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3M Headlight Lens Restoration System

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Average Customer Rating:	4.5
Brand:	3M
Model:	39008
Weight:	24 pounds
Dimensions:	5.5 inches x 7.4 inches x 2.9 inches [Width x Length x Height]

Product Categories

Car Care

Product description

Plastic lenses can yellow with age, reducing headlight brightness, and new lenses can be expensive. The 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System lets you shine and restore plastic lenses, including headlights, taillights, fog and directional lights. By restoring clarity to the lens, the performance of the headlight is improved and the appearance of the vehicle is enhanced Now you can produce professional results with the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System and a household drill (1200-1600 rpm). Kit includes all items necessary to perform the task except for the drill, tape and clean cloth.

In the past, replacing scratched, clouded or yellowed plastic headlight covers was an expensive necessity in order to preserve safety. But now with the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System, car and motorcycle owners can shine and restore plastic lenses — including headlights, tail lights, fog and directional lights — to like-new condition for a fraction of the cost. This kit includes everything needed to restore two headlight lenses, excluding the user-supplied household drill (1200-1600 rpm), automotive tape, clean cloth, and spray bottle.

3M Headlight Lens Restoration System packaging

Restore clouded plastic headlights to crystal clarity.
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Scratched headlight example used with the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System

Plastic headlight repair in 3 steps.
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Home power drill used in the wet sanding step as part of the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System

2-step sanding process.
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Home power drill used in the buffing step of the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System

Buff and polish.
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Example of a headlight restored using the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System

And see clearly again.
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Clouded Plastic Headlights
Plastic surfaces are great for giving vehicles lightweight, durable components – from plastic headlight lenses to motorcycle windshields, plastic tail lights, trailers and more. But these plastic components can yellow and haze with weather, sun and sand, limiting visibility and diminishing the appearance and value of the vehicle. While the impact on a vehicle's value varies, the dangers in terms of limited visibility are clear: It is a factor in 2.8 million accidents, 23,000 fatal crashes and 2,300 pedestrian deaths each year, according to the Motor Vehicle Lighting Council. Dim headlight bulbs and hazy plastic headlight lenses or surfaces may lead to this reduced visibility, putting you, your passengers and other cars at risk. The AAIA Car Care Council found that 26 percent of the cars it inspected had issues with their lighting system. Millions of cars on the road today have plastic headlight lenses. The problem increases with the age of the lens, and with the average age of cars on the road about 10 years old, the problem is growing. Yet there is something you can do about it.

The Do-It-Yourself Solution
The 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System is designed to give do-it-yourselfers an easy and affordable way to repair their vehicle's plastic lens surfaces. Containing various graded sanding pads, pad holders, buffing pads, polish and detailed instructions, it includes everything users need to turn their household drill into a low cost solution to this dangerous automotive problem. The Lens Renewal Kit can also be used to repair hazing on other plastic surfaces, including taillights, emergency light bars, plastic motorcycle lights, trailers, snowmobiles and more. Compared to having headlight lenses commercially repaired for approximately $75-$150 or replaced for up to $1,500, the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System costs a fraction of that price, and the entire process takes under an hour, depending on the extent of the damage.

How Does it Work?
The steps for using the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System are as easy as 1-2-3. First, sand the hazed surface in a two-stage wet sanding process with the enclosed sanding pads until the surface is smooth and the dulled layer is removed. Then polish with the 3M plastic polish, and buff with the buffing pad to the level of clarity desired in the plastic. In addition to a standard household drill mentioned (1200-1600 rpm) used in the buffing process, you will also need 3M Automotive Masking Tape to protect the body panels of your car surrounding the work area, and a spray bottle and water used in the wet sanding process. Otherwise, everything that you need is included in the kit.

Features:

3M abrasive technology and a polishing compound to restore hazy and dull headlight lenses, as well as other plastic lens surfaces on your vehicle.
System is intended to restore two headlight lenses.
Utilizes the muscle power of a common household (1200-1600 rpm) drill to do all the necessary sanding and buffing.
This inexpensive kit saves hundreds of dollars and restores crucial night time visibility by restoring your own lenses.
Easy, 3-step process requires as little as an hour to remove scratches and restore cloudy, dull lenses.

What's in the Box
1-disc pad holder, 1-3M soft interface pad, 6-3M sanding discs, 4-3M finishing discs, 1- 3M trizact disc, 1-3M headlight lens polish/rubbing compound (1 oz), 1-buffing pad, step-by-step directions.

Limitation of Liability
Except where prohibited by law, 3M will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the 3M product, whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential, regardless of the legal theory asserted, including warranty, contract, negligence or strict liability.

About 3M
3M is fundamentally a science-based company. They produce thousands of imaginative products, and they are a leader in scores of markets - from health care and highway safety to office products and abrasives and adhesives.

Features

Easy, 3-step process requires as little as an hour to remove scratches and restore cloudy, dull lenses

Features 3M abrasive technology and a polishing compound to restore hazy and dull headlight lenses, as well as other plastic lens surfaces on your vehicle

System is intended to restore two headlight lenses

Utilizes the muscle power of a common household (1200-1600 rpm) drill to do all the necessary sanding and buffing

This item is not for sale in Catalina Island

Customer reviews

« Exceeded Expectations »

This product exceeded my expectations. Directions were accurate and easy to understand. My cordless drill was on a job site so I used an old corded Makita that turned at 1050 RPM. I think this was a big plus as the drill had a trigger lock and allowed me to use both hands to better guide the process. I have been in the building and wordworking business for 30 years so using tools to sand was nothing new. For someone inexperienced with sanding and buffing I think the process could be a little challenging but not impossible. It took me about 25-30 minutes per headlight. I used 3 500 grit, 3 800 grit, and about 1/3 of the compound. I think I have enough left to do my daughters car. Make sure you protect the paint with at least double masking. I triple masked. And be careful not to get the edge of the pad under any protruding metal, as it will quickly rip the foam. Overall A+.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2010-08-31

« A good 45 minute project »

I have 9 year old car and just followed the instructions according to the video and extremely satisfied with the result of it. I just want to advise anyone who will be using this to just take your time when using the drill because the rpm can really go fast and you might damage the headlight housing. I would recommend this to any car more than 10 years to do it.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2010-08-29

« Headlight Kit »

This kit works well. I recommend it to others with headlights that have become scratched or fogged.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2010-08-29

« Quality results! »

As I've come to expect with 3M products, this works exactly as advertised. I saw several recommendations for this product in the VW car forums which is what led to my trying it. The whole process took me a little over an hour total. The headlights on my 2002 VW Passat came up darn near factory clean after having been nearly completely frosted over, with the exception of a couple of spots. These spots were just the result of my trying to get the most out of the sandpaper, not the fault of the product, going over those spots again with the P3000 grit and the polish again corrected it.

A couple of hints:
- Don't expect this to work with one pass of each grit, read the directions and follow them. Don't rush and you'll get great results.
- As the instructions state, wipe the sanding discs with a dry paper towel to prolong the life. Here's what I'll add: Wipe the discs from the center to the edges, and do so after each pass. Also wipe the lens with the dry towel as well after each pass. This really seems to help.
- Wipe down the lens with a wet paper towel in between each disc / grit change.
- Start on opposite sides of the headlight for each pass. For example, if you are going side on the headlight and started on the top, start on the bottom for the next pass. I started on the top every time for first headlight, and ended up have to go over the bottom again, as I had not been hitting the bottom as well as I should. Also, give at least one perpendicular pass (up and down in this example) to get everything even and touch up any spot you may have missed.
- I used a common household Black and Decker 1/4" corded drill, at about 1/4 to 1/3 drill speed and moved from side-to-side at about 1 - 1.5 inches a second, with just enough pressure for the foam to compress to about half height.
- When switching the discs, don't just rip it off. Pull an edge up a little and work the disc off, holding down the top of the adapter (the hook and loop) so that the foam doesn't tear.
- Trust me - get a stool to sit on.

If I had any complaints, it would be that 3M could include resealable packaging for the polish compound, but thats a minor quibble. With care and using the step I and others have outlined, you can probably expect to get 3 set of headlights out of the kit.

I'll post some "Customer shots" to show the difference. It worked so well, I plan on using th coupon that was in the kit to get the clear coat scratch remover as well.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2010-08-28

« headlight restoration »

I was very pleased with the kit. I would have appreciated it if 3M would have included information on replacement supplies. The pack of polish was more than I needed but when I tried to store it the polish leaked out. I had more than enough sanding discs to do one car.