[SS-Traveller]

My daughter's 2006 Toyota Yaris' headlight lenses had deteriorated and yellowed to the point of cutting out nearly 50% of the light output.



A number of headlight restoration kits are available off the shelf in Melbourne, Australia, at shops like Autobarn and Supercheap Auto.



The ones we looked at were

• Meguiar's
• ArmorAll
• Turtle wax
• Repco
• Rain-X

Of these, Meguiar's is the most expensive at around A$80, while Rain-X was ~A$37 - but the Rain-X kit had excellent reviews. So we decided to save some money and buy the Rain-X kit.













What was considered the most important inclusion in the kit was the sealant, which would prevent quick deterioration of the polished and clear surface.

So I followed the instructions on the box, and started working on the right headlight. After 20 minutes, the result was surprisingly good. Unfortunately, I did not take WIP photos.





Now to wait and watch whether the sealant does its job of protecting the lenses from yellowing within 2-3 months, as has been my experience with headlight restoration without the sealant on my other cars.



The final result. I didn't bother to restore the upper part of the headlight unit containing the parking lights and turn indicators. Maybe another day...

[dhanushs]

Wow. The results are neat!

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

...

Now to wait and watch whether the sealant does its job of protecting the lenses from yellowing within 2-3 months, as has been my experience with headlight restoration without the sealant on my other cars.
..

Now, that's something even I'll look forward to. Please do update the thread. Thanks!

[sgiitk]

@SS-traveller; I checked on amazon.in. there is a lot of rain-X stuff but no cleaner for headlamps. So I have ordered a Formula-1 kit. I have used their products in the past in association with some mild abrasive like Scratchout. I plan the same now, since one headlight of my Brio is in a bad state.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

...I have ordered a Formula-1 kit. I have used their products in the past... I plan the same now, since one headlight of my Brio is in a bad state.

Is your Brio in Gurugram or Kanpur?

So I kicked off a bit of my laziness this morning and did up the top and sides of the headlights. The result, on the left side...

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@SS-traveller; I checked on amazon.in. there is a lot of rain-X stuff but no cleaner for headlamps. So I have ordered a Formula-1 kit. I have used their products in the past in association with some mild abrasive like Scratchout. I plan the same now, since one headlight of my Brio is in a bad state.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Is your Brio in Gurugram or Kanpur?

I used Formula-1 HeadLight Restorer with success. Only a bit which was abraded could (naturally) not be cleaned out.

The Brio is in Kanpur and not Gurugram. I have my son's City AVN and he has my Civic. This way the Civic is putting on some mileage.

[Arsi]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

My daughter's 2006 Toyota Yaris' headlight lenses had deteriorated and yellowed to the point of cutting out nearly 50% of the light output.

Hi, my fiesta headlights are in a really bad shape. They have turned hazy and are covered in a plethora of scratches.

Will this product work for scratches?

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Arsi

Hi, my fiesta headlights are in a really bad shape. They have turned hazy and are covered in a plethora of scratches.

Will this product work for scratches?

Yes, this takes care of scratches too.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

The final result. I didn't bother to restore the upper part of the headlight unit containing the parking lights and turn indicators. Maybe another day...

Just got to read this thread and about to place an order for the same kit from US and transported. Just wanted to confirm this basically can be used for any car types here in India right? I have a 15 year old baleno and the lamps are very dull and hazy. I hope this would help it.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Just got to read this thread and about to place an order for the same kit from US and transported. Just wanted to confirm this basically can be used for any car types here in India right? I have a 15 year old baleno and the lamps are very dull and hazy. I hope this would help it.

As long as the headlight lens is made of plastic and not glass, this will work fine for any car. And if the weathering is on the surface, this'll work - not if the reflector is damaged (such as with the use of high-wattage halogen bulbs, e.g. 130/100 Watts)

Well, glass lenses don't turn hazy and dull anyway.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Of these, Meguiar's is the most expensive at around A$80, while Rain-X was ~A$37 - but the Rain-X kit had excellent reviews. So we decided to save some money and buy the Rain-X kit.

After looking at the prices of these kits in India, the ₹ 4600 Toyota headlight started looking cheap. I knew the basics what these kits do: sanding the haze and making the scratches finer to an extent that they become invisible.

I didn't want to ruin new pads for headlights, so used old pads. Started with compouding and finished it with a finishing pad and fine polish. Applied a layer of heat resistant Rustoleum clear coat post IPA wipedown, and the old tired looking headlight was as good as new.

Some before and after pics:

[rugsrags]

I have a peculiar issue. My dogs scratched my headlight while trying to get a cat that had somehow entered the engine compartment last night. What didn't help was the absence of my night watchman and I woke up to a lot of destruction all around. While scratches on the bumper and sides will be taken care of I'm worried about my headlamp.

Just FYI I'm talking about the new crv head lamps and I do know it'll be an expensive replacement so I need to first try some local remidies. Any suggestions will be welcome.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by rugsrags

.

Just FYI I'm talking about the new crv head lamps and I do know it'll be an expensive replacement so I need to first try some local remidies. Any suggestions will be welcome.

Unless the scratches are too deep, this can be taken care of by wet sanding>Compounding >Polishing>IPA wipedown>Clear coat/UV coat for HL.

Any good detailer should be able to help you with this, provided the scratches aren't too deep.

Regards,
Shashi

[rugsrags]

I finally got the detailing done.. yes it finally helped .. I also got a 3m clear film put in post the headlight restoration process and it was mostly successful thank god..

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by rugsrags

I finally got the detailing done.. yes it finally helped .. I also got a 3m clear film put in post the headlight restoration process and it was mostly successful thank god..

Awesome. Do share AFTER pics.

Regards,
Shashi

[rugsrags]

There are a few expected scratches still there but I'm happy with the final outcome which is much improved. I got it done from an outlet in sector 104 noida which was also a 3m center previously. Also got a much needed exterior body detailing done and it took a good part of 4-5 hours for the entire session.