Headlight Restoration Available at Sam's Club

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threeputtpar

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On another forum that I hang out at, someone mentioned that they had their dull plastic headlights restored at Sam's Club. The cost was $30, and it took about 90 minutes. The kicker is they have UV activated clear coat, a UV light, and offer a 5 year warranty.

I called my local club and they confirmed everything. I've tried the 3M kit myself, and it did make my lights better. But without a clear coat, they were back to dull in about a month.

For $30, I cannot see a down side to giving them a shot. HTH.
 
Wow, thats cool. Might give it a try on the Uplander if our Sams Club offers this service.
 
Aww.....
We don't have Sam's Club, Only Costco
I could have used this for the Taurus, which has some [censored] aftermarket Lights on it that the body shop bought.

Ehh screw it, I'll spend the $80 for the set of Centennial lights. These cracked way too easily.
 
Not a bad price, but headlights for my car are $34 each. With competition from China, the price of replacement auto parts have gone way down over the years.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Not a bad price, but headlights for my car are $34 each. With competition from China, the price of replacement auto parts have gone way down over the years.
Most aftermarket lights have lousy beams. My Camry got one new headlight (thanks to collision insurance). That light looks great compared to the other one as long as headlights are off. But when it is dark and the headlights are on, the new one shows how lousy beam pattern is on the aftermarket lens.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Not a bad price, but headlights for my car are $34 each. With competition from China, the price of replacement auto parts have gone way down over the years.
Most aftermarket lights have lousy beams. My Camry got one new headlight (thanks to collision insurance). That light looks great compared to the other one as long as headlights are off. But when it is dark and the headlights are on, the new one shows how lousy beam pattern is on the aftermarket lens.



That is good to know. I kind of regret the loss of the old sealed beams as I kind of think they enforced a standard that the new lights seem to lack.
 
Well, it just the physics aka fixed shape glass (very heavy) vs variable shape plastic (light) -- weight saving measures
 
Menard's has a Turtle wax lens polish kit with the sealant for $5.99 in today's paper.
 
Well, I decided over the weekend to give them a shot at my hazy headlights. Since new light fixtures for the Audi are around $700 each through Rock Auto, it was worth a shot.

Here is the before:




And here is the after:




The pictures really don't do them justice. It took a little over an hour and I was able to watch through the window. When the UV clear was put on, it was really night and day. The UV light to cure the clear was pretty neat, as it only took 2 minutes to cure them. I just need to keep it out of the carwash for 24 hours, and then the coating is permanant.

I previously tried the Turtle Wax and 3M kits myself, but without a clear coat of some kind the results only lasted a month at best. The girl that did the work said that they have no problem with me coming back in anytime I feel that they are getting cloudy and they will do a quick wet sand and reapplication of the clear during the 5 year warranty period.

Yes, this service is only available to members but there are many days that they offer one day memberships for no cost to try to get more people to become full time members. I'd say that one could get the one day pass and have this done and be set. I know that my credit union always has the one day passes, so that might be an option for some also.
 
Interesting...might give this a try.

I have buffed many times myself on the Acura's lamps and the brownish discolorization comes back after 6-8 months. I might try this and see how long it lasts.

Is the UV coating perfectly uniform? As in, you can't really tell a difference betweeen the old lamp and a new lamp (in terms of no runs, no sags, etc)?
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Is the UV coating perfectly uniform? As in, you can't really tell a difference betweeen the old lamp and a new lamp (in terms of no runs, no sags, etc)?


Yes, she did a very good job in spraying it on even and at a thicknesss that would last but not be too thick and look like it was over applied. In my case, there was just one small spot on the bottom of the passenger side light that didn't fully sand out, so that is still visible through the clear. Since it was not in the path of the light beam, I don't have a problem with it.

I think that either she was very well trained on the whole process, or she's a car person and really cares about doing the job right. It wasn't just hit it with a sanding block and move on to the next grit. She would sand a small area and then water it down well and inspect before moving on to the next area or grit paper.
 
The main problem with DIY is missing the final step of UV coating.

Sam's Club cost at $30 is very good deal, especially it may take them 60-90 minutes to complete it.
 
Threeputtpar:- Were they getting that bad in only 3 months after the 3M treatment? Even a wax job would have protected it better than that.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Threeputtpar:- Were they getting that bad in only 3 months after the 3M treatment? Even a wax job would have protected it better than that.


Yes, they got that bad after only a couple of months. When I did them myself, I didn't know that one needed to apply a sealer or UV coating, so after I used up the 3000 grit polishing pad I ended the process. Many of the online DIYs that I read never mentioned the sealing step, so mine didn't last very long.
 
Originally Posted By: datech
Menard's has a Turtle wax lens polish kit with the sealant for $5.99 in today's paper.


I have been told the Turtle wax brand is good b/c it comes with a sealant..

I was going to buy 3M brand and the guy at Advanced Auto Parts told me to get Turtle Wax brand for the headlights b/c it has the sealant and most brands do not or at least the 3M brand didnt.
 
Originally Posted By: David1
Originally Posted By: datech
Menard's has a Turtle wax lens polish kit with the sealant for $5.99 in today's paper.


I have been told the Turtle wax brand is good b/c it comes with a sealant..

I was going to buy 3M brand and the guy at Advanced Auto Parts told me to get Turtle Wax brand for the headlights b/c it has the sealant and most brands do not or at least the 3M brand didnt.



Only sealant I have ever used in the Blue Magic stuff. And that is because it works... so why change?
 
Very neat. For $30, it may be worth a look for people who are not interested in doing it themselves.

I've done a few headlight restorations to date. My first one was not too successful, but subsequent ones have had great results once I adjusted my technique.

Here's how I do mine. I recently saw a pair that I did four months ago and they are still clear.

- Clean headlight
- Damp sand with Meguiars Unigrit 1500
- Damp sand with Meguiars Unigfit 2500
- Compound with Meguiars M101, wool pad and rotary polisher
- Compound with Meguiars M101, orange cutting foam pad and rotary polisher
- Finish with Meguiars M205 (or any finishing polish) with polishing pad, and rotary or DA.

- Wipe-down headlight lens with 50% IPA mix, three times.
- Apply Optimum Opti-Lens.
 
I had a friend buff the housings last spring, but it did not do the trick as the yellowing came back. I had mine done at Sams this summer and it looks great. Not to mention improved lighting output, if I have any problems I have a 5 year warranty.
 
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