Headlight Restoration

[gsmiller]

I spent an hour or so this weekend with a 3M headlight restoration kit to revive the yellowed lenses on my recently acquired 04 C4S. I was quite happy with the results and thought I'd share a couple pics for folks considering it. I plan to apply the xpel headlight film product now that they're clear to keep them from yellowing again quickly.

Here's a before/after shot so you can see how it worked, as well as a shot of the scariest moment after the initial sanding. I used the kit meant for a household drill. I was pretty nervous about taking a drill with sandpaper on it to my lenses, but the finished product was great. Thought a pic of the process would be helpful for anyone else nervous about doing the same. For what it's worth, I found removing the lenses from the car to be much easier than taping off the surrounding paint.

I'm happy to answer any questions for anyone considering the same. Cheers!

After the first round of sanding:


Finished product before & after:

[WPOZZZ]

You will need to put a clear coat on the lenses as they will fog up after several months.

[gsmiller]

Thanks Bryan. I was planning on using the protective film product from xpel. Will that work in place of a clear coat?

[WPOZZZ]

Xpel will work, but have seen other lenses with it and the uncovered areas at the edges and around the headlight washers haze. It still looks better than the entire headlight hazing.

[gsmiller]

Got it, thanks. I didn't really have this issue when I lived in Seattle (wonder why... ), but since moving to California it's a never ending battle.