http://www.amazon.com/3M-39084-Headlight-Restoration-Kit/dp/B006VB8JTQ

This one worked great. I wish I had taken before and after pictures.

You do the work by hand. The circular sponge has velcro for attaching the different grades of sanding discs. Final step you use the reverse side of the sponge to apply rubbing compound.

Tape around the headlights first.

Thanks, that's good to know! I've been thinking about doing it on my Honda. What kind of tape did you use?

Crystal View Headlight Restorer on Joyce's old car:

PS - I see that Peter used Crystal View and liked it also...

I didn't use any tape. I wish I had. I was careful not to scratch the sides. But when I was done and applying the final step the rubbing compound highlighted the edges that I did not do as well as the rest. About 1/8 of an inch.

Looks good! I was thinking about doing the same thing. Consumer reports recently gave the restoration kit below the top rating at of the kits they tested so was thinking about giving it a try.

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-Headlight...restoration+kit

Reviews on the one Mark and Peter used are pretty mixed. How long did you spend sanding and whatnot, Mark?

It was awhile ago, Ken, but I remember the whole thing taking me maybe an hour.

Yeah, now that I look, I'm seeing mixed reviews, too. It looks like the "protectant" that you put on after may not be all that long lasting. I dunno.... we did it not too long before selling the car.

I remember I looked for it in particular because of good ratings at the time.

Ken, check your GMail account.

I've used that kit on a friends car and it worked great. I just used masking tape on the body parts.

Although i am a auto mechanic ,I do a few at work from time to time. If we replace a headlight assembly i will restore the other one. I use 1000 wet/dry then 2000 followed by meguires #2 fine cut cleaner used with a power polisher with a wool wheel. I am lazy and dont believe in any extra labour being expended than absolutely necessary. Takes about 15 minutes per light.

FYI . Most auto manufacturers use clear coat paint on the original plastic headlights . Once you have buffed it off , You need to polish every time you wash the car as dulling will result . I have a couple older vehicles and have often wondered if spraying the covers with new clear coat would save me some buffing and polishing time

What is this "wash the car" you speak of?

I have sprayed my tail lights with 2k clear after applying night shades ,so far so good. But out front i would suspect the crap from the car in front would cause it to chip and peel. I did my headlights 3 yrs ago still nice and clear .

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know if any of the products on the market actually take salt stains out of car carpet? Without making the car to smelly to actually sit in going forward?

Perhaps if they are fresh stains. I have yet to find anything that works on older salt stains. Salt doesn't just stain, it also eats away at the material like a slow acid, so a decent restoration is impossible.

Of course, maybe if the carpets were cleaned more regularly, it wouldn't get to that stage, in which case that stuff might actually work.

I have never tried this on salt. But I use it and it works really good. Maybe you could email them and ask.

http://www.folexcompany.com/

Amie use extremly hot water.. spray all afected areas well + use small brush + use a shop vac to remove all the water afterwards... this will completly remove all winter salt stains

I do this every spring and carpets are like new.. I do it on a hot summer day and let the windows 2 inches open a few hours and it drys in notime.. if you let the salt sit over time will eventually damage your carpets

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showth...ny-other-winter

Here is a write up from a guy who used Folex on salt stains. He bought it at Canadian Tire.

While we are on the topic of cleaning cars. It takes awhile, and it takes multiple applications, but I have done wonders with enzyme based natural deodorizers and cleaners.

Very nice to hear some real reviews on the headlight restoration topic. We have an older CRV that we've been contemplating a restoration. Almost bought a kit while in Walmart last week. Since i haven't been in a Walmart in over 5 years, that alone says something. I'm just not sure what.

I'll pick something up probably this week and post some pics before and after. Hopefully i can get the pictures focused as nicely as Mark's, but probably not. Who am i kidding? He's a photo guru.

Coincidentally, a couple of months ago I used a Meguiar kit (from Canadian Tire, for us Canucks, eh ).

If Mark's photo's represent a 10/10, I'd say that my results were probably a 6/10, after a fair effort. Taped the surrounding paint too on my aging '98 Caravan. The headlights were better, but I was somewhat disappointed to be honest. I've had better luck with other Meguiar's products in the past, so I expected better.

If they're too smelly to sit in going forward, driving in reverse with the windows open will get rid of the smell.

These are the one step kits which basically just have you buff the headlight with an abrasive and solvent.
Most the other kits include the multistep sanding parts which frankly should work better to remove the surface layer from the headlight.
I would suggest you try one of those kits with more steps involved. One stop solutions rarely work well to fix anything.

We just picked up the 3M kit. Hopefully will get at this sometime later this week.

Finished the headlight restore and took the truck on a trip. Definite improvement.
Will post pics soon, once i empty out the 900 photos from the vacation.