3M Ultra Headlight Restoration Kit

[@ja-zs6pd]

Good job explaining how to use the kit. I appreciated the tips on planning things out, before getting started. 3M for the win.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Thanks for the view and the comment.

[@cabel1975]

Excellent tutorial/video, TY! About to use this exact same kit on a 2005 Jeep Liberty which has completely round headlights. Trying to think of the best plan on the clear coat application, but hey, as they say "Real Jeeps have round headlights!". Will try to post a follow up to this message on how it went overall in hopes to help someone in the future. TY once again!

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I wish you the best of luck with the kit. The sanding and polishing are the most time consuming parts but they are worth spending the extra time on to get the lens perfectly uniform. It's funny how once you're done it's going to look like the headlights are brand new, and almost like the car is happier.

[@marambula]

nice demo. The 3M kit sure packs a punch with quality sandpaper for the drill attachment. They have another inexpensive kit with an orange polish pad and plastic polish which would compliment this kit really well, Too bad they are separate.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Thanks, do you mean the kit from this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/pHaqmo2kh9mrobM which I used on another car? I liked that kit as well, but that car's headlights were in much worse shape. The most important part of any headlight restoration though is the clear coat as the final step for both appearance and keeping the light from degrading later on and having to do the whole process all over again. So far, 3M has had the best clear coat in terms of application clarity and clear coat life. The Turtle Wax kit I used did a good job in the sanding phase but the clear coat applied rather wavy and wasn't as crystal clear, and the Sylvania clear coat was super clear but came off in a carwash after a short few months. So you could use almost any kit to sand down and remove the oxidized plastic then apply the 3M Headlight Clear Coat in the cheap singles on Amazon or at a parts store if they have them.

[@marambula]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom Yes that's the kit I meant. Have you used the meguiars headlight spray clear coat? It's in light blue packaging and small can like 4-6oz id guess. There's a channel called "headlight restoration pro" who swears by the meguiars and curses the 2k trend.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I haven't tried the Meguiar's one yet. That was going to be my next one, once I get another car to restore the headlights on. I'm a little leery of the 2K clear coat myself, as I haven't done it yet. I'm willing to bet you have to watch the thickness of the clear applied to not reduce light output or affect how the light is dispursed.

[@dosgos]

Used Sylvania 2-part kit on the Astra on three different ocassions. Each application started failing after about 6-9 months. We tried the Mother's system and it wasn't significantly different. YMMV. Might just buy some clear stickers designed for headlights.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

That's where I keep debating using an actual automotive clear coat. But it all comes down to the clarity and if it might affect the light output.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

How long has the Maguire's lasted for you? I haven't used the Maguire's Headlight Restoration kit yet, it's on my list once I pick up another car to fix up. But you obviously haven't dealt with Sylvania's headlight restoration clear coat, that stuff comes off pretty easy in a car wash after a couple months and I fixed it again in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJC4h4B_drGobtE.

[@samuelugh5729]

Can i still use a 900RPM. DRILL? thank you.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

@@samuelugh5729 That's an interesting question. I would assume that it's fine for all the sanding, its just not going to be as fast. That being said, I've wetsanded hundreds of lights by hand which can take a long time but can yield a better result. I think the speed applies more to not exceeding the speed as at a shop I worked at we used a buffer and I would run it at the slowest speed, a buddy told the new guy that real men buff at high speed and the kid melted a 3 inch stripe into a set of Lexus headlights during the polishing. Some kits come with a polish while some kits skip the polish and you go from sanding to clearcoating, so it all depends on your kit. You can hand polish too, but be ready to be really sore the next day.

[@samuelugh5729]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom thanks for the response mike. i also do have a up to 3000RPM. But im scared to use that because it’s very strong. I don’t want to damage the headlights. I’ll probably use the 900 and see how it comes out. I’ll just have to work harder i guess. Like you mentioned. I have the ultra headlight restoration kit from amazon.