is any of those headlight restoration kit worth it?

[winson2001]

as titled, is any of those headlight restoration kit worth it? i found them around $20-$40, do they work as they shown on their boxes? or is there a better way to do it other then buying new ones? I drive a 02 VW Jetta, looked online new ones cost $250 a side >_< all helpful input are very much appreciated ^^

[Kardon]

Yeah I'm pretty sure almost all of those headlight restoration kits work, some places will just do your headlights for a charge like mr. detail

[97luder]

they do work but you must have patience . if you try to hurry it up its just going to be a waste wait till you have the time

[Thaco]

all you need is a little baking soda and water, that'll clean the "cloud" up with a little elbow grease.

[derek_k]

Originally posted by Thaco
all you need is a little baking soda and water, that'll clean the &quot;cloud&quot; up with a little elbow grease.

Really, so I got baking soda and water, but how do you get the grease out of my elbow? And is it ok if I use dasani water?

[Strider]

They'll work, but it's not really worth the price

Grab 1 sheet each of 600,1000,1500,2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and wetsand your headlights.
Finish with Meguiars PlastX

google for a "how to"

[winson2001]

Thank you all for the inputs ^^

[CD007]

Definately worth it, if you want a good job.
If your cheap, then use basic toothpaste and a buffing wheel. As per, hot rod show on TV.

[slinkie]

+1 on the wetsanding if the housings are plastic. I didn't have any sandpaper on hand when I did it so I just bought the Permatex kit for a few dollars at Partsource. It came with sandpaper and some polishing stuff and I did them by hand, it ended up cheaper than buying the paper and compound separately. Great results

[euro_racer]

They work great but IMO not worth the money... Do what strider said

[carguy]

yeah it's worth it. I would recommend the Meguiars headlight restoration kit with the buff wheel u attach to a drill. As others have said be patient and take time to buff it out. No matter what you do, don't stay in one place too long and apply pressure. Apply moderate pressure and keep moving around

[revelations]

Originally posted by Strider
They'll work, but it's not really worth the price

Grab 1 sheet each of 600,1000,1500,2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and wetsand your headlights.
Finish with Meguiars PlastX

google for a &quot;how to&quot;

:werd:

[sillysod]

I've tried these kits on the VW, on an Explorer and the Acura.

They kinda worked, but in the end the sand paper trick works 1000% better.

Just sand and wax and they look just like new.

[Point4Dave]

Originally posted by winson2001
as titled, is any of those headlight restoration kit worth it? i found them around $20-$40, do they work as they shown on their boxes? or is there a better way to do it other then buying new ones? I drive a 02 VW Jetta, looked online new ones cost $250 a side &gt;_&lt; all helpful input are very much appreciated ^^

I've used them a few times. Doesn't take me too long.

Here's my friends Jetta I did end of last summer.
The first picture is what he was driving around with for a long time.

http://theartoflife.ca/misc/1.jpg

http://theartoflife.ca/misc/2.jpg

http://theartoflife.ca/misc/3.jpg

http://theartoflife.ca/misc/4.jpg

The kit was like $30 from Canadian Tire.

[BokCh0y]

Originally posted by Strider
They'll work, but it's not really worth the price

Grab 1 sheet each of 600,1000,1500,2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and wetsand your headlights.
Finish with Meguiars PlastX

google for a &quot;how to&quot;

Yeah this is EXACTLY hjow i did my IS a few years back. Tons work, but worth it in the end. I grabbed all the sand paper from Napa Auto. Coulnd't find the 1500+ grit paper anywhere else.

I also picked up one of those Canadian Tire kits per the above for $30, will try this once the rocks are cleared up on the road.

I think it'll be faster if you picked up the 3M kit from CT...and attached to a drill. I couldn't find those kids years ago when I did it and so i did everything by hand. Was tons of work.

[btimbit]

The 3m kit is really easy to do. Works well also, point4dave's post is pretty much how my Jetta looked as well. Crystal clear after.

Could buy all the sandpaper whatnot separately, but the 3m kit is only like $25 so it's worth the convenience.

The included drill wheel has come in handy for other jobs as well.

Alternatively, I'll be selling my Jetta headlights in a few more weeks if you're interested

[Everlast]

Couple of questions for anyone that has done this:

Are there any issues with sanding off the UV coating?

Will the lens go for years before needing work again?

[sillysod]

Originally posted by Everlast
Couple of questions for anyone that has done this:

Are there any issues with sanding off the UV coating?

Will the lens go for years before needing work again?

The UV coating is already gone, that's why it hazed over, so no you aren't going to sand off the UV coating.

Since the UV coating is gone they will need to get done every coupe years.