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View Full Version : DIY: 3M Headlight Restoration



03Si757
07-24-2008, 12:40 PM
I just did the 3M headlight restoration kit myself today, being my first time doing it, it took me about 45 minutes to finish the job and WOW what a difference. The kit is about $16-17 at (only place I looked and found) Advanced Auto and is made to do 2x passenger car size head lights. I only had to do it on the passenger side headlight due to the fact the right side headlight looks brand spanking new. But now you cannot really tell any difference. The 3M kit comes with GREAT detailed directions with pictures. But here is also a video with GREAT step-by-step directions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t1RBw0IGXA

Now with the few contours of our lights it did make it a little bit tough being careful not to apply uneven pressure, but patience is the number 1 thing when doing something like this.


Here are some Pics of Before and After.

Before

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/966/before1qx6.jpg
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/4739/before2mf2.jpg

After

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/5108/after1ii1.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5783/after2fs7.jpg

si4life
07-24-2008, 12:42 PM
damn wat a difference!

thisisagame24
07-24-2008, 12:59 PM
nice job mang. def a good maintence to perform for saftey and bling looks haha

03Si757
07-24-2008, 01:01 PM
nice job mang. def a good maintence to perform for saftey and bling looks haha

Ya, especially when one head light looks brand new. Kinda looked like a face with one eye having pink eye.

jtyler05si
07-24-2008, 01:02 PM
cool!

3dkahuna
07-24-2008, 03:30 PM
Don't forget to seal the headlight with some wax or a automotive clear coat. now that you have taken the factory coating that protected it, from UV A/B rays, off you will need to keep up maintenance with them.

ep_hatcher_510
07-24-2008, 03:41 PM
good job!

skoolnu
07-24-2008, 04:43 PM
nice... im out the door to grab one. mine look like shit.

PaTTi2103a
07-24-2008, 05:30 PM
gj man

Chazwick05
07-24-2008, 05:53 PM
nice! great job!


lol i thought u had a leatherette paint job, then i realized it was the bras :mbiggrin:

locoep3
07-25-2008, 12:12 AM
Nice job man

Lost03si
07-25-2008, 03:34 AM
Wow it came out really good. The aftermath of your HL is just like mines. My HL was wayyyy worst then yours it was so messed up, that when random people asked me whats wrong with my HL I just tell them it got cancer. Finally I took it to work and DA the crap outta it and sprayed like 3 coats of PPG clear.

03Si757
07-25-2008, 06:40 AM
Wow it came out really good. The aftermath of your HL is just like mines. My HL was wayyyy worst then yours it was so messed up, that when random people asked me whats wrong with my HL I just tell them it got cancer. Finally I took it to work and DA the crap outta it and sprayed like 3 coats of PPG clear.

Ya, ima just use some type of temp wax thing and just apply every other car wash. I dont feel like removing and applying clear >BLAH<

EPandaman29
07-27-2008, 08:36 PM
i need to get me one of these!

nizmoluvep3
07-29-2008, 10:17 AM
im tryin this today- thanx for the diy:mbiggrin:

wizDUMB
07-29-2008, 12:26 PM
good diy

drjd888
07-29-2008, 08:49 PM
Saw my headlights have started to do the same as well. Now I know what to use. Good DIY.

SiRider
07-29-2008, 11:57 PM
i just ordered me one of these kits. mine are so bad and i cant wait to see how they look when done

Shead
07-30-2008, 12:40 AM
definetly will need to perform this in the future.

skoundrelusa
07-31-2008, 09:26 AM
Would I be able to do this by hand? Like if I go buy 500, 800, 3000 grit paper and the polish. B/c I don't have a drill.

03Si757
08-03-2008, 08:03 AM
Would I be able to do this by hand? Like if I go buy 500, 800, 3000 grit paper and the polish. B/c I don't have a drill.

Ya im pretty sure you could do it by hand.

BlackEP9
08-31-2008, 04:14 PM
3000 grit is near impossible to find at any store, including industrial paint stores.
Highest I could find was 2500.

JDMtunerEP3
08-31-2008, 05:10 PM
I just bought the 3m kit as well and a new mac 3inch polisher.

I can't wait to see the end result!

03Si757
09-01-2008, 11:05 AM
~UPDATE~

After a month and a few car washs/wax's. They now look better then before. GREAT DIY for those ugly headlights! On any car.

FYI! Do the finaly 3000 grit a good amount of times, to get rid of all the fine scratchs.

vUpac
09-02-2008, 08:47 PM
oh wow, great write up. Very helpful

D.A.V.E.
09-04-2008, 03:14 PM
Wow, this is great.

I thought I messed up my lights during the black-out baking. Was thinking about replacing.

Your lens looked exactly like mine did.

Woot. Yet another cheap DIY.

66elwood99
09-04-2008, 03:49 PM
Nice write up. mine look like crap...I'll have to pick up a kit.:thumbu:

SLEPT-N
09-04-2008, 04:29 PM
wow! probably the best $20 you ever spent eh?

BigBurch422
09-04-2008, 07:15 PM
wow
im gonna buy this stuff tomorrow
my driver side needs it soo bad :mmad:

benkieboy
09-11-2008, 12:24 PM
do you have to spray clear coat after doing this?

2005rollingegg
09-11-2008, 12:28 PM
So after a month there has been no re-hazing at all?

oldschoolimport
09-11-2008, 07:01 PM
if you regularly wax them, they should be fine.

Stanz0r
09-11-2008, 08:24 PM
Meguiar's Plastix (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=plastix) yields similar results for a lot cheaper if the hazing isn't extreme. That's what I used on my AP1's plastic rear window which cleared it up dramatically. Also worked on eloist's ep3 to clear up his headlights.

A little more work with the buffer since there's no sanding involved but it's a lot safer too if someone doesn't feel comfortable doing all that with the 3M setup.

03Si757
09-12-2008, 08:36 AM
Meguiar's Plastix (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=plastix) yields similar results for a lot cheaper if the hazing isn't extreme. That's what I used on my AP1's plastic rear window which cleared it up dramatically. Also worked on eloist's ep3 to clear up his headlights.

A little more work with the buffer since there's no sanding involved but it's a lot safer too if someone doesn't feel comfortable doing all that with the 3M setup.

I used that on many occasions before doing the 3M kit and it didn't make much difference, hence why i went with the 3M.

frankdogg
05-14-2010, 12:52 PM
reviving from the dead to see if anyone else has new products/methods/stories/etc.

Bobster3825
05-14-2010, 04:07 PM
I do mine by hand... Wet sand with 600-1000-2000... Then rubbing compound and wax... Works great and is cheaper in the long run... But that kit is nice for the price being that it's all in one

CHASEEE
05-14-2010, 07:39 PM
I've had fantastic results using the 3M kit. Take your time and they will come out looking brand new.

Marc-111
05-26-2010, 08:02 PM
good job on the DIY

SteezyHFP
05-31-2010, 08:46 AM
i used it and it made a difference for about a week or so now my headlights look weathered :(

time for hids

RedSiBaron
05-31-2010, 09:00 AM
i used it and it made a difference for about a week or so now my headlights look weathered :(

time for hids

thats strange, when i did my kit the headlights looked good for about a year before any yellowing came back

oldschoolimport
05-31-2010, 10:50 AM
i used it and it made a difference for about a week or so now my headlights look weathered :(

time for hids

at the end of my ownership, I was having to re-do mine about every 6 months, and they still looked like shit...

sirsol66
05-31-2010, 10:53 AM
On my old DSM, I wet sanded with 800,1000,1500,2000, and 3000 by hand. This was followed by rubbing compound, then polish, then a quality sealer. I would wash and re-seal the headlights once every few months and the car's headlights remained clear for the next 2 years till I sold the car. The new owner is not sealing the headlights, and now they've turned yellow again.

Use a quality wax/sealer and you won't have any issues.

VIZHUNZ02SI
05-31-2010, 04:00 PM
i did this a while back with the addition of 3500 or 4000 grit sand paper and boy oem never looked so good

ep3_civic_si
05-31-2010, 05:24 PM
if worst goes to worst, what I did with my mom accord is that I did the following sand 600-1000-1500-2000, adhesion promoter and cleared it over. Hasn't hazed for two years now. She's happy with it.:msmile:

Rasy
06-04-2010, 10:10 PM
Some pictures of mine when I used the 3M kit on my retrofitted headlights:

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/3513/img4784o.jpg

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/4399/img4787c.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3195/img4788q.jpg

http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/3186/img4789c.jpg

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2909/img4790lc.jpg

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/1498/img4791n.jpg

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4329/img4793of.jpg

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/6896/img4794c.jpg

siR02ep3
06-11-2010, 08:34 PM
are those projectors you bought like that or did you do a retrofit on the stock headlights ?

Rasy
06-13-2010, 09:02 PM
I got them used off another member who previous retrofitted them. I took them apart to fix the high beam solenoids and repaint the housing as well.

They are FX projectors with E55 shrouds (high and low beams), GReddy ballasts, H4 Bi-Xenon wiring harness from theretrofitsource.com, and Phillips 4300K 85122+ bulbs. Good stuff.