Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit Before & After

[Joe]

For sh*ts and giggles I decided to see how it would work…

Before:

After:

That’s a 2003 Honda CR-V with 160K miles on it, by the way.

I did cheat a little and went over the headlights with 3000 grit (highest that comes with the kit is 2000) before applying the UV coating.

Topic

[Hokiedad4]

Wow, fantastic! That fine grit sandpaper was well worth the effort.

We’ve had good success with the 3M kits. They include a pad you can put in your drill. Makes the job faster and less elbow grease needed.

[Monty Howard]

Joefromdayton and Hokiedad4,

Can you give us a quick report of what you did on each headlight? Steps done entirely by hand, steps done with help of a drill or buffer, along with the time spent on each step?

Joefromdayton, you have done an outstanding job of restoration. I am looking at the same process soon for my truck. I once started to try this on another vehicle but gave up after having trouble removing the headlight assembly.

What would be helpful would be knowing the grits of the sanding you used and how much time you spent with each grit on one headlight.

Note: I intend on using a product called BRASSO metal polish (find this at Walmart in the home cleaning products section) which cost under $3.00 for an 8oz. bottle. I have used this before polishing scratches, some very deep, from a 2 way handheld amateur radio with great success in a short time. The radio window looked as good or better than new when done. This product works very well on many things including restoring CD’s, DVD’s, glass and plastic. If in doubt test it in a small unnoticeable area first. Bringing back a non playing DVD or CD is a breez with this product, just be careful to not go too deep into the surface.

I have also heard from a person at an auto parts store to use vegitable oil after all sanding lightly over the plastic. I assume he ment using the oil prior to buffing, he said it would help protect and brighten the new finish. He recommended going from 1000 grit to 1500, 2000, and 3000. My plans are to start with 800 grit (sand off the damage quickly), then go to 1000, 1500, 2000, finishing with 3000 grit. After this I plan on using the BRASSO during polishing with an electric drill buffer pad.

Do you think the UV coating is something that will be helpful to keep the lights in like new condition since UV penetrates the entire lens? Which kind or brand of UV coat do you recommend?

[luder]

Sylvania is the top kit recommended by the leading consumer testing magazine, but 3M is close behind. The UV coating is there right from the factory, but it eventually desintegrates, hence the need for these products. I restored mine with Sylvania – excellent results, but you can’t expect a brand new spanking look.

[Joe]

[quote=”n9zn-extra” post=56744]Can you give us a quick report of what you did on each headlight? Steps done entirely by hand, steps done with help of a drill or buffer, along with the time spent on each step?
[/quote]

The Sylvania kit has pretty much everything you need (including sandpaper and a glove to use during the UV coating part). It cost me about $22 from Amazon.

I did mine by hand. I could have used a power tool but decided against it as I did not have the proper attachments and was concerned about warping. Below is my process (which is more or less the Sylvania kit steps):

1. Wash headlights with a gentle dish soap (like Dawn) and dry.
2. Lift hood and tape off around the headlights so the sandpaper doesn’t scratch the paint/bumper.
3. Spray with surface activator and let sit for 30 seconds then rinse off with water.
4. Wet sand each headlight with 400 grit paper for 5 minutes.
5. Rinse and dry off headlights.
6. Spray with surface activator, let sit for 30 seconds, then rinse off with water.
7. Wet sand each headlight with 1000 grit paper for 5 minutes.
8. Rinse and dry off headlights.
9. Spray with surface activator, let sit for 30 seconds, then rinse off with water.
10. Wet sand each headlight with 2000 grit paper for 5 minutes.
11. Rinse and dry off headlights.
12. Spray with surface activator, let sit for 30 seconds, then rinse off with water.
13. Wet sand each headlight with 3000 grit paper for 5 minutes.
14. Rinse and dry off headlights.
15. Spray with surface activator, let sit for 30 seconds, then rinse off with water.
16. Wet headlight again and rub with surface compound for 5 minutes.
17. Rinse and dry off headlights.
18. Are your arms tried yet?
19. Before you apply the UV coating ensure you have both headlights sanded, dry, and ready.
20. Put on the provided glove and wipe UV coating on – use long strokes with equal pressure.

Joefromdayton, you have done an outstanding job of restoration. I am looking at the same process soon for my truck. I once started to try this on another vehicle but gave up after having trouble removing the headlight assembly.

No need to remove the headlight assembly. Just lift the hood and just take your time taping off the surrounding area around the headlights. While sanding be mindful of how large your circular strokes are.

Note: I intend on using a product called BRASSO metal polish (find this at Walmart in the home cleaning products section) which cost under $3.00 for an 8oz. bottle. I have used this before polishing scratches, some very deep, from a 2 way handheld amateur radio with great success in a short time. The radio window looked as good or better than new when done. This product works very well on many things including restoring CD’s, DVD’s, glass and plastic. If in doubt test it in a small unnoticeable area first. Bringing back a non playing DVD or CD is a breez with this product, just be careful to not go too deep into the surface.

I have not used Brasso on plastic before, but I do not see why you could not use it as a polishing compound in this situation.

Do you think the UV coating is something that will be helpful to keep the lights in like new condition since UV penetrates the entire lens? Which kind or brand of UV coat do you recommend?

As 01prelude pointed out the UV coating will wear off over time. How long will it last? I do not know. As for which brand to use I do not have a recommendation as the kit I used provided it.

Information on the Sylvania kit:
https://www.sylvania.com/en-us/products/automotive/Pages/headlight-restoration-kit.aspx

Video for the Sylvania headlight restoration kit process:
https://www.sylvania.com/en-us/innovation/videos/Pages/sylvania-headlight-restoration-kit.aspx

And our boy Eric using another kit and power tools 🙂 :
http://youtu.be/iRl8hGhKth8

[Joe]

[quote=”01prelude” post=56791]…I restored mine with Sylvania – excellent results, but you can’t expect a brand new spanking look.[/quote]

Very true. You can’t tell by the picture I posted above, but there are little patches of haziness here and there. That said, it is a total night and day difference from what it once was… but it still has it flaws. No regrets and totally worth the effort.

[Author]

Replies