I just wondered if anybody had any experience of these headlight restoration products which are on the market.

The O/S front headlamp on my 2007 L322 still looks like new, as it was replaced about 3 years ago having being clipped by a Hovis truck in Sainsbury's car park! The N/S light is not at all bad, but does appear slightly discoloured by comparison (see photo below).

I've seen a couple of kits are available, one is from Autoglym, another from Meguiars, or individual components can be bought separately.

The kits look good, but requires sanding and seems quite abrasive - I'm not sure I need to go to those lengths, with the discolouration being quite light, as you will see in the photo below.

Has anyone used these kits / individual products and if so, do you think I'll just get away with just the polish, or do I need to sand the whole thing down?

Polish here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meguiars-G12310EU...1&th=1

Finally, will sanding reduce the life of the headlight, or mean the process will need repeating (it says lasts up to 1 year on the product info)

Any advice would be much appreciated

Headlamp image here:

Click image to enlarge

Never used any specialist products, l just use TCut always worked for me.

I’ve had great results using 1500 wet & dry in a flexible block with plenty of soapy water, followed by polishing with a DA & polishing compound (I used Menzerna heavy cut) and then finished with some UV protector / sealant.

It’s a bit worrying after the sanding phase but it soon turns crystal clear and the UV sealant should keep it this way.

I've used the 3M 39073 kits quite successfully on a couple of vehicles, use a sealant afterwards though. A quick wipe over with https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A3S1RGU/ every few months seems to keep them clear, I've been doing that on my previous vehicle since 2018 (still got the same bottle of polish!) and they haven't yellowed or dulled at all.

Thank you all for your advice - To be honest, nicedayforit is probably right and T-cut would probably do the job perfectly well, that said, I've decided to go for one of these kits which I think will give similar to what I think JCW is describing, plus it also gets 4.7/5 from 342 reviews:

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-clea...html?_gl=1*1tgu60e*_up*MQ..&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt9Gb9aO5-AIVhuJ3Ch0o3weiEAQYASABEgJdePD_BwE

In terms of what Phoenix suggested and the link above, this looks interesting - Phoenix, can this also be used on windscreens?

If so, have you tried it and does it work well?

That looks very similar to the 3M kit, except I think the 3M one has another intermediate polishing step. similar price though.

I've never used the polish on windscreens, I imagine it'd be a bit like Rain-X type stuff, which is one of those 'marmite' products, you either love it or hate it. I imagine it'd only really work well on a scrupulously clean or new windscreen, for how long, I have no idea. It does seem to protect the headlights quite well, the water doesn't sit on it until it's getting around the time to re-apply, I just use some neat screenwash to clean the lens, let it dry, wipe it over then apply a couple of times by hand (well, by cloth, but in hand not machine!), job done for a few months.

The 'smart repair' guys that deal with the used car paint repairs etc. just use their normal polishing compound and a machine polisher to clear up the lenses, mainly because it's quick, cheap and not their car!

Any polishing compound will work including toothpaste but the main key to success is using it via power tool and not elbow grease. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

My local car parts store do this for a tenner.

They just use a standard polish and a random orbit polisher. Nothing special and the lights come up like new. 2015 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 SDV8

Gary, did you use a sealer after? I’d be interested to know how long they remain clear with and without putting a sealer on after they’ve been polished?

If you're keeping the vehicle which i suspect you are, the best way i have done it is clean off with some wax & grease remover wipe down then with 800 grit on DA sander sand it down all over when you're done wipe with Wax 7 grease again wipe off mask off hood and any think else you don't want to paint and apply 1.5 coats of 2K clear and it'll be like new for a couple of years.
You can get clearcoat in a rattle can these days.
This is my method, been doing it for years, just saying.




This is an easer way and cheaper way to restore your headlight, I've never used this method but it looks ok.