Best DIY Headlight Restoration Kit for Crystal Clear Lights
This IS the best DIY headlight restoration kit that you can buy! This method works every single time, even if your lights are rough. You can save money, and be done in an hour – restore your headlights with this simple DIY.
I get it – headlight restoration is boring. But it’s a necessary evil, if you’re wanting to sell your car or just want your ride to look nice. Many people think if their headlights become cloudy – they need new headlights (which can be a fortune!).
That is absolutely NOT true and you can clean your headlights yourself using this method.
Headlight cleaner can work (have you seen the toothpaste hack?), and you can try that first if you like.
It depends on what you are looking to spend. When we get to this stage of grime (in the pics), we typically forgo the cleaner and go right to the kit. We know it’s going to work!
Professional Cost vs DIY
After a little investigating we discovered that headlight restoration is about $100 – $150, but a headlight restoration DIY kit is about $15 – $20, and it typically does 2 – 3 (even 4!) cars.
We have six cars – soon to be seven. So we DIY. Using the 3M Headlight Restoration Kit.
I think if you check out the results above (the before and after), you’ll see that this kit achieves perfect results! Forget all the other products out there . . . this is it.
We added a couple of things to get the headlights looking as crystal clear as possible. Are you ready to learn how to use the kit (and our modifications)? Keep reading!
DIY Headlight Restoration
Equipment
- Spray bottle filled with water
Materials
- 1 3M Headlight Restoration Kit includes all the sanding discs referred to below
- Painter’s tape it comes in the kit but we used our own
- sandpaper 2500 – 3000 grit wet, extra step which we'll explain
- Cleaning solution/rubbing alcohol
Instructions
- Clean the headlight. I used a solvent and thinner solution, but rubbing alcohol would work as well.
- Tape off the both lights using painter's tape.
- Put the foam velcro buffing pad from the kit in the drill, then place the 500-grit sanding disc on the pad.
- Then spray water on the headlight and on your sanding disc. This will keep everything lubricated so it can flow and prevent scratching.
- Using a slow to medium speed on your drill, apply medium pressure and keep the pad flat on the headlight. Begin sanding, moving back and forth over the surface until you see the yellow UV damage and oxidation start to come off the surface. Reapply water as needed so that you are always sanding on a wet surface.
- Make three or four complete passes with your drill and sanding pad, adding water as needed.
- Spray water on the light and wipe off with a clean rag and this is how the headlight will appear. It will look worse before it gets better!
- Apply the 800-grit sanding disc from the kit and repeat the steps used with the 500-grit disc. Spray and wipe off the light again.
- Use the 2500 grit wet sanding paper – spray water on the headlight and directly on the sandpaper, then start sanding the light by hand. Use circular motion.
- When finished hand sanding, wipe the light dry and you will see that you are getting closer to the desired effect.
- Add on the 3M 3000 grit Trizact foam sanding disc. Use this disc as you did the other discs: keep the surface wet as you make 3 to 5 passes over the headlight.
- Keep applying water and passing over the headlight until you get the desired amount of clearing. Wipe off the light with a clean rag until dry.
- Using the foam polishing disc provided in the kit, apply a quarter sized dab of the Synthetic Wax Protectant (also provided in the kit) to the pad and smear on the light without the drill on. Begin polishing by turning the drill on. As you make more passes the light will become completely clear.
- When you are happy with the result, wipe clean with a clean rag. Remove the tape to finish.
Video
Notes
Ready to clean other stuff around your home? We’ve got lots of cleaning posts here on the blog, and here are some of my favorites:
Yes! Yes! Yes! This is the 3M Headlight Kit that I have been using. It is by far the best one. Thank you so much for reposting this on Pinterest.
My pleasure, thank you Rick!
Great kit ! It works just as you described but……my headlights clouded over again !? Once the lens is thoroughly cleaned & polished, what should be done afterwards to the lens & how frequently to keep the lenses crystal clear ? Thanks!
Hi Mark! How quickly did they cloud over again? We typically don’t have to do this to our headlights more than once a year. They will yellow again but not THAT fast. Steve waxes them when he’s done just to protect.
Once the headlights are clear- spray clear gloss on them— they won’t yellow for a long time after that
WD-40 will do the job as well as this or any other kit/cleaner.
Hi Sherman! Ours were too far gone for WD-40! We tried a lot of natural methods first and no dice.
Do you have to go through all of the sanding modes or just the 3000 grit and the WD 40?
Hi there! Unfortunately I can’t speak to the WD-40. We tried other methods first before we did this kit and they didn’t work. One of the methods worked okay (I can’t remember which) but it didn’t last. That’s when we turned to the kit, which lasts.
WD 40 dries out the headlight. Do NOT use that for headlight restoration. Any mechanic will tell you that. Toothpaste doesnt last that long, WD40 Will eventually make little surface cracks in the headlight. If you must do a backyard headlight resto, use a kit like this. And use a high quality wax after you are done… it should not haze over so quickly.
Thank you Steve! I didn’t know that about WD-40!
The 3000 grit 3M pad is great for the final fine scratch removal. It is important to use a long lasting, non yellowing, non peeling protective ACRYLIC coating after all of this stripping and polishing work. Also… make sure you decontaminate the surface after the polishing process. Use Alcohol to do this before the coating! Otherwise you run the risk of recontaminating the surface and then any coating will yellow and peel. Check out the videos on this site.
You can start with a low grit sanding paper depending on how bad your lights are. BUT as long as you remove the previous grit scratch gradually working up to the 3000 grit from whatever grit you started with it… 600 grit, 1200, 2000, 3000… the polishing will be perfect. THEN apply a UV wax or UV Coat. Wax will only last about 2-3 months… then you will need to only clean the lenses with soap and water and reapply UV wax.
Hi Daniel! Thank you so much for the tips! This is good advice to keep it long lasting . . . 😀
Has anyone ever tried to spray a clear coat (uv resistant) after all the steps completed?
Yes.. it will not work the the lens will look cracked, it does not dry clear as we think ….
Daniel what’s the best final UV protectant coating after doing all the sanding and then a final isopropyl alcohol cleaning? I see that both 3M and Sylvania sell a product for this coating but just want to make sure I use a good one. Ammo NYC had a good youtube video of a full restoration on an old Honda Accord but he doesn’t really ever mention product names other than the what he sells himself
@Daniel Mendoza, I believe you can get a clear wrap , like the ones that they use for the front of cars , to protect the paint from rocks and bug stains. This will provide the headlights with the best protection against turning yellow, and for the longest time
What are some brands of UV wax or coat? I assume these are automotive waxes.
best-headlight-restoration-kit/
Is there something to use often to clean your headlights so you never get this build-up?
I have a 15 year old Toyota need to clean, can’t drive at night because I don’t get much light on the road. I have had them cleaned professionally and they last a couple of months. Please give further information as to how to order kit. Thank you, me
Hi there! Here’s the kit on Amazon: https://fave.co/3cwqbsv
Looks like it’s available at auto parts stores, Walmart, and other places too!
Can’t wait to try this… It’s going to be SO gratifying for this ocd diy-er! Glad I didn’t try to toothpaste hack yet. Can you suggest some brands of wax to use after resto? Something on the budget friendly side would be awesome. Thank you for this post ✌️♥️
I have cleaned several autos but instead of wax, I used nano coating H-9 with two coats it Looks great and lasts about 2 yrs on my 2001 GMC Yukon
Sorry, I have used this and it’s the same as all the other kits I tried. It makes them look like new for about a month, then right back to crappy.
Herbert I’m so sorry! That’s a bummer. Mine lasts for years . . . perhaps at a certain point you just need new lenses :/
I believe there’s a better way to restore headlight lenses. Just one mod after all the steps of sanding off any factory uv protectant. Skip the final polish and go straight to
vapor deposition of acetone, synthetic gauze soaked in acetone to wipe on or airbrush acetone. Applying a soaked gauze pad and wiping once can be tricky as acetone reacts immediately to polycarbonate lenses, melting if lingering or wiping twice over the same area. One gauze pad per lens. Vapor deposition is best while airbrushing may be just as effective.
I’ve used off the shelf products twice and clear coated but lenses yellow after a year or so. Over sanding left score lines but after careful sanding on my third try in several years, acetone appears to be best at immediate restoration of clear lenses. I did not clear coat them this time as I want to see how well they hold up. Since acetone dissolves polycarbonates readily, it seems to be the ideal way to paint on a clear lens that mends all the scratches involved in sanding. Vapor deposition or airbrushing may be the best two ways of applying acetone in a controlled manner but does depend on proper lens preparation before its applied.
Hi there! I’m not sure what any of this means to be honest but I’m happy to add this comment in case it makes sense to others!
This headlight restoration kit is FANTASTIC. I visited my Mom in Arizona a few years ago and she said she didn’t like driving at night any longer as she couldn’t see as things were to dark out there in the desert! One evening while I was driving her car I was immediately aware of her issue. I pulled into an auto parts store and assisted her out of her car. I showed her the cloudy headlights on her 2002 Buick LeSabre and explained that ANYONE would have difficulty seeing with THESE cloudy headlights. I purchased the kit and did her headlights the next morning. They turned out GREAT. I looked at the headlights of her neighbors vehicles in the condo association that she lived in and since I had everything already there, moved over and did several other vehicles headlights. Everyone of them deeply appreciated what I’d done and after driving at night made sure to thank me once more. My Mom was happy to know that it wasn’t her eyes that were failing her and that it was only her foggy and hazy plastic headlight housings. GREAT PRODUCT that works as described.
Yay! Glad this method worked for you!
Thank you so much! My son and I decided to restore a ’93 JDM Sport and boy has it been an adventure. This headlight kit was PERFECT for us, and I’m so pleased with how the headlights have turned out! We are getting so close to finishing this up and I can’t wait to finally take a drive.
I honestly don’t write reviews but after my son used this 3M kit on my car headlights I’ve got to say its a fantastic product! My headlights look brand new again. So don’t waste you $ buying new headlights or going someplace to get it done. You can do it yourself.
My headlamps are plastic. Will this work on that? Thanks.
Ours were plastic. And yes it did. Having said that if you want to be sure, you can contact 3M who could probably tell you. This is an at your risk type project, but I think it’s going to work for most headlamps 🙂
I have this down for reference. I live in a condo and don’t have a drill for sanding. I will keep in my nd – thanks!
Needs a clear coat.