How To Clean & Restore Headlights on ANY Car! (DIY)
The headlights on my new-to-me BMW were in rough shape. They were faded with yellow oxidation spots and were starting to crack. I knew I had to give them some love. I’ve had really good luck using the 3M headlight restoration kit in the past, so I grabbed my supplies and got to work!
Remove Yellow, Foggy Headlight Oxidation!
These are the supplies I’ll be using:
- 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System
- 3M Automotive Masking Tape
- Automotive Glass Cleaner
- 32oz Spray Bottle
- Meguiar’s Microfiber Towels
- Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Wax
- Cordless Drill
- Shop Towels
Cleaning & Sanding the Lens
The first step is to restore headlights is to clean the lens with soapy water or glass cleaner. Then tape off the surrounding areas of the headlight with a generous amount of tape. After that, you want to wet the lens and grab the #1 sanding disc from the kit and start uniformly sanding the lens.
After that, move on to the #2 sanding disc and make a few more passes across the headlight lens. Make sure you are sanding face-to-face with the disc and the lens, and that the sanding marks are evenly spread out. No hot spots or dry areas.
Once you’re done with the sanding discs, you will move on to the slightly thicker gray pad. This is a true wet-sanding pad that will start to clear up your headlights. It is not the final step, but you’re getting closer. Make a few passes with the gray pad and then clean the lens thoroughly.
Polishing the Lens
After those first 3 standing steps, now it’s time to polish the lens! Grab the orange pad and spread a small dab of the polishing compound on the pad. Pre-apply some of the compound to the lens and rub it in so it doesn’t sling everywhere. Then begin polishing the lens until you’ve reached perfection.
As you can see, the results speak for themselves. If you need to restore headlights on your car, follow this guide and let me know what you think!
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