kocyk123

Hello,

Today I was really bored and decided to treat passenger headlight with 3M restoration kit + 3M hood bra as a sealant. I spent about and hour working on that headlight. It was my third time doing magic with 3M kit. Please enjoy the pictures:

Before







After Sanding with Grid 500


After Sanding with Grid 800


After Wet Sanding


After polishing for the first time


After Polishing for the second time

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

very nice

Popee

iTrader: (1)

Looks good man!! How long does it last before you gotta re-apply again?

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

With the 3M clear bra, he shouldn't have to redo the headlights again.

kocyk123

Thanks, it lasts for years. I have it on my 01 Audi A8L for almost 5 years and it looks great. I did the same thing on my friends 2004 Audi A6 Convertible almost 2 years ago and he loves it.

ryguy31586

Pretty sweet man they look amazing after. Where did u get the kit?

kocyk123

Thanks. I bought 3M bra on Amazon and 3M headlight restoration kit at the local store. You can buy it cheaper on Amazon.

rexflexall

Nice! Gotta do that to mine. Does the sandpaper take out some minor chips in the headlight? With sanding, you use any type of liquid to apply to headlight?

kocyk123

It does remove all the small chips. You just need to take your time doing it. If you don't take your time, here is what you will get:


As far as the sanding goes, I only used water for the wet sanding pad. Make sure that your headlight and the pad is wet all the time.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Wow, nice job....I've got a headlight that needs this.

kocyk123

Stop by in Chicago and I will do it for you ;-)

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

^^^^ Leaving now-grab a couple of Blackhawks Stanley Cup tickets for Monday night too!

Acura93

Looks good, my headlights got polish too, but I don't know why is still dim, should I change my bulbs or check something?

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Fantastic work!

kocyk123

I guess I will see you soon
How many miles do you have on the car? It might be your light bulb, it could be your projector burning out or it could be both. Same issue on my Audi. I currently have 208k miles on it so even though I polished both headlights there was no improvement in light output. I don't blame it since projectors are probably burned out already.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

I wish man, I wish.......

Acura93

My TL has 105k, I just got it haven't check those stuff.

kocyk123

Changing light bulbs should do it. If you don't mind spending about $180 then get Osram CBI's. Night and day difference comparing to stock bulbs

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Bulbs help amazingly....night and day difference.

kocyk123

Hello there,

It has been more than a month since I restored my headlight. I just wanted to give you an update on how well the 3M hood bra is holding up on the lens. I am sure that most of the liquid UV sealants would be washed out from the headlight already and it would start showing signs of fading again. I will do another update in next few months. Enjoy!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

I just bought a Meguiars kit at Bloomington Gold for the Type S. I'll give it a try next week.

kocyk123

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

EddieOnAZ

Optimum opti-lens is a liquid coating that's supposed to be permanent. I have it on my drivers side headlight since last year and it holds up perfectly for now. I'm gonna do my passenger's side soon since it faded since last year. That side was not coated with opti-lens.

kocyk123

Thanks for your input. I recently bough optimum opti-seal for paint since I ran my car through paint correction service and want to get a good sealant for it.

n3o

iTrader: (2)

Bumping this. Update? Also how well is that opi coat stuff holding up?

Stephen Anthony Pagan

Wow the TL came out great, I've been cheap and been doing the bug repellent trick.. but know i must invest in 3m bra kit

kocyk123

The lens still looks brand new. I will take some updated pictures when I wash my car. The opti product is just ok. I didn't really see any difference before and after applying.

The 3m bra kit is really worth all the $$ if you want to keep your lenses looking brand new for next few years ;-) It also bounces of the stone chips and protects the lens itself so when you remove it, your lens is undamaged ;-)

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

I need to get mine done, they look gross! Wanna make a trip to Milwaukee? JK

kocyk123

I will do if for free if you stop by in Chicago! Just get 3M restoration kit and the bra. PM me if you wanna do it ;-)

kocyk123

It has been 3 months since I polished passenger headlight and sealed it with 3M hood bra. Here is a picture showing how it is holding up after 3 months:






It looks as fresh as the day I polished it.

A week ago I finally managed to do driver's side lens:

Before:


After:

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Looks good.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

nice job

truonghthe

here is mine as promise. I am using M105 and M205 with meguairs DA to finish the touch.

Before



After 1200 grid sanding




Final product

KJ TL-S

iTrader: (9)

I noticed one of my lights is starting to show just a bit of that hazy crap near the bottom, so I'm sure I'm not all that far away from it becoming a problem.

Kocyk, just realized you're in Chicago! Last time I tried this on my old headlights it didn't pan out as well as I'd hoped. Maybe we can meet up!

kocyk123

Looks good. What are you going to use as a sealant? How long did it take you to work on one headlight?

I will be more than happy to do your headlights. Get this:


and 3m restoration kit and stop by ;-)

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

I used the Megs kit too. It worked well....just like yours.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

<p>anyone can polish...what OP is doing is going above and beyond by preventing it happening again...</p>

truonghthe

Less than 10 mins, the most time consuming part when I have to tape the headlight. once sanded down the Meguairs DA makes quick work of the buff, I temporary seal it with meguairs headlight sealant but I will put a 3M clear bra later on.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I did opti-lens on both of them...it kinda looks streaky in full sun though so I'm not too hopeful on it being good forever.

DSC_9761 by rock star, on Flickr

kocyk123

Hmm that's kinda quick. It usually takes me 1h per headlight to tape, restore and seal.

Using 3M restoration kit you can get your lens to perfection. It only depends on how much time you are going to spend on it. I will be doing my girlfriend's 07 TSX hazy lights over the weekend and will post some pics.