3M Headlight Restorer
 

I have a 2004 S Type which had awful looking headlight covers. Milky, faded, yellow n UGLY!!

Spent $20 for the kit and 1 hour of work with my 18V Dewalt drill. They came out crystal clear! They look brand new. I kid you not...

Just wanted to share with my new friends.

Others have then coated them (see posts - I didn't notice what they used!).

Great Job! I'm a slowbie. Spent over an hour with the 3m kit last night and barely got both low-beams done! Now "I be runnin' shawt o' 500 discs" so will try to fit an auto-store visit in around trip to "American Girl Store" in Dallas and PeeWee (American) football in Bridgeport in hopes they have some 3" discs in 500....my baby needs to go back to school tomorrow. Had to replace a low-beam bulb (H7) and it is painfully obvious I need to perform the Brutal-fix as well. (Thanks Brutal!)
FWIW, I used 4 of 6 of the 500 discs in the kit getting through the two larger outer lenses, I'd call it 1 1/2 of the 4 800 discs, so not too worried about them holding out for the hi-beams (which are smaller)

i did my headlights today in the morning. i used wet 400 grit sandpaper. then wet 2000 grit sandpaper. then i sprayed it with uv clearcoat. they look brand new now. the uv clearcoat cost me $35. sem products makes the spray.
2000 jaguar s type 3.0

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I can see why you went that route. After we returned from big D, I called a few of the local auto parts merchants, one of which seems to specialize in paint and body supplies, asking for 3" 500 grit discs. Best counter-offer I got was 400 grit in a 6" disc. I was doubtful the two remaining 500's from the kit would suffice (and beginning to see why Pushing Tin had 2 kits for sale after he let his Jag go...and beginning to wish I'd bought both!) but lying there on my worktable were some 1/4 sheets of 400/1000/1500/2000 from my son's latest guitar-build. They weren't labeled on the back, but I remembered those were the grades we used when finishing his guitar. So I grabbed the one that felt most course, and wet-sanded both high-beam lenses by hand. After removing the failing UV coating in this fashion, I was confident that my remaining kit materials would get me through to the end of the job. So I went over both with the 500, then the 800, then the 1500 foam disc. I did use 3M Rubbing Compound from a bottle I had on hand rather than the little packet that came in the kit. Overall, they looked great, particularly with respect to before I started...still....I thought I saw swirls....so I fitted my Meguiar's MF 3" pads and had a quick go with the Meguiar's MF/DA paint correction system, followed at the end by an application of Meguiar's PlastX.
Before:
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After:(but still BEFORE I washed the car - it looks much better now, for her return to school tomorrow :-)
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I need to do my driver side. My passenger side was replaced not long ago, so now |I have one clear side and one that is yellow

Thanks for the great posts but I want to relate my approach which could be used post restoration.
I had Headlight protection and a clear bra applied to my 04 STR when new and the headlight lens are still as clear as new. Turned out to be a great investment!! Pretty easy to DIY with care. Here's the link for the parts: Paint Protection Film - XPEL Technologies Corp.
If you live in reach of Ellicott City, MD; Rob Freeman is the go to man for pro installation of clear products. Here's the link: Proform Protective Films - extreme Protection
He's constantly updating his product line to the best technology.
I recently had to have my clear bra removed and replaced due to an accident and I'm impressed as much now as originally with his skills.
Good Luck and Happy Motoring

after i sanded my headlights i sprayed them with a uv clearcoat. heres the link....

SEM Products - Catalog - SOLARAY UV HEADLIGHT REPAIR

seems to me that the SEM product is one of the only solutions that doesn't have us coming back and repeating the restoration process over and over again. I like it. I wonder if anyone around here has any data to share with us about 21013 after a year or more post-application. Thanks Beto for sharing this info.

Thanks for the product! Did you cure it using a UV light? That's what the tech sheet says. I wonder if just letting it dry and then letting the sun do the rest would work?
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Don't see why the sun wouldn't cure it, myself....still, from what I could find...pretty much north of $40 shipped - I wonder if one wouldn't be better-off with the $125 wipe-on, no-UV-Cure version that would do about 25 cars? sorry for the lack of link...but Resident Detailer David (Innovative Detailing) has posted about it...and I'm too tired to search out the link - it's over in the detailing section.

btw, Beto....nice-looking S-type!
Daughter will be home at Thanksgiving and I'll have a chance to see how the 03 has weathered with only a wax and sealant.

I did this last weekend to one set of head lights and it worked perfectly. I used the 3M kit on the right side pair of head lights, splitting the disks and time equally. After about 1-1.5 hours it came out perfect, matching my new pair of head lights. Not bad for $23.00 :).

My advice is to double or triple tape your paint around the head lights. I only single taped and, I nicked my paint in a few areas with the sandpaper disks. Its not very noticeable at all, but I know its there and its too bad.

I also used the SEM product to cure the headlights. If you do this, you have to perform the last step again, otherwise it will turn out foggy. I let my cure over night, then briefly sanded it again with the plastic polish and it looks perfect.

Since I used about three sprays worth of the SEM product, I will take it as a loss and sell it for 35$ (paid $55) shipped to anyone on our site. PM me.

Electric drill > battery