Picked up a headlamp lens restoration kit recently through my lighting supplier here in Reading (I'm somewhat back in the game again with FHC if anyone needs 90mm or 60mm lamps, or 200mm H4 kits ). Thinking of offering it as an in stock item. The kit comes with enough to do 2 vehicles, (although if you are quick enough you can get 2.5 sets of lights out of one application, parked side by side), and I used 1 application to do my Subaru and my buddy's Jeep Grand Cherokee lights. Normal price for the kit is $25. I need someone though who has lenses that need restored to test it out for me on their lamps, and let me know what they think Its a simple 2 step (3 if you need to polish the lens first) process. Wipe the towel in the red pack (cleaner/"preview") across the lens, wipe off with a microfiber towel, then wipe the towel in the blue pack (self leveling sealant) across the lens and let sit for 30-45 minutes to dry. Also comes with an instructional DVD in every kit This is by far the best restoration kit I've ever used, and beats the 3M ones hands down, as it requires no buffing.

I'll let the last application go for $10 plus cost of shipping, who wants it?

This is one of the nice things about Fiero headlights

quote Originally posted by RWDPLZ: This is one of the nice things about Fiero headlights

This is why I posted in O/T I know we have guys here that run VWs, Subaru's, Eclipses, etc that may be able to use this, and I'd rather see it get used than sit in my tool box on a shelf collecting dust

Edit: For anyone interested, the product is called Restorem, made by Meds. Link here: http://www.medsproducts.com...oducts/restorem.html

I also have a few other car car products I am considering adding to my inventory from a company called Optimum Polymer Technologies (their leather cleaner/protectant is awesome, link here: http://optimumcarcare.com/) , as well as Valeo Ultimate 900 I-Beam Wiper Blades (think RainX Latitude meets the Bosch equivalent, but better).

And as always, I'm still carrying Hella, Sparco, Terratrip, M&R Harnesses, HANS, etc lines. So if anyone needs anything, feel free to let me know

[This message has been edited by Xerces_Blackthorne (edited 11-26-2011).]

MEMEMEMEME! My lenses on my PT Cruiser are almost opaque. I bought a Turtle Wax kit, but it was almost useless. My car would make a great test subject, and I will take lots of pictures and do a write up review for you. PLEASE?

quote Originally posted by WhiteDevil88: MEMEMEMEME! My lenses on my PT Cruiser are almost opaque. I bought a Turtle Wax kit, but it was almost useless. My car would make a great test subject, and I will take lots of pictures and do a write up review for you. PLEASE?

You got it man Shoot me a PM with your shipping info, I'll drop it out Monday. You can paypal me the funds, call it $15 shipped and I'll eat the extra $1.50 on my end (priority flat rate box with delivery confirmation)

quote Originally posted by WhiteDevil88: MEMEMEMEME! My lenses on my PT Cruiser are almost opaque. I bought a Turtle Wax kit, but it was almost useless. My car would make a great test subject, and I will take lots of pictures and do a write up review for you. PLEASE?

Ditto! major flaw with my PT. I will be interested to see how yours turns out. All the products I have been seeing require a lot of work, that and the price of the "kit" makes the 90 bucks for a new set look pretty good.

quote Originally posted by Red88FF: Ditto! major flaw with my PT. I will be interested to see how yours turns out. All the products I have been seeing require a lot of work, that and the price of the "kit" makes the 90 bucks for a new set look pretty good.

Tell ya what, my buddy has a 99 Grand Cherokee. The lenses were so faded and cloudy that when the low beams were on, you couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of the vehicle (stock wattage bulbs). After using this kit (I had to polish the lenses between steps with the 2000 grit sand paper dipped in soapy water method they describe prior to sealing them), his lenses look almost brand new.

If either of you guys are members on the PT forums, feel free to put a word out for me on these I can offer each kit for the aforementioned $25, and I'll throw in the free shipping. Find me enough people (about a dozen or so) and I can get the cost down to $20 shipped for each kit. It seems to me that its a common issue with not just the PT Cruiser, but most Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicles over 5 years old.

Edit to add: This kit really is 3 minutes of work, 30 minutes of wait. Its that simple

[This message has been edited by Xerces_Blackthorne (edited 11-26-2011).]

I'll definitely pass the word to the PT Crew.

My RX8 could use the help... Lenses are pushing 8 years old a and starting to yellow.

Steve used something like this on the headlights for the mini van. It worked great.

Thanks for the bump Mel

For the Fiero crew, if anyone is interested, I'll do these kits for $20 shipped.

Not knocking your product, nice to see new ideas come out. However, Ive been doing headlite lens repairs for years. Mild ones I do with a buffer and 25 cents worth of rubbing compound. Some worse require wet sanding, then buffing. The very worse, I sand them with a DA and shoot a coat of clear urathane on them. Maybe $5 worth of material. Ive got a Lexus in here right now to do the headlites. Ive got to fix a small dent in front fender, and I do headlites that need it for free as a courtesy.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Not knocking your product, nice to see new ideas come out. However, Ive been doing headlite lens repairs for years. Mild ones I do with a buffer and 25 cents worth of rubbing compound. Some worse require wet sanding, then buffing. The very worse, I sand them with a DA and shoot a coat of clear urathane on them. Maybe $5 worth of material. Ive got a Lexus in here right now to do the headlites. Ive got to fix a small dent in front fender, and I do headlites that need it for free as a courtesy.

So sanding with a DA and a coat of urethane would cost me how much at your shop? Probably more then $20. especially if the headlights need to be removed for painting. That would be my preferred method, short of replacing with new units, but both are out of my meager budget. I want to get them clean enough to put reflective film on them to protect them from further damage.

I don't think anyone is claiming that cleaning faded plastic headlight lenses is new, just that this product provides a low effort way to accomplish this. You have to look at the website and watch the informational video. It seems like it is almost too easy. I'm really looking forward to trying this out. I think I might even try doing a video on it. My lenses are pretty dusted, I honestly don't expect it to work. I've buffed it with polishing compound and my deWalt buffer and a foam wheel. I used the aforementioned turtle wax kit. The headlights still look like shite. If this works, I'll gladly pay the full price.

[This message has been edited by WhiteDevil88 (edited 11-27-2011).]

quote Originally posted by WhiteDevil88: So sanding with a DA and a coat of urethane would cost me how much at your shop? Probably more then $20. especially if the headlights need to be removed for painting. That would be my preferred method, short of replacing with new units, but both are out of my meager budget. I want to get them clean enough to put reflective film on them to protect them from further damage. I don't think anyone is claiming that cleaning faded plastic headlight lenses is new, just that this product provides a low effort way to accomplish this. You have to look at the website and watch the informational video. It seems like it is almost too easy. I'm really looking forward to trying this out. I think I might even try doing a video on it. My lenses are pretty dusted, I honestly don't expect it to work. I've buffed it with polishing compound and my deWalt buffer and a foam wheel. I used the aforementioned turtle wax kit. The headlights still look like shite. If this works, I'll gladly pay the full price.

+1, nailed it I was gonna say something similar and mention that not everyone has the capabilities or resources to do it Roger's way, which I agree, is a "proper" solution and a more effective long term solution.

WD, I'm almost certain you'll be happy with the results of this kit. Wish I would have taken pics of my buddy's jeep lenses before I did them. They were similar plastic to your PT I would imagine (99 Grand Cherokee), and were completely clouded with a heavy yellow coating. Worst oxidation I've ever seen on a lens, and I'm amazed he passed inspection with how bad they were. I asked him tonight how much of a difference it made and he said it was astronomical

Edit to say: I have another set that I have to do tomorrow for a friend possibly, maybe I can borrow his camera at the shop and post pics of the before and after (video may be possible as well, provided I can figure out how to upload it)

[This message has been edited by Xerces_Blackthorne (edited 11-27-2011).]

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Not knocking your product, nice to see new ideas come out. However, Ive been doing headlite lens repairs for years. Mild ones I do with a buffer and 25 cents worth of rubbing compound. Some worse require wet sanding, then buffing. The very worse, I sand them with a DA and shoot a coat of clear urathane on them. Maybe $5 worth of material. Ive got a Lexus in here right now to do the headlites. Ive got to fix a small dent in front fender, and I do headlites that need it for free as a courtesy.

yup. wetsanding, and a follow up with rubbing compound, or even specific "plastic polish".

the lenses are not "faded". they are sandlblasted from road dirt, and such. and - a word of warning to those who try this: originally, the lenses have a protective coating to keep them nice for a while. when you sand - you also sand this coat off. a shot of clear urathane helps - but not for long. alot longer than putting nothing on tho. with no coat - you will have "faded" lenses in a few months.

I never remove them. I do them on the car no matter the method. I do them no matter the method for FREE if im fixing something else. Ive never charged a penny to do the lights. If I urathane them, you got a dollar or two for tape and paper, maybe 1/8 pint of clear (one coat) and a couple of pieces of sandpaper. Of course if you ONLY want me to fix your lites, im going to charge you something, prob something like $25 @ pr so id make something. You did see that if I fix damage to your car, i fix the lights for FREE right ?

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: the lenses are not "faded". they are sandlblasted from road dirt, and such.

Not to mention pressure washing up close to remove splattered bugs.
Don't power wash your headlights.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: I never remove them. I do them on the car no matter the method. I do them no matter the method for FREE if im fixing something else. Ive never charged a penny to do the lights. If I urathane them, you got a dollar or two for tape and paper, maybe 1/8 pint of clear (one coat) and a couple of pieces of sandpaper. Of course if you ONLY want me to fix your lites, im going to charge you something, prob something like $25 @ pr so id make something. You did see that if I fix damage to your car, i fix the lights for FREE right ?

Yes I saw that. So should I go run my car into a tree so I can drive it halfway across country to have you "fix it for free"?

That would not be a good idea. Perhaps driving across the country first, then driving into a tree,
C'mon man ! Your smarter than that.

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: yup. wetsanding, and a follow up with rubbing compound, or even specific "plastic polish". the lenses are not "faded". they are sandlblasted from road dirt, and such. and - a word of warning to those who try this: originally, the lenses have a protective coating to keep them nice for a while. when you sand - you also sand this coat off. a shot of clear urathane helps - but not for long. alot longer than putting nothing on tho. with no coat - you will have "faded" lenses in a few months.

This Restorem lens kit puts the protective coating on the lens. Hence step 2. Step 1 (which they call the "Preview" phase) cleans/clears the lens. If its not entirely what you want, you wipe it off and wetsand, then use the same Step 1 "Preview" cloth to do it again. I highly recommend watching the video in the link I posted above for anyone who is interested in this It explains better than I ever could.

I do them every week. Ive done my own. The headlites on my Dodge minivan looked like a frosted bathroom window. I DAd them, used rubbing compound and they were still fine 2 years later. Dont be dumb. I do them when needed when someone brings anything in for me to fix. Replacing a broken tail light, or installing a new mirror, or painting a scratched bumper qualifies. I do them while i wait for primer to dry or during a commercial if Im watching a show in the garage. If you run into a tree, buffing wont help smashed lenses. If im fixing anything on the front, Im prob buffing anyway and it just takes the time to squirt 2 quarter size gobs of compound on them. Ill bet your the one who shoots himself in the head to get a free ride to doctors office.

What are you trying to accomplish, Roger? Do you seriously think that you are going to get my business all the way from California? Or are you just trying to piss on someone else's plan? Why do you insist on trashing other people's threads like this? Every time someone gets excited about something new, it is almost guaranteed that you will come along and lay a nice pungeant steaming turd right on top. What is your point? So it is not for you, just shut the hell up and move along.

I've got a 2001 Dodge ram with some badly yellowed headlights, It's pretty common for these trucks.

quote Originally posted by jmbishop: I've got a 2001 Dodge ram with some badly yellowed headlights, It's pretty common for these trucks.

All cars with plastic lenses have issues with yellowing and clouding. But Chrysler and Ford are known as the worst. Its anything over 3-5 years old with those 2 companies. Whatever they are using to seal the light doesn't seem to last long IMHO...

pm sent by the way.

quote Originally posted by jmbishop: pm sent by the way.

Got it, and back atcha, 2x

quote Originally posted by WhiteDevil88: What are you trying to accomplish, Roger? Do you seriously think that you are going to get my business all the way from California? Or are you just trying to piss on someone else's plan? Why do you insist on trashing other people's threads like this? Every time someone gets excited about something new, it is almost guaranteed that you will come along and lay a nice pungeant steaming turd right on top. What is your point? So it is not for you, just shut the hell up and move along.

First i didnt trash the thread ... i said its nice to see new stuff. Im not trying to get any business...I dont want any, I retired as much as I can. I dont care if anyone ever comes here even from down the street. While this may work fine, theres already a simple proven way to do it anyone can do cheap. Why is it I say anything different from someone else and Im a jerk, but if someone else says im wrong and im not...im still the jerk. You dont like it, give me a neg...i really dont care. You can also shine up your lites temporarily by wiping some Old English Furniture Cream on it. No work involved...just pour a bit on your rag and wipe it across and your done. It even does miracles on dull faded paint. Try it if you dont believe me. It dont last past the first rain though. Ill speak up whenever theres a better, cheaper, already proven plan and stick to it every time. And speaking of people trashing threads, it seems to me that you well do your own share of that.

Now back to lights, the theory that their 'sandblasted' as the cause sounds good and in some cases may be true. Ive rarely seen it rough from being blasted. Ive only had a handfull of a few hundred cars that needed sanded and cleared. Its mostly due to exposure of the plastic to sun and weather. The Lexus here now is a perfect example. The lights are curved from the front bottom to the top where it meets the hood. The only damage is at the top where it curves over. The near vertical front of the lens is still perfect. It also dont hold up as a cause as the back tail lights with clear covers, are also frosted over. So unless this owner routinely drives in reverse at 60 mph on long trips, theres no way the rear lights are sandblasted.



edit to add my video....

While not the best (worst) examples of faded headlite, this is all i have to work with. Ill do one next really bad ones I get.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 11-30-2011).]

Good for you roger.

I noticed that you didn't shoot it with clear. I would love to see you do that without masking.

[This message has been edited by WhiteDevil88 (edited 11-30-2011).]

These were not bad enough to sand and clear. If I really had to, i could spray them with an airbrush/ touchup gun, and still not have to mask them. 3 foot long pieces of paper with tape takes about 30 seconds to mask though. Now you see it done, why would you spend $20 ? I could do 50 cars in a day and make a fortune if enough people needed them done. Hell even a dollar a light would make me $100 for the day. Of course Id have to buy a small bottle of compound out of the profit. If they need sanded and cleared, I couldnt do 50 cars, but 15 would be easy and charge $40 each car.

So did you not read that I have sanded and polished the lenses? They are still milky. Not to mention that in my zeal to get it done, I actually burnt one lens polishing with my DeWalt. And I am not paying anything to try this out, we worked out a trade.

So what have we learned from this thread? That one guy in Ohio who has a body shop, but really doesn't because he's actually retired, will polish and clear coat my headlights for free, except really he won't because he is retired. Also, anyone can polish plastic headlights with a buffer, except for people who might melt the lens, and anyone can spray clear coat on their headlights without removing them, except for people who don't already have an airbrush, compressor, and an unused bottle of clear coat sitting around. Genius stuff.

[This message has been edited by WhiteDevil88 (edited 11-30-2011).]

You can buy spray cans of clear. We also learned that some people are to dumb to do the simplest things. You can rub them by hand if you dont own a drill or buffer, just takes longer. One trick to buffing anything is not to leave it in one place long enough to burn anything. Ive never burned a headlite, and very few times fresh paint.
My whole point is why buy anything when any person with a brain can do it with minimal stuff. If you melted a headlite, you should stay away from any power tools. And why on earth would you take a headlite out of a car to polish the face. Do you also take out your teeth to brush them ? I dont charge anyone to do the job simply because its good courtesy and takes up zero time and material. On this Lexus, Id feel quilty charging the guy anything to do what i did, especially when I made honest money fixing his fender already. Just like in any thread, any coments you make, make you come off as a complete moron. Theres about 4 of you here that need to go back to elementary school. Your the type of person I wont do any work for, no matter what the price. Id just tell you to get off my property. Believe me, I get them and know how to spot em a mile away.

Now his product may do exactly what he says it does. More power to it, if you want it go ahead and you buy it. Tell the truth, you really drive a Honda with a dbl wing and stickers ? Some people just need to pay people who know what their doing to do things, and keep their hands off it before they screw it up (like u did your headlite).

Genius stuff ??, apparently so since you cant do it. Working on simple repair tasks must require over a 50 IQ.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 11-30-2011).]

Sure rog.

Anyway, the mailman dropped off the kit today. I will get the camera set up on the tripod and see how it works. It is too bad Roger had to make it such a piss contest, as now my objectivity is suspect because I want to prove him wrong and shut him up. Like that would ever happen.

Hey WD88, I forgot to throw a pair of nitrile gloves in the box, my apologies. Realized it after I boxed everything up and dropped it off. I do highly suggest using a pair step 2 gets mighty sticky and step 1 burns a bit like brake cleaner mist in the nose/eyes.

Cool. Good idea. It is a nice sunny 68 degrees out today, it should work nicely I hope.

quote Originally posted by WhiteDevil88: Cool. Good idea. It is a nice sunny 68 degrees out today, it should work nicely I hope.

Cool I anxiously await the pics/vids of the results, and hopefully the forthcoming orders for more Btw, faired out pretty well in WV today...Conditional discharges rock

Where are you sleeping? Stay safe, buddy.

if you want we can try it on my dads 2 chryslers... they got all the headlight fog you could ever want.

You might have good results, there never was a question on that. Thing for me is, my way works too and I been doing it since plastic lenses came out 30 years ago. So in a nutshell, your not going to prove anything to me. You just prove that theres another way to do it too, and it requires absolutely no skills. If it works there may be a lot of buyers from here. There are plenty of people here with no auto skills to even change a tail light bulb or wiper blade that could use it. Nothing wrong with that if they dont. I get people here when time changes all the time for me to set the time on the clocks in the car. If I bought the kit, then id have to start charging people for something i already do for nothing. Simple as that.

quote Originally posted by Xerces_Blackthorne: This Restorem lens kit puts the protective coating on the lens. Hence step 2. Step 1 (which they call the "Preview" phase) cleans/clears the lens. If its not entirely what you want, you wipe it off and wetsand, then use the same Step 1 "Preview" cloth to do it again. I highly recommend watching the video in the link I posted above for anyone who is interested in this It explains better than I ever could.

really? so, does this also work for poly/plastic eyeglasses as well?

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: really? so, does this also work for poly/plastic eyeglasses as well?

Couldnt tell ya, haven't tried it BTW, shoot me a PM, got a question for ya about the Blu Ecig..

Rick, I can certainly help ya out with em. Shoot me a PM and let me know. I can swing down with a kit, but you will have to pay for it first. Gotta pay my warehouse guys so I can pick up another kit...

[This message has been edited by Xerces_Blackthorne (edited 12-01-2011).]