Headlights restoration kits

[rocksteadyX5]

Anyone has some real world recommendation on headlights restoration?
I was thinking of getting the 3M Headlight Restoration kit but I wanted to see what others have used and got pretty good results.

This is the current condition of my lens

[afstud]

i never use the kits anymore, they never seem to work for me, i buy individual sand paper 300, 600, 1000, 1500 and 2500 grits let them sit in a bucket of warm water for about 10 mins and wet sand the whole headlights starting with the lowest and going up but make sure you get one of those sponge like sanding blocks, you can get the 300 in one of those and then wrap the other sand papers around the block and use that to do the rest of the headlight because then it creates and even sanding surface, and then finish off with a polisher on a drill bit or I use a high speed buffer and polish the lights to a New look shine with polishing compound. They literally were worse than yours and now looks crystal clear! just keep the lenses clean between different grits or youll scratch them with the left over crap. GL!

[pezho405]

Yeah you can use Sandpapers, but The 3M kit was the best one that i have ever used. I always save it for when a customer has bad headlights when i detail.

[rocksteadyX5]

Originally Posted by pezho405

Yeah you can use Sandpapers, but The 3M kit was the best one that i have ever used. I always save it for when a customer has bad headlights when i detail.

Thanks...I asked around and the 3M seems to be rated pretty good.

[ukrcan]

i've seen some amazing results from 3m kits... already bought one, but waiting to for the weather to get better so i can do it on my x

[afstud]

last time i used a 3M kit on my e46 headlights it didnt turn out well at all and ive used these kits many times, the bmw headlights have a thicker coating of clear coat or the UV coating what ever its called, and the 3M kit doesnt have the lower grit sand paper to break through all of the UV coating, and the sand papers when there dry get clogged up alot easier, trust me ive been doing headlights for many many years and doing it with wet sanding is the most thorough way and gives me the best results by far. they literally look factory fresh.

[Naz24]

you could buy the sandpaper yourself also.... From 800-1000-1200-1500-2000-2500, then a heavy cutting compound, medium cut, glaze, and wax...

[nyum96]

3M. It takes time to get through the UV film/coating. The directions on the 3m kit says this, or my kit did. Mine looked ok to start (crusty at the tops) and they were not yellow. 3m says its easier when the lenses are yellow or worse off because the process will go faster.

I've used both physical and electronic elbow grease. Electronic, aka 3m, is the best way to go. Took be about 1.5 hours to cut through the UZ coating (will cause shadowing if not all off) and get it all smooth. Looks awesome. $22 for the kit at my local autoparts joint. I did have to add a protective coating, outside of my cheap kit; $5 extra.

Word of advise, tape, tape, tape, tape, the edges. Instructions stay this as well. Worth the read.

[X5SND]

Originally Posted by afstud

last time i used a 3M kit on my e46 headlights it didnt turn out well at all and ive used these kits many times, the bmw headlights have a thicker coating of clear coat or the UV coating what ever its called, and the 3M kit doesnt have the lower grit sand paper to break through all of the UV coating, and the sand papers when there dry get clogged up alot easier, trust me ive been doing headlights for many many years and doing it with wet sanding is the most thorough way and gives me the best results by far. they literally look factory fresh.

I had no issues with the 3m kit not removing the uv layer on my X5 housings. The kit worked like a charm, did what it was suppose to; made my lights look like new. The 500 grit pads that come with the kit have no trouble chewing through the protective layer and then some.

To the OP, a 3m kit will work just fine to get those headlamps looking like new.

[pezho405]

The only reason i ppreffer the kit over sandpaper is because i like using the kit with the drill. I dont have a way to attach the sandpaper to the drill