Applied entirely by hand, it reduces the risk of damage to surrounding paint. It involves a total of six steps, including progressively finer grades of emery paper, rinsing, and a final coat of UV-blocking polymer coating that is best applied with rubber gloves and in a well-ventilated area. The Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit provided the greatest improvement in illumination and appearance with no noticeable degradation over time. All tested products are available online or at auto parts stores. We found that with any of the tested products, the harder and more diligently you work, the better the results. One, the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System, requires the use of a handheld electric drill fitted with a special applicator pad. Three products are applied by hand and require no special tools. This type of hard coating was only seen on two of the cars we tested. The others require the separate purchase of a sheet of 400-grit sandpaper to remove the coating before using. Only the Sylvania product was able to remove the hard coating with the supplied materials, out of the box. An important note is that some lenses have a hard protective coating that must be sanded off in order to refinish the plastic lens beneath. After returning the cars to their owners, we brought them back into the lab eight weeks later to re-check the light transmission and see how the products held up over time.Īll four products basically involve sanding away the outer, fogged surface of the headlight lenses using progressively finer abrasives and polishing the lens to a smooth finish. Mounted on a stand, the light meter was positioned in the brightest part of the light beam, and left in the same position for the "after-restoration" measurement. We measured the change in light transmission before and after working on them in one of our labs, with a light meter and with controlled light sources. Using cars with clouded headlights belonging to Consumer Report staff volunteers, we evaluated products for their effectiveness and ease of use. A local body shop says it is common for them to refinish lenses annually for customers, confirming that restoration is not necessarily a long-term fix. All cost less than $25.Ī year later, we found many of the tested lenses had begun to haze over again. We tried four products on dozens of headlights, and our tests show that even the poorest performer of the bunch can dramatically improve light output, depending on how badly the lenses are weathered. And they can restore old headlamps for far less money than it would take to replace them. Our testing has found that they can make a big difference-particularly if you don't rush the job. Most require several steps, but the results can be well worth the effort. Some requiring power tools, while others need a fair bit of elbow grease. The products vary in price, ease of use, and effectiveness. Some manufacturers have responded to this trend by offering products to restore damaged lenses. The effects can vary from just a slight haze to making lenses virtually opaque. In our experience, some makes and models seem to be more susceptible than others, depending on the size, angle, and composition of the lens, and whether the car is garaged or spends its life on the street. The problem tends to be most serious in warmer, sunny climates, but we've seen plenty of evidence of it in northern regions, including on employee cars in our own Yonkers, N.Y., parking lot. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the primary culprit in the headlight aging process, compounded by other environmental factors.
More than a cosmetic issue, clouded lenses can pose a serious threat to safety, compromising night vision and reducing the effectiveness of your headlights by up to 80 percent, based on our measurements.
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