3M 39073 Headlight Lens Restoration Kit to Restore Dull/Faded/Discoloured Headlights For Car, 1 Pack, Smoke

I have an SLK Mercedes and I dread to think how much new headlamps are - they were becoming yellow and crazed as a result of sun damage - not so bad that it was going to fail an MOT - but I am trying to sell the car and so looks are important - the end result is so good I wish I'd done it earlier!.Apparently the UV from sunlight penetrates the outer layer of the plastic and dries it out causing the damage - this kit restores your headlights by physically removing the outer layer by abrasion and then restoring a polished finish - for me it was quite a leap of faith in the product - deliberately scratching up a perfectly serviceable headlamp seemed a bit risky - bit I needn't of worried - 3M do good kit.There a re a few videos on YouTube which were informative - albeit some were a bit slow - but it gave me the confidence that what was happening was quite normal - the headlamps will look worse before they look better - the instructions that came with the kit were more than adequate.The only stuff you need other than this kit is a cordless drill, a spray bottle of water, some cloths/kitchen roll and if you are working with the car bonnet up - I would recommend a dust sheet to protect the engine compartment from splatter - just saves a bit of cleaning afterwards - and wear old clothes - you will get splattered.The kit comprises of a Velcro drill attachment and 3 different grades of Velcro-backed abrasive paper, masking tape, Velcro-backed polishing pad and a sachet of polishing compound - I recon there's enough to do 2 sets of headlamps depending on how badly they are damaged.After cleaning both headlamps and masking all the bodywork around both headlamps I attached the coarse abrasive paper - took a deep breath, fired up the drill and set to work. On the first headlamp I made the mistake of only sanding the damaged area - by the time I got to the end - the undamaged area stood out because it wasn't as shiny! - so do the whole headlamp.Apply gentle to firm pressure and use cloth/kitchen roll to wipe away dust every few minutes, you can see the damage areas disappearing through haze of the plastic - by the time you've finished this stage the whole headlamp will be opaque - it should be a fairly even level of opaqueness throughout - have faith - it will get better.You then repeat this process using the next finest grade of paper - by this time the look of the headlamp is beginning to improve.Next you use the finest grade abrasive pad - this is where the water spray comes in - this grade is on a foam pad and you use the water spray to keep the area wet - this is where you begin to get splatteredFinally you use the polishing pad and polishing compound - again - keep it wet.After a final wipe down the finished result was amazing - I went back over and touched up any bits that didn't look perfect - I can't fault this product. It took 1 fully charged battery per headlamp.

I’ve tried several kits in the past with their buffing tools and abrasive oils and gels and they’ve always fell incredibly short, especially considering how pricey some of them are. This was an absolute last resort for me otherwise I was looking at buying and fitting a new set of headlights due to the excessive yellowing and now incredibly scratched plastic.With some patience, this kit genuinely brought them back to life. It definitely requires a steady hand and to have another drill battery fully charged on deck but it was able to bring back my 2005 RAV4 headlights that hadn’t been restored successfully ever. With this kit I also had enough remaining pads and buffing cream to also do my other cars headlights and it brought them up as well.So ultimately it’s excellent value for money, I was able to do two sets of headlights from one kit! They came up super bright and clean. I would recommend though to buy a clear coat spray lacquer to seal it though just to ensure it is durable for the future!

There was a category for 'Sheerness' when rating this product so I gave that 3 stars having no idea what it means. Otherwise it worked well and despite concerns about sanding what is basically a clear plastic headlight it did the job and removed yellowed clouding that came up as an issue at an MOT. It took about 25 minutes per headlight, the instructions were clear and enough sanders and paste were included to do the job. Be careful reading the description though. When I purchased it said it would need additional 3M automotive masking tape to protect the body work which I ordered but the kit included more than enough.A lighter cordless drill will be needed to get the pressure right and there are recommended speeds. In use make sure to keep the sander moving and don't slow down even to concentrate on an area because it causes a very rapid heat build up. I noticed a small brown scratch but it was actually starting to melt the plastic and luckily was easy to remove. The paste for final treatment comes with warnings that it's an irritant so use gloves, no disposable ones are included.