Headlight Restoration Kits

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Old Feb 15, 2010 | 09:40 PM
  #1  
982.5TL's Avatar
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All about JDM
 
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From: FL
Question Headlight Restoration Kits

Hey everyone. I already did a search on this but didn't want to bring a 3 year old thread back from the dead.

Do any of you have first hand experience with headlight restoration kits?

I have my eye on three or four:

Mcguires PlastX
Blue Magic
Turtle Wax branded kit
and a 3M kit that you use with different pads and a drill as your "buffer"

Which one do you think is best. Do they really make an honest difference. Sure they are all only 10-20 bucks but I still don't want to feel like I completely wasted my money on something totally ineffective.

Thanks
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Old Feb 15, 2010 | 11:58 PM
  #2  
Go90go's Avatar
大日本帝国
 
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Double Standard Land
They work.

Actually, metal polish works better as you don't have to buff as hard. I use a Carmate kit I bought in Japan, and Mothers metal polish.

~Cheers~
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Old Feb 16, 2010 | 01:02 AM
  #3  
NewAcuraFan's Avatar
Cruisin'
 
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I used Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer Kit last year that cost about $8 and the results were fantastic! The kit includes 4oz lens clarifying compounds, 4oz spary lubricant and 3 restoration pads (level 1 thru 4). The best part of the kit is those pads which will almost garantee a good new look on your lens. All you need to do is follow the instruction closely. Good luck!
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Old Feb 16, 2010 | 11:01 AM
  #4  
bigwerm187's Avatar
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From: SinCal 805
Yeah they work pretty good but if you really want them to look clean you have to sand them down with some 1000 and 2000 wet sand... then use you polishing restore kits and they will looks super clean..!!
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Old Feb 16, 2010 | 03:37 PM
  #5  
982.5TL's Avatar
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Word. Thanks for the input. Ill try to knock it out this week and let you all now how it goes.
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Old Feb 16, 2010 | 04:59 PM
  #6  
main70072's Avatar
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From: New Orleans, LA
Take before and after pics.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 01:25 AM
  #7  
tj19855's Avatar
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From: Houston, TX
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...1#post11749451
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Old Feb 18, 2010 | 02:11 PM
  #8  
982.5TL's Avatar
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Well here they are. Just the Passenger side though my driver side wasnt even that bad so the difference isnt that noticable. I used the turtle wax kit that I got for $10 and though it doesnt look anywhere close to tj19855 I think I got my $10 worth. This should hold me over until I finally pull the trigger on some JDM headlamps.

Before


After


Sorry the pics arent that great. I took them from my phone and I didnt even realize it was on the lowest quality setting.
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Old Feb 18, 2010 | 06:50 PM
  #9  
tmnhs81's Avatar
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Thats a lot better than before...
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Old Feb 19, 2010 | 03:03 PM
  #10  
TexasHonda's Avatar
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I seem to remember you should spray on a UV clear coat of polyurethane to protect the lens from re-oxidation.

regards
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Old Feb 19, 2010 | 03:14 PM
  #11  
982.5TL's Avatar
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From: FL
The turtle wax kit came with a sealant.
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Old Feb 19, 2010 | 05:17 PM
  #12  
TLin401's Avatar
'13 Hyundai Sonata
 
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From: RI (401)
Looks brand new.
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 11:56 AM
  #13  
myisanog's Avatar
Racer
 
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From: Sacramento, California
nobody buy PlastX !! it is bullshit and does not work !!
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 12:32 PM
  #14  
tempetom's Avatar
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From: Tempe AZ
I had to go out to the garage and see what I just bought. It's PlastX. I find it to do an ok job. Maybe if the cloudiness is very bad it doesn't work; I don't know. I bought my car as a salvage restoration in 97 and I think they got clear coat on one of my headlights. It started flaking some time ago and looked like crap. I was sandpapering it then using rubbing compound on it. That was pretty hard to do, but I don't trust myself to use power tools on it. I probably should have. but it's looking pretty good now. My Tundra headlights were only slightly cloudy and the PlastiZ seems to have fixed them.
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Old Apr 24, 2010 | 09:41 AM
  #15  
Mandy's Avatar
98 3.2 Flamenco Black
 
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Marietta
Great job! Looks 10,000 better! I hate seeing cloudy lenses.
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Old Apr 30, 2010 | 06:17 PM
  #16  
n8tivesTL's Avatar
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Joined: Apr 2010
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From: lawrence kansas
Originally Posted by 982.5TL
Well here they are. Just the Passenger side though my driver side wasnt even that bad so the difference isnt that noticable. I used the turtle wax kit that I got for $10 and though it doesnt look anywhere close to tj19855 I think I got my $10 worth. This should hold me over until I finally pull the trigger on some JDM headlamps.

Before


After


Sorry the pics arent that great. I took them from my phone and I didnt even realize it was on the lowest quality setting.
looks good man....those resoration kits are a good fix...been detailing for a long time...and thats what we use..
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