no evidence of the original damage and the lenses look as good as new. It is so satisfying to see the results, what a difference.
Oh, and the price is a terrific bargain too.
By J. B.
This item is simply amazing, I used it on my 2003 VW Jetta's headlights and they now look like new. I tried a different kit from auto zone and didn't work at all (complete waste of money). Just be sure to follow the instructions and take your time. 3m has also put a great video on youtube with detailed instructions. Also there is a nice write up on Popular Mechanics web site that also recommends this product (the reason I ended up buying this).
Also a friend of mine paid $100 to have his car done by a "pro" who sprayed varnish on lights. This is a bad idea, it lasted about 3 weeks and they then looked worse then before. So if your on the fence about how to polish your headlights buy this, and use a nice wax like Meguiars nxt or some other wax with UV protectant to keep them looking new. You wont be disappointed.
