For headlight restoration you need a kit that has ceramic coating or something to protect it from UV or they will fog up again in the not so far future. And when sanding it's easier to just leave the hood/bonnet open, not only will you cover more surface area but there's less to tape off. Also when you're done it should be so smooth to the touch that you can feel it building static if you brush the back of your hand against it. Sanding is really the key to making it look good and last, and it should be wet sanding the whole time, as in constantly dumping water on the headlight as you sand.
Nice job. Great video. My car came with hid headlamps. I wasnt sure they'd make a that big of a difference. Now that i have more time using them. I really like them, especially at night in the rain.
With standard filament bulbs you can tell they have burned out because the filament wire in the bulb will have a break in it where it has burned out. Much like the blade fuses you will see in your car's fusebox. Akso if you have a multimeter you can test across the terminals for continuity. I refurbished my headlights back in the summer. I originally tried a restoration kit but wasn't impressed with the results. The cream compound that came with it wasn't aggressive enough so I ended up using wet and dry sandpaper. I started with 320 grit, then worked my way up to 3000 grit. Each grit (number) refers to how fine they are, the higher being the finer. You work up through the grits to refine the scratches the previous grit creates. After 3000 I then used automotive cutting compound, then automotive polish. This left them super smooth. I finished them with a layer of the UV protection that came in the restoration kit.
I have problem headlights as well. I use Meguiars Ultimate compound and a drill with a foam pad attachment to bring them back, it takes about 2 minutes per side and no need to mask up as it is safe on paint obviously. I follow this up with a coat of my normal wax and I typically need to do this process twice a year.
I used clear coat compound on mine. They came out okay, a lot better than they were. Although in all fairness I didnt spend a lot time on them. I was doing them in between deliveries at work.
I tried a few ways of cleaning/polishing the headlights on my 1994 Ford Escort. Never was happy with any method for longer than a few months. Finally bit the bullet and replaced the headlight assemblies. Much less $$$ than expected and very easy to do. When I traded it for my 2006 F-250, it had fogged headlights, too. I didn't mess around with trying to improve them. I just replaced the assemblies (about a half hour job) and was done.
Another fun video Meg and I couldn't help but notice your subscriber count has doubled since I started watching a week ago. You know what that means...... you're doing something right... In the garage it looked like the toothpaste was a little cleaner/brighter than the other but I thought maybe it was the lighting. When you showed them again outside it still looked brighter to my eye. I'm glad you confirmed that for me. Great video see you on the next one.
Nicely done. There are LED replacement bulbs for many types of halogen bulbs that can work well with the stock headlamp depending on the reflector design - the ones I fitted to our Honda Odyssey are an excellent upgrade with a very clean beam pattern. I had trouble getting holders back in properly too - but my hands are a bit large which doesn’t help. I bet you could get decent results restoring headlamps with very fine wet and dry paper and barkeepers friend.
Hi Meg 👋🏻 Next time try some Meguiars Plast-X , works great, and pretty sure it has a sealant, protectant in it 👍🏻Thank you my friend 🙏🏻 Appreciate you
The full process of acrylic headlight refinishing should look like this: 1. Sanding coarse to fine. Start with grit depending on original condition (a badly yellowed headlight would require taking off more damaged material than yours). There's no harm in going too fine, it just means more elbow grease is required for the desired result. 2. Polishing as an extension of the former. If you don't have a buffer, you can use a lint-free cloth (ideally with some linen), that's what works for sprucing up scratched plastic display windows anyway. 3. Sealant with UV protection (important as UV light is what got the lenses yellow and cloudy to begin with, and they would degrade again fairly quickly if left unprotected). You basically just polished the toothpaste headlight (which came out OK since they weren't terrible to begin with, yay for being in Canada I suppose) and just sanded the other one (so the surface finish remained too coarse). Project Farm did a comparison of headlight refinishing kits not too long ago, I imagine a lot of these ought to be available in the Great White North as well. Trivia time: Refinishing your headlights is technically illegal where I live (Germany). I know they're taking their light beam patterns very seriously over here and taking off a lot of material (especially over multiple applications) could alter the pattern too much, but it does verge on being silly. It's not like a cloudy headlight is a terribly great alternative.
I think your sanding was supposed to be done with water rather than the polish you used. The polish is most likely a final step, kind of like waxing your car. I've used these kits before, but did follow with a clear coat that had UV protectant in it. It's the only thing that will seal and protect all of your hard work.
Good work changing the lamp. It's not easy making sure everything fits. So little space :P ... You said that you come from a mechanical background. But haven't done so much by yourself? My dad worked as a mechanic, grew up in the garage ^^. Still, everything i know i had to learn by doing. Love your content. Im sure your video gives ppl. courage to do more maintenance "stuff" on their cars... Or their neighbours. Keep being awesome
Honestly, on my Mini Cooper S & F150 its a better upgrade to LED lights. Its a cheaper replacement & a brighter light, much easier on ur eyes especially night driving!! Plus, im a new subscriber...... keep up the good work!!
Hey! Its sunday again....hint hint. hehe. Hope you're doing well up there in the cold cold. We are about to get snowed in here in east tennessee so if ya can send a vid that would be great!
I'm glad you were able to learn how to replace your headlight bulbs. Any car maintenance is a valuable skill and I applaud your willingness to try. Unfortunately, you did not learn how to polish your headlights. I can't believer the process you showed was what the instructions said to do. If toothpaste looked better that the polishing kit, then you're not doing it right. If done correctly the headlights should look brand new. I will not go on about the process because several other people have but try re-reading the instruction on the package and maybe you'll discover that you missed some steps. I believe you have the ability to figure it out.😃
glad to see you used gloves to change the bulb's just to let people know you dont touch the halogen bulbs with your fingers because the oils from you skin can cause the bulb to explode with the heat... also for you headlight's better to use a Fine Paint Cutting/polishing compound and a random orbital buffing machine then apply a ceramic/uv coating !!
If you want to do it the easy way, which would take maybe five minutes 10 at the tops. The best and easy way which you could do as often as you want is to just apply some brake fluid on the clear lens with a soft cloth and avoid the paint. Done! I think you would be impressed with the results.
I forgot to mention...the reason they still look foggy is because the tiny scratches you have put into the headlights from the abrasives are causing the light to be refracted all over the place. If the restoration kit didn't come with some sort of sealant to finish them off then you should apply something like an automotive sealant. This will fill in those tiny scratches and leave the surface even and they will look a lot more clear.
Pros will never tell you this but on most lights the lens is cheap you just throw the whole headlight in the oven on 220 for 20 to 30 min the pull it out and pry it apart....clean the old butyl rubber out...then use a new piece of butyl rubber push it in the seam flush....then heat the headlight and lens together again at 200 and push the new lens on!
I just bought replacement headlights from Amazon. Super inexpensive and now I can see much better. The yellowing is on the inside of the headlight not the outside.
Polycarbonate materials require petrochemical penetration to restore its surface. And you’re still not wearing workboots. It’s past being a gimmick, and we don’t want to lose you through heavy impact on a toe 😊 Oh by the way! I love red heads… thanks for your love to my trade.
@@Meg.August I myself love technical work and tools. I do some things myself, but I don't have the facilities and tools for some of them, so I have to have someone do them for me.
I recommend distilled water when wet sanding in general, especially headlights. For headlights i would recommend sanding side to side, right to left or left to right, it helps with leveling later. Also final wipe/clean with 70% Isopropyl before taping/coating
Maybe your kit is different to what i know, but it looks like you put the polishing compound onto the sandpaper. Polishing compound is like "very fine sandpaper in paste form". So all that does is lessen the effectiveness of the sandpaper. As the polishing compound cloggs up the sandpaper. Which is the job of the sanded off material. The polishing compound is usually intended to be used *after* sanding. To the toothpaste side: i would be worried about that toothpaste! Think about it that way: in your test the toothpaste seems to have removed more material than 2000 grit sandpaper! That would mean twice a day it would remove material from your teeth! Either that, or the toothpaste side just looked better to begin with and it didn't change anything. (Which is what i hope for the sake of peoples teeth. I have seen people test the toothpaste thing here in europe, and it didn't do anything as our toothpaste must not sand our teeth...)
Good to know. I did follow the instructions on the box on how to use the polishing compound however there are likely much better kits out there. This was just a cheap kit I picked up at Canadian Tire. The toothpaste side has surprisingly held up much better than the polishing kit over the weeks (they were both relatively even in fogginess to begin with)
Yes toothpaste will do the jobb, its a fine abrasive, (high grit) . It just takes more work. "isopropanol and clear cot vill make it last longer, im told...
The main difference between the toothpaste, and the polish kit.....is the cost. They both work by being abrasive. The longer you rub and polish, the better the result. You could cheat too...just go grab some 4000 grit wet dry sandpaper and give that a go..... Cheers on the successful headlight endeavor.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
You need to buy and spray good quality clear coat to protect and make it last... plus makes it even more clear looking
For headlight restoration you need a kit that has ceramic coating or something to protect it from UV or they will fog up again in the not so far future.
And when sanding it's easier to just leave the hood/bonnet open, not only will you cover more surface area but there's less to tape off. Also when you're done it should be so smooth to the touch that you can feel it building static if you brush the back of your hand against it. Sanding is really the key to making it look good and last, and it should be wet sanding the whole time, as in constantly dumping water on the headlight as you sand.
Keep them coming! Love to see ya learning and doing. I still marvel at how rusted your vehicles are up there.
Thanks very much! I'm actually in the midst of a very rusty project at the moment... I'll be uploading soon!
Great video Meg
Thank you!
Great job cleaning your headlights Meg
Thank you!
I love your videos so much keep up the good job🥰🥰🥰
Thank you! Will do!
Great video, like the follow up on how well each product is doing.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching 🙂
Nice job. Great video. My car came with hid headlamps. I wasnt sure they'd make a that big of a difference. Now that i have more time using them. I really like them, especially at night in the rain.
Thank you! And that's great!
Excellent vlogs as always keep them coming
Thank you! Will do!
Nice one Meg keep them coming👍
Thanks, will do!
With standard filament bulbs you can tell they have burned out because the filament wire in the bulb will have a break in it where it has burned out. Much like the blade fuses you will see in your car's fusebox. Akso if you have a multimeter you can test across the terminals for continuity.
I refurbished my headlights back in the summer. I originally tried a restoration kit but wasn't impressed with the results. The cream compound that came with it wasn't aggressive enough so I ended up using wet and dry sandpaper. I started with 320 grit, then worked my way up to 3000 grit. Each grit (number) refers to how fine they are, the higher being the finer. You work up through the grits to refine the scratches the previous grit creates. After 3000 I then used automotive cutting compound, then automotive polish. This left them super smooth. I finished them with a layer of the UV protection that came in the restoration kit.
I have problem headlights as well. I use Meguiars Ultimate compound and a drill with a foam pad attachment to bring them back, it takes about 2 minutes per side and no need to mask up as it is safe on paint obviously.
I follow this up with a coat of my normal wax and I typically need to do this process twice a year.
Usually a burned out bulb will have a molten seperated filament, Those are cool sockets on the Jetta. Never seen those before. thanks for sharing!
Nice work many ways to clean those headlights but to have a finish that protects from UV rays so they stay shiny and not discolour again
Good to know, thank you!
I used clear coat compound on mine. They came out okay, a lot better than they were. Although in all fairness I didnt spend a lot time on them. I was doing them in between deliveries at work.
Great job changing your bulb and putting the new one in Meg
thank you!
I tried a few ways of cleaning/polishing the headlights on my 1994 Ford Escort. Never was happy with any method for longer than a few months. Finally bit the bullet and replaced the headlight assemblies. Much less $$$ than expected and very easy to do. When I traded it for my 2006 F-250, it had fogged headlights, too. I didn't mess around with trying to improve them. I just replaced the assemblies (about a half hour job) and was done.
Another fun video Meg and I couldn't help but notice your subscriber count has doubled since I started watching a week ago. You know what that means...... you're doing something right... In the garage it looked like the toothpaste was a little cleaner/brighter than the other but I thought maybe it was the lighting. When you showed them again outside it still looked brighter to my eye. I'm glad you confirmed that for me. Great video see you on the next one.
Thanks Rob!
Nicely done. There are LED replacement bulbs for many types of halogen bulbs that can work well with the stock headlamp depending on the reflector design - the ones I fitted to our Honda Odyssey are an excellent upgrade with a very clean beam pattern. I had trouble getting holders back in properly too - but my hands are a bit large which doesn’t help.
I bet you could get decent results restoring headlamps with very fine wet and dry paper and barkeepers friend.
Thanks for the tips!
Here in the UK we say Simoniz as 'simon eyes'...!
Good to know!
Like ur daily beater car Meg vw Jetta kool upgrade with front lights which are important to see in night driving or raining storm weather
Thank you!
Hi Meg 👋🏻 Next time try some Meguiars Plast-X , works great, and pretty sure it has a sealant, protectant in it 👍🏻Thank you my friend 🙏🏻 Appreciate you
I have a buffer 3 inch round with in your drill.. I know you are in Canada yet amazon here too.
The full process of acrylic headlight refinishing should look like this:
1. Sanding coarse to fine. Start with grit depending on original condition (a badly yellowed headlight would require taking off more damaged material than yours). There's no harm in going too fine, it just means more elbow grease is required for the desired result.
2. Polishing as an extension of the former. If you don't have a buffer, you can use a lint-free cloth (ideally with some linen), that's what works for sprucing up scratched plastic display windows anyway.
3. Sealant with UV protection (important as UV light is what got the lenses yellow and cloudy to begin with, and they would degrade again fairly quickly if left unprotected).
You basically just polished the toothpaste headlight (which came out OK since they weren't terrible to begin with, yay for being in Canada I suppose) and just sanded the other one (so the surface finish remained too coarse).
Project Farm did a comparison of headlight refinishing kits not too long ago, I imagine a lot of these ought to be available in the Great White North as well.
Trivia time: Refinishing your headlights is technically illegal where I live (Germany). I know they're taking their light beam patterns very seriously over here and taking off a lot of material (especially over multiple applications) could alter the pattern too much, but it does verge on being silly. It's not like a cloudy headlight is a terribly great alternative.
I think your sanding was supposed to be done with water rather than the polish you used. The polish is most likely a final step, kind of like waxing your car. I've used these kits before, but did follow with a clear coat that had UV protectant in it. It's the only thing that will seal and protect all of your hard work.
great video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
They never go in as easy as they come out 😏
Good work changing the lamp. It's not easy making sure everything fits. So little space :P ... You said that you come from a mechanical background. But haven't done so much by yourself? My dad worked as a mechanic, grew up in the garage ^^. Still, everything i know i had to learn by doing. Love your content. Im sure your video gives ppl. courage to do more maintenance "stuff" on their cars... Or their neighbours. Keep being awesome
Love the hats ❤️
thanks!
Honestly, on my Mini Cooper S & F150 its a better upgrade to LED lights. Its a cheaper replacement & a brighter light, much easier on ur eyes especially night driving!! Plus, im a new subscriber...... keep up the good work!!
Definitely considering doing that upgrade! And thanks for the sub! 🙂
Hey! Its sunday again....hint hint. hehe. Hope you're doing well up there in the cold cold. We are about to get snowed in here in east tennessee so if ya can send a vid that would be great!
I have a big one dropping very soon!! It took a little longer to film, but I'm hoping to release it tomorrow! Thanks for the support!
I'm glad you were able to learn how to replace your headlight bulbs. Any car maintenance is a valuable skill and I applaud your willingness to try. Unfortunately, you did not learn how to polish your headlights. I can't believer the process you showed was what the instructions said to do. If toothpaste looked better that the polishing kit, then you're not doing it right. If done correctly the headlights should look brand new. I will not go on about the process because several other people have but try re-reading the instruction on the package and maybe you'll discover that you missed some steps. I believe you have the ability to figure it out.😃
Nice
glad to see you used gloves to change the bulb's just to let people know you dont touch the halogen bulbs with your fingers because the oils from you skin can cause the bulb to explode with the heat... also for you headlight's better to use a Fine Paint Cutting/polishing compound and a random orbital buffing machine then apply a ceramic/uv coating !!
Great information, thank you!
on sand paper at leas here in the US the lower the number the higher the grit.
Actually the higher the number the higher the grit. Ie 60grit is super coarse. 4000 grit is very fine and is for finishing.
great 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
1.9 Tdi PD BKC
I actually just found out recently that mine is a BRM!
Those noises you were hearing when you shut off the ignition is the throttle body cycling open and closed 😬
Interesting... I'll look into that, thanks!
@@Meg.August it's totally normal so nothing to worry about! I work for VW and they all do it 😁
3 out of 4 dentists surveyed say to brush daily and floss between headlights.
If you want to do it the easy way, which would take maybe five minutes 10 at the tops. The best and easy way which you could do as often as you want is to just apply some brake fluid on the clear lens with a soft cloth and avoid the paint.
Done!
I think you would be impressed with the results.
It seems like the polish Sid may have been a little foggier than the toothpaste side to begin with?
😮 u r supposed to sand the headlights with water from coarse to fine and then polish them with the polisher 😊
Who chooses the music for your videos? It is clever and well placed.
Thank you Tim! I do all my own editing
I forgot to mention...the reason they still look foggy is because the tiny scratches you have put into the headlights from the abrasives are causing the light to be refracted all over the place. If the restoration kit didn't come with some sort of sealant to finish them off then you should apply something like an automotive sealant. This will fill in those tiny scratches and leave the surface even and they will look a lot more clear.
Good to know!
@@Meg.August always apply some ceramic coating after you polish it this will keep it from discoloring again
Toothpaste works also
The 3m kit includes scratch filler and a protectant.
Yes, that's right I use the headlights kit to clean my
Pros will never tell you this but on most lights the lens is cheap you just throw the whole headlight in the oven on 220 for 20 to 30 min the pull it out and pry it apart....clean the old butyl rubber out...then use a new piece of butyl rubber push it in the seam flush....then heat the headlight and lens together again at 200 and push the new lens on!
Good to know! Thanks for the tip!
Maybe it's just the shop lighting but the toothpaste looks clearer.And only time will tell if one is more long lasting than the other.
I have a question?
Bug spray to get rid of foggy headlights . Dosen't last the longest tho
I just bought replacement headlights from Amazon. Super inexpensive and now I can see much better. The yellowing is on the inside of the headlight not the outside.
it doesn't look like the polish kit or the tooth paste did anything. They look the same as they did after the cleaning with the dish soap
Polycarbonate materials require petrochemical penetration to restore its surface. And you’re still not wearing workboots. It’s past being a gimmick, and we don’t want to lose you through heavy impact on a toe 😊 Oh by the way! I love red heads… thanks for your love to my trade.
Lanpada h3
Also you're supposed to keep going until the pits disappears with the first pad😁.
How did you learn mechanics and carpentry?
Mostly RUclips!
@@Meg.August Why don't you take the car to the repair shop? Have you ever vandalized?
@@Meg.August I myself love technical work and tools. I do some things myself, but I don't have the facilities and tools for some of them, so I have to have someone do them for me.
@@Meg.August great 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻❤❤❤☺
@@Meg.August Thank you very much for the clips you make, you made me more interested in technical work🙏🙏🙏💐💐💐
best thing i have found to clear up the headlight plastic is mosquito spray it works perfect
That's an interesting idea!
Which side will have less cavities Meg? This is the question! When is your next appointment? Ha! Ha! Good video Meg.
lol! Thank you!
cars gunna be cavity free for a while.
I recommend distilled water when wet sanding in general, especially headlights. For headlights i would recommend sanding side to side, right to left or left to right, it helps with leveling later. Also final wipe/clean with 70% Isopropyl before taping/coating
Thanks for the tips!
Dear Sir we are not baking a pie... we are just cleaning headlights...
Maybe your kit is different to what i know, but it looks like you put the polishing compound onto the sandpaper.
Polishing compound is like "very fine sandpaper in paste form". So all that does is lessen the effectiveness of the sandpaper.
As the polishing compound cloggs up the sandpaper. Which is the job of the sanded off material.
The polishing compound is usually intended to be used *after* sanding.
To the toothpaste side: i would be worried about that toothpaste! Think about it that way: in your test the toothpaste seems to have removed more material than 2000 grit sandpaper! That would mean twice a day it would remove material from your teeth!
Either that, or the toothpaste side just looked better to begin with and it didn't change anything. (Which is what i hope for the sake of peoples teeth. I have seen people test the toothpaste thing here in europe, and it didn't do anything as our toothpaste must not sand our teeth...)
Good to know. I did follow the instructions on the box on how to use the polishing compound however there are likely much better kits out there. This was just a cheap kit I picked up at Canadian Tire. The toothpaste side has surprisingly held up much better than the polishing kit over the weeks (they were both relatively even in fogginess to begin with)
@@Meg.August Thanks for the reply!
Not an equal comparison as you needed to use the same sandpaper on both sides....
Yes toothpaste will do the jobb, its a fine abrasive, (high grit) . It just takes more work. "isopropanol and clear cot vill make it last longer, im told...
Makes sense! Thanks for watching
The main difference between the toothpaste, and the polish kit.....is the cost. They both work by being abrasive. The longer you rub and polish, the better the result.
You could cheat too...just go grab some 4000 grit wet dry sandpaper and give that a go.....
Cheers on the successful headlight endeavor.
Thank you! I always enjoy finding ways to save money
This video is about headlights...right>...?
The North Star are LED and much Brighter
Throttle body clicking
😁🥰👍👍👍
Toothpaste, But Not By Much. Money Talks!
You would find those cheaper online and I see you're still rockin those socks and sandals and it didn't take eight hours to do so😅.
OPEN THE HOOD TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE LOGHTS !
poor Mike`s tshirt
From the camera Angel the toothpaste side looked better
Instead of paying a boat load of money for a headlight restoration kit....use aluminum wheel polish and a rag
Eric from South Main Auto is a better mechanic having his own shop but he can't wear a halter top like Meg
Rather than tape your bonnet, just open it.
🤣
wear work boots
Wear work boots to just change a light and clean lenses? Come on man get a grip
@@hfhjfx... he has a work boot fetish! He gets his tissue paper and favorite hand lotion ready for when she puts boots on.
Hey Meg, we can certainly do without the background music; it's not good, that's for sure!!! It detracts from the program...
👹😄😇😛🤑🤨☹👎🐊🕸🐛🦟🦠🕷🦂🪱
You know I can't belive I just subscribed to a dirty Canucks
Do you have a instagram?
No I don't, but may get one in the future