3M Headlight Lens Restoration System, 39008
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If you take the time to clean the lens every 3 or 4 months with a plastic protection wipe that has UV protection, it will last a long time. Note that most plastic headlight lenses were factory-coated with a clear coat of UV-protected paint to prevent dry cracking. What you're doing here is removing the coating because its useful life has run out and it's starting to deteriorate. If you don't protect the lens, it will eventually develop a small hairline crack, which will be irreversible and necessitate the replacement of the headlight. It's best if you had it professionally repainted with a UV-resistant clear coat. However, it will almost cause the same amount of damage as replacing the headlight.
If your headlight lenses are moderately hazed, this kit will suffice, and there will be enough polishing compound left over to touch up your taillights as well. If your lenses are badly hazed or discolored, sand them with 320-grit sandpaper first. You'll likely run out of discs if you don't use 400 grit.
Actually, that's exactly how I did mine; I was a little concerned that if it didn't work, I'd damage both headlights at the same time, rendering my vehicle unusable (at night) until I could fix it, but I didn't have to be concerned. The kit is fantastic, though you can't tell how well it works until you get to the last step and apply the polish. Apart from the fact that all of the steps appeared to be progressing as expected, with the lights becoming increasingly hazy as you worked. As I previously stated, I only wish the kit contained more of the rougher sand paper. My headlights (Volvo XC90) are quite large, so the three pieces of sandpaper (per light) were insufficient. If you have large headlights that are hazy (which they must be if you're considering one of these kits), I'd recommend getting one kit for each headlight or purchasing extra sandpaper on your own to begin with (something like P600), then starting with the kit and working your way through the stages.
I used two different kinds of tape to make this project. One layer of painters tape should be applied first. Then there's a layer of aluminum foil tape (ASIN: ) to finish it off. B000BQRBB4) is an alphanumeric code that can be used to represent a number I made sure that the foil tape was only used on areas that had already been taped with painters tape. I didn't sand through the tape to the paint because it worked so well. I got pretty close in one place, but the area was bright blue (painters tape), so I knew I had to back off.
Selected User Reviews For 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System, 39008
This 13-year-old pair of stock headlights has never been treated and has a significant amount of oxidation. The car is still in excellent condition and has had a couple of touch-ups with paint, but the cloudy headlight was a pain in the neck! Before purchasing, I read reviews and felt confident in my ability to complete the task. Before moving on to the buffing with rubbing compound, I carefully followed the instructions and alternated between the 800 grit and wet trizact 3000 sand. The lens was becoming clearer as soon as I buffed it out! I was blown away by the results and extremely proud of them! To help protect the lens, I bought and used Meguire's headlight clear coat, which is supposed to last up to a year. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. br>If you have patience and time, you will be able to achieve the best results. It took me two hours to complete each headlight. All you need is a hand drill (corded or cordless with extra fully charged battery packs), masking tape, a spray bottle filled with water, and plenty of paper towels, which are all included in this kit. I documented my progress with photos and a time-lapse video. The next day, I worked on the fog lights as well, as shown in the photo.
The two products are the 3M Headlight Restoration System (PN 39008) and the Meguiar's Perfect Clarity Headlight Restoration Two Step Kit (hereafter known as Meguiar's). br>br>My car's headlights had begun to show the telltale opaqueness associated with oxidation and sun damage. I began with the 3M system, which is more involved. The procedure entails using a series of disks to sand off the opaque layer, then finer and finer scratches in the surface left by the first disk until the headlight cover is frosted, and then polishing the headlight cover with polishing compound until it is clear. The Meguiar's product has fewer steps, as you start with a rubbing compound and then finish with a clear protective coating after you've achieved the frosted look. Efficacybr>- br>br>- br>br>- br>br>- br>br>- br The 3M product left an unmistakable unmistakable unmistakable unmistakable un headlight cover that has turned yellowbr>- The Meguiar's product left an unmistakable unmistakable unmistakable unmistakable unmistak br>br>Ease of use / Effortbr>- Surprisingly, they were both equally effective at restoring the headlightsbr>br>br> It took about 60 minutes to make the 3M product. 90 minutes to strip and buff a single headlight, note that this was done with a cordless drill (you may need an appropriate chuck as the kit attachment is smooth and round where my drill required a hex shank), making several passes and wiping down to assess progress before moving on to the next disk [note that the instructions caution you to mask around the headlights to avoid damage to the paint, I would suggest multiple layers in the areas where the paint is most li I suggest this because I scratched the paint by cutting right through a single layer of tape in one area. ]br>- It took about 15 minutes to apply Meguiar's. Using the applicator pad and side to side rubbing of the headlight resulted in additional buffing compound, which will be applied afterwards for final spray without allowing it to overspray. Note that the pads also need to be rolled over but not sprayed on on again.
I'd been using Meguiar's 2 for a while. Although I had to exert more effort because I wasn't using my drill to sand with, their system was much easier to control because I wasn't using my drill to sand with and their sanding pads that were using water weren't as aggressive as the dry sanding with the 3M kit. If I use the 3M kit again, I'll add more layers of tape to try to protect the car's paint finish. I believe they said to use two layers, but I'd probably use three or four next time; also, with the 3M kit, you're lucky if you get one set of headlights cleaned, whereas with the Meguiar's kit, I got two sets of headlights cleaned and still had plenty of polish and protective solution left in the bottles. The 3M kit only came with a small pouch of rubbing compound (enough to work on two headlights), and you'll need to buy their protective solution if you want to keep the clarity for a long time (I used some of Meguiar's protective solution after using the 3M kit).
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