3M Headlight Lens Restoration System Expired

Just wanted to weigh in on a few things. First of all, you can use good quality blue painter's tape for the job, you don't need to use the much more expensive 3M green auto tape.

Second, I'm reading recommendations to "just" buy reman or junk yard used lenses, but this option is a bit of a joke for most modern cars with sealed HID/LED light kits. As an example, my over 10 yr old GTI with HID lenses made by Hella, are $400 a piece from a online auto parts store (dealer will be much more). So, used/recon are going to be hundreds of dollars a piece, AND you need to remove the old lights and install the new lights... and on some newer car models, removing and reinstalling headlights can require ECM reprogramming. So, using a $10 refinishing kit vs paying hundreds of dollars for reman'ed lenses or even used lenses that may, themselves, be a bit oxidized is not really an apples to apples comparison.

Third, I've used these kits in the past, and the change can be very dramatic. It takes maybe 2 hours to do both lights - correctly, but the kit is more than enough to do 2 full sized lenses. The changes last much longer than 3 to 6 months. Remember, you're sanding off the top of the lens that is usually oxidized, yellowish, and rough... the final step in the process is the 3M rubbing compound that acts like a wax clearcoat on your newly finished lenses. There's more than enough of the compound to wax the lights a second time, and if you need more of this type of stuff in the future, Turtle Wax makes a plastic lens compound that sells for around $6 at Target and Amazon, and it's a relatively large bottle (enough to buff the lenses a bunch of additional times - I own this product as well).

Finally, you can't just spray oxidized lenses with a clear coat spray. If the top finish is yellowed and a bit rough due to sun exposure, so simply spraying them with a clear coat spray isn't going to fix that... it's a bit like waxing a rust spot on a car... you need to remove the rust, first.

All in all, this is an awesome kit at under $10. I've used it years ago on a Mustang GT, and just used it, myself, again, on a GTI MKV and can personally vouch for the great results. Just be careful to use extra tape around areas where the edges of the spinning sanding discs might come in contact with your vehicle's bodywork in order to prevent an inadvertent paint scratch. Blue 3M painters tape works great for this purpose. Also, READ AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. They're short and sweet, but should be followed for best results.

Good luck

Just make sure you buy a sealant or your headlights gonna look foggy again in 6 months time.

I'd recommend the Spraymax 2k headlight kit