Revive Your Vehicle’s Headlights With the 3m Ultra Headlight Restoration Kit | The Best Headlight Restoration Kit on the Market.
Here at The Detail Nerds, we not only provide the best detailing services in the area, but we are also completely open and share what we use to achieve the results we get, especially with the inability of people throughout the world to ship their vehicles to us. This blog explores all aspects of headlight restoration using the 3m Ultra Headlight Restoration Kit, including; benefits, tools & materials needed, preparing the headlights for restoration, and applying 3m’s solution to the headlights. This guide aims to provide readers with an easy-to-follow introduction on how they can quickly and effectively restore their vehicle’s headlight clarity – quickly reviving it from its dull state into one that is both road legal and looks brand new again – with minimal hassle!
Click here to open a new window in Amazon to use the same headlight restoration kit we use!
Benefits Of Using the 3m Ultra Headlight Restoration Kit
Using 3m’s Ultra Headlight Restoration Kit can be incredibly beneficial for anyone who needs to restore or improve their vehicle’s headlights. This kit contains everything necessary to quickly and efficiently restore dull, yellowed, oxidized headlight lenses to crystal-clear clarity. This not only improves visual appeal but also helps improve lighting performance at night, as brighter lights provide better visibility on dark roads with fewer distractions and hazards.
This product is super easy to use yet provides fantastic results! The simple-to-follow instructions will allow you to completely revive your vehicle’s headlights without having any prior car detailing experience – making this the best headlight restoration kit for beginners. You will be blown away by the results. We know we are, and so are our customers who have had us restore their headlights.
Tools And Materials Needed
Most everyone will have everything they need to restore their headlights with this kit that is not provided in the kit itself. You will need a drill, microfiber towels, rubber gloves, a spray bottle, and your regular washing supplies. While the kit comes with one glove, which, if you are careful, will be enough, we recommend having a few extras due to two applications of the clear coat. If you need to become more familiar with how to properly wash your vehicle, which will need to be done after the clearcoat has cured, check out our article here on how to wash your vehicle correctly. The link will open in a new tab so you can continue on in this article. For the drill, gloves, spray bottle, and microfiber towels we recommend, check these out below. We use both in our shop daily!
How to use The 3m Ultra Headlight Restoration Kit
We recommend doing this inside with proper lighting or outside in a shaded area. We also recommend having an excellent work cart to store the kit components on and a nice roller chair. If you do not have either of these yet, we promise they will come in handy with all your other car detailing adventures. Below are the cart and chair we use every day in our shop!
Once you have everything set up, use a fresh microfiber towel and soapy water to clean the headlights. Before starting the headlight restoration process, ensure you dry with a separate towel before beginning the restoration process. The next step is to use the masking tape provided in the kit to protect the painted and plastic surfaces around the headlights. Be sure to complete this step! You can very easily slip while sanding and damage the paint surrounding the headlights.
The headlight restoration kit includes six 500-grit pads. Use three of these on each headlight. Apply low to medium pressure, go from left to right, starting at the top of the headlight and work down while overlapping passes by 50%; once you have finished the first horizontal pass, do vertical passes beginning on the left and working to the right while overlapping passes by 50%. Watch for the disc to get clogged or full. You can usually get two vertical and two horizontal passes with each disc. This process eliminates heavy scratches and oxidation. Your first instinct may be to freak out when you see how your headlights turn cloudy but rest assured; this is part of the process. Once you have finished each headlight with the 500 grit, you can expect them to look similar to the picture below.
The next step will be using the 800-grit sanding discs. The kit contains four of these. Use two on each headlight. Use the same steps as the previous steps for the passes. Top to bottom, left to right, horizontal, then vertical, with 50% overlap. We have found six total passes on each disc provide the best results.
Once you have completed the 800-grit sanding process, it is time to move on to the 3000-grit process. It is essential that you take your time here. Spray water onto the disc before you start the sanding process. Use the same steps as above for the passes. Once you see a white slurry, you will know you are making progress. We use a dry microfiber towel every two passes to wipe and inspect the headlight. Before the next sanding pass, make sure you spray water on the lens for lubrication. Once the hard scratches have been removed, it is time for the next step, which is removing the tape. A total of 5-10 passes in the step yields the best results. Your headlights should look similar to the picture below as far as clarity goes.
Wipe the lens clean once the tape is removed. You will have sanding debris all over. The instructions say to use a microfiber towel and wipe it off the paint. DO NOT DO IT! You will for sure scratch your paint. We recommend using a blower or compressed air to remove as much as possible. The rest will be removed when you wash your vehicle once the clear coat has dried using the two-bucket method. The instructions in the headlight restoration kit say to let the 2nd coat cure for one hour before getting wet. We always give it two hours and are very gentle with the pressure washer and sponge on the headlight lenses themselves.
Applying the Clear Coat
This step is where the extra rubber gloves will come in handy. Open one of the clear coat packets. Ensure that you do not unfold the wipe. Use a crisp edge and start at the top of the headlight working left to right. If you see bubbles, slow down. Overlap the each pass by 50%. Once you reach the bottom, stop. Let this clear coat cure for 15-minutes.
After the first clear coat application has cured for 15-miuntes. It is time for the second application. Follow the steps for the first application. Once the clear coat has been applied, let it cure for two hours before washing your vehicle. Below is what the headlight looks like! If you look closely enough, it is so clear, you can see the reflection of the siding that is behind us!
Conclusion – Reviving Vehicle’s Headlights With The 3m Ultra Headlight Restoration Kit Yields Superior Results
Dull/cloudy/oxidized headlights not only lessen the effectiveness of the headlight, but it can also take away the luster of the overall look of your vehicle. We have tested many different headlight restoration kits and found the 3m Ultra Headlight Restoration Kit to be the best on the market. It is very cost-effective compared to buying and installing new headlights and is super easy to use. We thank you for reading and hope that we can continue helping everyone make their vehicle look unique. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We love helping people even if they are not direct customers!
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