EricTheRed
Pantless...
My headlights were bad. Like...really fuzzy lookin'. The light output was suffering tremendously (even with Sylvania Silverstar Ultras) and they generally looked like crap.
I attempted the ubiquitous toothpaste method, but all that left me with was gingivitis free headlights that smelled vaguely of mint.
I decided on the 3M Lens Renewal Kit because it doesn't involve any sort of hand scrubbing/sanding/polishing. No my friends...it uses your everyday household drill.
The instructions are well laid out and easy to read, and failing that 3M has provided a YouTube tutorial for the tl;dr folks:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t1RBw0IGXA"]3Mâ„¢ Headlight Lens Restoration System - YouTube[/ame]
My only suggestion here is to take your sweet time! My first headlight took me approximately half an hour. It certainly cleared it up, but was still a tad hazy. The second headlight I was meticulous about; one hour later and it was as close to factory as these headlights are ever gonna get.
The most important thing to remember is that when restoring headlights, you're effectively sanding off any UV protection your lenses may have had when they rolled off the factory floor. Road debris may scratch up your headlights, but it's the sunlight that really does a number on them. This kit includes a finisher/sealant, but I haven't found any reviews as to how well it works at protecting headlights that aren't on garage queens. Instead of applying a tried and true sealant, I've left the supplied goop on there and will report back in a few months to see how well it works.
...and on to the pics.
Left:
Right:
Seriously...when I turned on my headlights for the first time afterward it was like I had just upgraded to HIDs!
I attempted the ubiquitous toothpaste method, but all that left me with was gingivitis free headlights that smelled vaguely of mint.
I decided on the 3M Lens Renewal Kit because it doesn't involve any sort of hand scrubbing/sanding/polishing. No my friends...it uses your everyday household drill.
The instructions are well laid out and easy to read, and failing that 3M has provided a YouTube tutorial for the tl;dr folks:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t1RBw0IGXA"]3Mâ„¢ Headlight Lens Restoration System - YouTube[/ame]
My only suggestion here is to take your sweet time! My first headlight took me approximately half an hour. It certainly cleared it up, but was still a tad hazy. The second headlight I was meticulous about; one hour later and it was as close to factory as these headlights are ever gonna get.
The most important thing to remember is that when restoring headlights, you're effectively sanding off any UV protection your lenses may have had when they rolled off the factory floor. Road debris may scratch up your headlights, but it's the sunlight that really does a number on them. This kit includes a finisher/sealant, but I haven't found any reviews as to how well it works at protecting headlights that aren't on garage queens. Instead of applying a tried and true sealant, I've left the supplied goop on there and will report back in a few months to see how well it works.
...and on to the pics.
Left:
Right:
Seriously...when I turned on my headlights for the first time afterward it was like I had just upgraded to HIDs!
The headlights on my gf's '04 4Runner are terrible! This is a must-do real soon!
