My head lights are starting to get a bit cloudy. They aren't terrible but at certain angles I can tell they are starting to look bad. I was thinking about getting the 3m kit. My question is, since my headlights are still pretty clear, do I still have to sand them down? Or can I get away with something a bit less drastic? Thanks in advance.

 

when they cloud it's typically the UV coating that's yellowed and clouded. Sanding takes all of this off and makes the cloud come back faster with the plastic exposed.

I've read you'll need to seal the headlights with something if you plan on sanding it. There's some liquid urethane you can pick up from home improvement stores.

see this thread: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...oat-2-0-a.html

 

I have personally used the 3M Kit.. It does work just make sure you MASK off the surrounding area u don't want to sand the paint off (my friend did it on his 3 series not fun)

Anyway Follow the instructions and you should be fine. After i was done I went to Pep Boys and they have a headlight sealer you can spray and wipe it its sorta thick like a clear nail polish. i didn't have a problem for as long as I had those lights (2.5 months) I recently got into an accident and got 2 brand new OEM headlights. Biggest mistake people make is not sealing them and the yellow oxidation comes back 10x worse. SEAL SEAL SEAL.

 

i did the 3m kit for my rsx. It work for the first two years then its gets clouded again. go figure.. i'm going with some jdm ebay headlights instead , its a waste of time i think.

 

Interesting information, back in September I sanded mine w/ 1000/1500/3000 followed by a high speed polish and an ongoing coat of wax goes on when I give the car it's weekly detail.....I haven't noticed any oxidation coming back but will surely keep your reply in mind.

 

yeah, resealing with wax every week should keep the lenses in good condition. The problem is wax wont stay on very long should it be left on for more than a month or so.

It looks like the OP in the autogeek thread says it still is holding up well after 6 mo.

Something i'd like to try when i do my lights too. The prev owner had it detailed and whoever did it went crazy with the buffer and did a number on my drivers side headlight.

 

Take a look through this thread. I believe it also explains what to use to replace the UV coating that you will sand off.
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?43508-How-To-Restore-Headlight-Lenses&highlight=headlight+uv+coating

 

Im facing a similar dilemma as far as sealing. I bought the 3m kit a while ago, but ive held off on the job until I can decided on the right sealing choice. The options ive contemplate on are

3 layers of automotive clear coat ($80 by local body shop)
8mil headlight protection (clear vinyl) ($70 by local film protection shop)
autogeek spar urethane method ($20 DIY)
DIY automotive clearcoat ($??)

Im really not sure what I want to do. the guy who installs the films claims that it will last 4-6 years before it needs to be reapplied, but will keep it from yellowing. He works on some pretty high dollar cars, and all his work looks great. the spar urethane method seems like it lasts up to a year, but $20 worth of supplies should last you a real long time. As far as automotive clear coats, im really not sure how long that would last. Id really like to go the clearcoat way, but I haven't found a place that I completely trust to do the job. Plus, id want to remove the headlights, so the CC could cure properly.

Hope that helps a bit

 

Thanks for the reply's. From what I gather, I guess I can't avoid sanding. Like I said, my lights are still pretty clear, but I'm pretty anal about stuff like this so I guess I might as well 3m them now before it gets to bad.

 

I used the 3M stuff almost 3 years ago and I'll probably end up doing them again soon. Considering how long it takes and the price, you really can't beat it.

 

Dont sand them unless you have a solution for protection. As others have mentioned, without any protection, they will just oxidize again, only this time, it will be much faster.

the guy on autogeek is currently doing a comparison between the urethane method and this opti-coat stuff. Its a pretty good read. Both are simple to apply. Please do some kind of coating, even if its the simple urethane stuff.

 

definately make sure you use a UV blocker! good luck to you

 

I wetsanded mine, then PlastX, then seal with Nu Finish.

 

^Good stuff, I recently used it but didn't sand since it wasn't that bad.

 

I just did mine with meguiar's 105/205 then wax.. came out better than I expected lol

 

Same and I used plastic sealer with uv protection and regular clear them with plastic polish I get from work.

been 4 years since my first oxidation so I think its doing good.

 

I've used it on 5 cars. Works great. Take your time at it. I normally take 1 hour on each headlight.

 

you can use any polish you would use on your car, when i detail/machine polish my car, i always go right over the head and tails just like i would the paint....then follow with a sealant/wax of your choice....i have been using xmt 360 on my last two cars, followed by 4 star upp and my lenses look brand new....

 

My GFs car has one headlight that looks brand new and the other had yellowed pretty bad. I finally got around to picking up the 3M kit which not also includes a packet of stuff for protection when finished as well. Not sure how well it will protect so we shall see. I had read people on other forums and reviews saying it wouldn't make them new but would make them better. I think people just do work long enough on the light. I worked on the one light for about 45min total time from start to finish and I now think it came out great.

 

I tried this a couple years ago when I had a 3G TL, turned out ok.
CCC - your job looks very nice, looks new again!

 

I used to swear by the 3M kit but the Mothers Powerball for headlights is much better IMO. I would post pictures but I don't want to derail this thread too much.