Headlight Restoring..

My headlight assemblies are bugging me, the yellow tinge-worse on top is really an eye sore. They lasted 12 years. I know putting new oem LED assemblies would be best, but I am cheap. Any cheap restore kits worth using or will I be re-doing them every 6 months?

 

I had a 2011 Honda Pilot and saw several youtube videos on using Meguires Mag Polish. Not going to lie, it worked.

 

Did it remove the yellow? Is it holding up?

 

The 3M Headlight Restoration Kit 39194 works well.

 

Mine were really bad “cloudy” and hazy. Don’t remember if it was yellow. Sorry. It’s called Mothers Mag polish. Watch videos on YouTube about using it for headlights. I was pretty impressed at the job it did

 

Mine were yellow. Lasted 12 years. I tried several youtube videos. Did nothing for me. Infact I made it worse.
Found a decent quality non OEM for about 100 odd dollars. Working fine for last 6 months.

Paint shops will restore them for you and make them quite good but the price would be close to getting a new non OEM unit.

 

You have to remember to keep them from yellowing again you need to get a ceramic coating- it can be a ceramic wax for UV protection. I put a ceramic coating on the 2011 Pilot and two years later there was no hazing or anything

 

If you are planning on keeping the vehicle. Just get a new assembly or clean used ones/.

The dealership restoration didn't last long on my Honda Pilot

 

Thanks. You happen to have a link for the assemblies you got?

 

Google is your friend. I got in touch with a local paint shop and he hooked me up. It was a little expensive that what I could source but was convenient.

Amazon has a brand called ACANII. Check them out. A pair goes for 170 odd.

 

I did a restoration on my daughters 2016 camry. They were really cloudy, much worse than the OPs. The procedure I used was

1. Tape off area around headlight
2. Wet sand with 800 grit
3. Wet sand with 2000 grit
4. Wet sand with 5000 grit
5. Polish with rotary polisher and polishing compound ( w/o any fillers)
6. Sealed with graphene coating

Still look great after 8 months in the Texas sun.

Note- The Meguiars headlight coating was a fail. The first coat was nice, the second looked terrible. If you're gonna use this, do it in one coat. It came off easily w rubbing alcohol.

 

After extensive googling, I used this on my 2010 Outback. It was a lot of work, but turned out great.

$22 SYLVANIA - Headlight Restoration Kit - 3 Easy Steps to Restore Sun Damaged Headlights With Exclusive UV Block Clear Coat, Light Output and Beam Pattern Restored, Long Lasting Protection

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00429NKWK?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

Yes. Most of it is just using the right progression of grits, but the clear coat finish makes a difference. It's just like new.

 

Sanding is a great way to restore inexpensively I've done it to other cars of mine. I will definitely agree with the others above to go with a better coating like ceramic, clear coat, etc. Wax is fine if you wax your vehicle regularly but most dont and won't last long without regular applications.

 

I used the Turtle Wax kit from Walmart on my son's Camry. I figured for $10 and 15 minutes it was worth a try. They are not perfect, but they work substantially better.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Turtle-Wax-New-Speed-Headlight-Lens-Restorer-Kit-Heal-and-Seal/542782393

 

The problem with some of the lower-cost kits is that the plastic yellows in a year or two, so you have to redo them often.

 

Although if you're doing it every 2 years, you're averaging $5 and 8 minutes per year.

 

it's more complicated than that. Usually the first time someone uses a restoration kit, you are sanding away the factory top layer that contains the OEM UV resistant coating that is really hard to reapply correctly, so subsequent restore results will yellow and cloud quicker when the plastic underneath now are exposed to full force of UV rays.