headlamp 'restorer'. beware

[jphanna]

It was around late March when my passion for driving was reignited. a series 1 XR6. it wasnt perfect but it ws going to get a full freshening up, mechanically, and cosmetically.

a nasty scratch by key was fixed with one side painted and the boot and along with fully serviced mechanicals, bumper to bumper......it was absolutely stunning to look at and great to drive.

there was one little thing that my son noticed. the headlamps has very small traces of UV damage. i have noticed latter model cars have opaque lights and often wondered why. my son told me they are not glass anymore. but plastic.....

he bought me a REPCO light restorer kit. now before i tell you how much it cost him, let me tell you what was in it.

3 very course sanding blocks. (i have used ones like that for sanding plaster off walls....)
3 pieces of fine sandpaper
3 pieces of slightly finer sandpaper
some paper for masking the paintwork
one tiny can of clear paint.

does the sound like a headlamp restoration kit so far? well i can buy all of that sand paper and blocks from Bunnings for probably $15.00. a can of paint that small probably 7.00 from a hobby shop?

the kit cost $87.00

we followed the instructions slowly and carefully and now the headlamp as totally stuffed. he has ordered a brand new headlamp for my car.

i am letting you guys know that if you ever see a little bit of opaque in your headlamps, if it bothers you, buy a new lamp. do not insult your intelligence by being sucked into this 'wonder' product that REPCO put their name on.

[Chopped]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OZqLOZU5qUY

This guy has a wealth of cheap quick easy fixes that work.

I have also used toothpaste, a cloth and elbow grease to fix hazed headlight lenses covers.

It's a shame you wrecked your headlight lens with a supposed good kit.

[mike_nofx]

Have used the Repco kit before with amazing results. They looked brand new after I was done.

Got a pic of the stuffed lenses now?

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

These kits seem to work well for others.

What happened to the lights to make them stuffed??

[Fairlane 500]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Have used the Repco kit before with amazing results. They looked brand new after I was done.

Got a pic of the stuffed lenses now?

Yeah, I have used the kit with great results as well.

[yearby]

Originally Posted by jphanna

3 very course sanding blocks. (i have used ones like that for sanding plaster off walls....)
3 pieces of fine sandpaper
3 pieces of slightly finer sandpaper
some paper for masking the paintwork
one tiny can of clear paint.

.

Something here is not right.

The last kit I purchased had cutting compound in it which I buffed out the yellowness and a solution which then persevered the plastic lens from turning yellow in the future.

It defiantly did not have sandpaper or clear paint.

Peter

[BradEL]

Sandpaper is fine. And is the only way to to restore lights once they get to a certain point, I used to do the headlight restoration for a job and depending on the job we would start with 240-500 grit sand paper, and work up the grades until using a 4000 grit sanding pad. No polishing or anything, but when clear coated over with a UV clear coat designed for headlights they would come up like brand new.

[Mont5.0]

product failure?
or User failure?

[LTDHO]

$87 when you could have used toothpaste!

Never tried it myself, but I hear it works.

[au2000]

I'm pretty sure that au Xr lights are actually glass and not plastic, my sons series 3 Xr are def glass lenses while my series 2 Ghia are plastic, this might e why they did not work

[dead_man00124]

All AU XR6/8 are glass.
did yours have the headlight protectors on it which are plastic?

[jphanna]

the right hand light is opaque, scratched and probably deflectable. he took the kit back to Repco and they refunded his money. they then gave him a merguire kit and we did the left hand light. This one didn't get damaged. the Merguires kit had a polish type of substance. no polish in Repco kit. only sandpaper, sanding blocks and small can of clear paint. paper to mask. nothing else. so the REPCO KIT destroyed the light. following the instructions CAREFULLY. the Merguires kit didn't damage the Left hand light. Maybe there was something missing from the REPCO kit? too late now the light will be replaced and never touching anything like this again.

[BENT_8]

With all due respect, if your going to slander a product then you should really show us what the result was so we can decide wether it was an application issue or indeed the product.
As others have said, all AU XR headlights are glass and shouldn't need polishing the way you would with polycarbonate headlights.
The plastic covers which sit over the light recess are plastic but are only protectors, not the actual lights.

Did you remove the headlight from the car as it would be almost impossible to polish the AU XR lights in position.

[Fairlane 500]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

With all due respect, if your going to slander a product then you should really show us what the result was so we can decide wether it was an application issue or indeed the product.
As others have said, all AU XR headlights are glass and shouldn't need polishing the way you would with polycarbonate headlights.
The plastic covers which sit over the light recess are plastic but are only protectors, not the actual lights.

Did you remove the headlight from the car as it would be almost impossible to polish the AU XR lights in position.

I think the OP is talking about an FG series I XR6?

[uniacidz]

I used the Turtle Wax variant as was half price at Super cheap and did a good job

Had sanding blocks or varying grades, a liquid lubricant and polishing compound and UV sealant

I have since gone with Turtle Wax headlight restorer which is under $20 and does a good job as well



Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD

[damo76]

I used a $35 light restorer kit from autoone on the girlfriends kia, they were really badly yellowed sun damaged and fine cracks but the product brought them back to i think 80% which quite happy with, still cheaper than new lights

[jphanna]

From the responses I have heard. There is a distinct possibility that there may have been a missing part form the Repco kit?
Maybe the light on my FG has already been affected by something prior to my ownership?
I am a regular at my local Repco and always had good service so no qualms there.
I will try and get a pic up. The left hand one is crystal clear and the right hand one looks like frosted glass with scour marks from the supplied and used sand paper and blocks. The light may have already been treated in the past and doing it again may have caused this problem.
Given my time again…….anything that affects the external appearance of the car.
Paint
Windows
Lights
Wheels
I get new, or get a professional to fix.

[lra]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

$87 when you could have used toothpaste! Never tried it myself, but I hear it works.

It works ! Plain white, not multi coloured mint flavour, and must be mixed with elbow grease. Expensive restorations kits .... no way.

A few years ago, my son had his Barina knocked back on a NSW roadworthy cert because of faded headlights. They were 'professionally fixed' for about $70, and when I saw the result, I went ape-sh*t and asked how he could have been sucked into such a crap job that was not needed.. They looked like they had been brush coated with varnish, dusted with talcum powder, and felt like sandpaper.
An hour on each light had them back to an acceptable condition, and now, ten minutes before each road-worthy presents no hassles.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Fairlane5OO

I think the OP is talking about an FG series I XR6?

Apologies to the OP, somewhere along the line the notion of it being an AU was introduced to the thread and as the OP didn't specify I just assumed we were talking AU..lol

[BENT_8]

I bought an EL Fairmont off a member of this Forum 11yrs ago which had terrible headlights to the point that his Wife couldn't drive it to work, from memory she was a nurse and worked nights.
I enquired about new ones and gave it a miss when quoted $400 per side.
I grabbed 800, 1200, 1500 and 2000 grit paper. a bottle of Silvo and some swirl remover and had them looking new within 2hrs.
Then I discovered the globes hadn't been installed correctly and were both pointing upwards and cutting the light projected by half, put them back in properly and they were perfect.
Total cost was about $10, the money they ask for those kits is insulting.

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by yearby

Something here is not right.

The last kit I purchased had cutting compound in it which I buffed out the yellowness and a solution which then persevered the plastic lens from turning yellow in the future.

It defiantly did not have sandpaper or clear paint.

Peter

The repco kit I used is as described by the OP, here is a pic I found online of the actual kit and whats inside. Theres more sandpaper included thats not pictured I believe.

My results were as shown on the box - I know right, I was blown away myself, accurate box advertising!

[xtremerus]

I used the $40 Invision restoration kit on poly headlights and the results were fantastic.

[baxtc1]

A couple of years ago I had a Suzuki Grand Vitara, headlights were pretty bad, so I tried some Autosol metal polish on them and it worked really well. What I didn't know of before reading this thread was the availability of a protective coating for them. Good info.

[Merlium]

I used that same Repco kit on an AU Forte and a VE ute, both with foggy and scummy yellow headlights. I got fantastic near-new results both times.

[sgt_doofey]

I recently paid $40 for a local detailer to restore the lights on our Peugeot. It's normally $65 but he had a monthly special on it.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by baxtc1

A couple of years ago I had a Suzuki Grand Vitara, headlights were pretty bad, so I tried some Autosol metal polish on them and it worked really well. What I didn't know of before reading this thread was the availability of a protective coating for them. Good info.

autosols really good for takeing water marks off side mirrors too

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by lra

It works ! Plain white, not multi coloured mint flavour, and must be mixed with elbow grease. Expensive restorations kits .... no way.

I even used this to resotre scratched gauges lenses on my old Mustang, you don't want the gel type paste as it doesn't have any grit, best one I found is Oral B, feels quite gritty in your mouth. Last used it to polish some scratches out of the roof of a car a few months ago.

[DOOZIE DAISY]

I used a cheap kit on my ef lights years ago,worked great,it was just a few different grades of wet and dry and plastic polish.
Id love to bust a tube of toothpaste open and try it but both my cars have glass lights no polishing needed.

[Bushbasher]

I just use Turtle brand liquid cut and polish and a microfible cloth. within 2 minutes per side I can have milky headlights back to 90%+. A few more minutes with some swirl remover and I can get awfully close to 100%..... But some of that UV protectant would be nice to have on the shelf.

[au350hp]

These kits are designed for polycarbonate lenses & whilst they do contain sandpaper, the surface needs to be kept wet to avoid scarring or burning the lens. The little bottle is a polishing paste of sorts that buffs out to reveal a clear lens. It is important to remember the suns UV rays is what does the damage to begin with so if they're old or really bad, the reflective coating on the inside is probably gone as well and you'd be better getting a genuine set from the wreckers. The aftermarket lights are rarely as good as genuine items.