Customer Reviews

GlassyLite Premium Headlight Restoration Treatment

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Update as of 1/4/2011: It's been almost a year, and my headlight lenses are almost as clear as when I polished them last February, and WAY better than before I polished them. I'm still sold on this product, and would gladly recommend it to anyone.

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I think I had pretty much the worst case headlights: they were so cloudy that strangers actually commented on how bad they were. My car's 13 years old, and the headlights have been terribly cloudy for years. I debated between this kit and the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System, but chose this one because of the sealant.

Bottom line: I was stunned by how great my headlights look now! Wow!

What's in the kit:
· 1 (small) piece of 1500 grit sandpaper
· 1 (small) piece of 3000 grit sandpaper
· 2 foil packages of "Ace Cleaner" (about 1-1/2 tsp per pkg)
· 2 foil packages of "Hyper Shine" (about 1-1/2 tsp per pkg)
· 1 small bottle of "Nanosealant" (about 1/2 tsp)
· 1 poorly fitting vinyl glove
· 4 paper towels
· instructions

What you need to provide:
· painters' masking tape to protect the body around your headlamps from sanding
· scissors (for opening the foil packages; I also cut the sandpapers into two pieces each)
· (large) spray bottle filled with water, or garden hose with light spray attachment
· wet sponge
· dish washing liquid
· towel (for drying headlights prior to sealing)
· more paper towels (optional - you may want to wipe of the lens to check your progress)
· latex / vinyl gloves (optional - the instructions say "Wear vinyl gloves throughout the process", but there's only one glove in the package)
· trash bucket (you will have LOTS of little bits of trash)

I wish the sandpapers provided were each half again as large. Also, I found the instructions to be unnecessarily unclear. They say it's "as easy as 1, 2, 3": 1) Clean; 2) Polish; 3) Protect. That's kind of true, but:

· There are 2 different step 1's, depending on the condition of your headlights, and both step 1's have sub-steps:
- "If your headlamps are deteriorating, yellow or hazy", then you a) sand vertically with the 1500 grit sandpaper; b) sand horizontally with the 3000 grit paper; c) rinse and clean.
- "If your headlamps are new, dull or water stained, sanding is not required," in which case you mix the Ace Cleaner and Hyper Shine on a paper towel and a) polish in a circular motion, b) polish horizontally, c) polish vertically, d) rinse and clean. In this case you skip step 2, Polish.

· Step 2 (only if you sanded your headlights) says "Apply 1/2 the Hyper Shine to a paper towel". There are 2 packages of Hyper Shine. So does "1/2 the Hyper Shine" mean one whole package, or does it mean 1/2 a package? They could've just as easily said "1/2 a package" or "1 package", as appropriate. (I used 1/2 a package.) Also, step 2 has sub-steps, including washing with dish washing liquid, then rinsing and drying completely.

Step 3: I assumed this was sealing only. After step 2, my headlights were better, but still not "like new". Since I had a second package of Hyper Shine (and didn't use the Ace Cleaner at all), I went back and did both headlamps again. They still weren't "like new", but I went ahead with the sealing anyway. The sealing did more than just seal - the headlamps really do look "like new" now. I was stunned after that step.

Anyway, despite the goofy instructions, weird packaging, and having to deal with lots of small bits, I still would absolutely use this product again, and would definitely recommend it. My headlamps really do look like new, after being worst case cloudy for years.

I used this product about 3-4 months ago and my headlights still look great. It was relatively easy to do, taking me a few hours even while taking my time to get good results.

If I ever do this again I will definitely get this product again, but I will do a couple things differently. I recommend that you polish both headlights before you put on any of the sealant. I found that after doing the first headlight I got much better at the polishing, so my second headlight turned out much clearer than the first. If you do all of your sanding first, without sealing, you can go back and redo any imperfections after practicing your polishing technique. Once you're satisfied that both headlights are as smooth and clear as you can get, THEN, do the sealant to both of them.

If you have the ability, I would recommend opening your hood and removing your front bumper to make access easier and to reduce the chances of damaging your paint. My Honda Accord's bumper was held on by four screws and 6 reusable plastic rivets.

If you want the head lights to stay new then this is what I would buy. I tried a few products on the market already 3M and Permatex which worked fine but after 6 months the lights began to turn yellow and dull again. I was looking for something new and bought this at a local shop because the owner told me about the nanosealant. I didn't want to write a review so quick because I wanted to see if it really did keep the head lights new for so long. So far so good going on 9 months now and going.

I purchased this product based on the reviews listed here. This product does not disappoint! It restored the headlights on my nine year old vehicle to a like new condition. It was a very simple process that took about an hour to complete with no power tools required. Everything you need is in the kit. Well worth the money!

I compared several products before deciding on Glassylite. I definitely would not have been happy with a product that only provides temporary results. It took a little over an hour to do one of my Audi headlights. Instructions for the four-step process are simple, almost too simple. I wet sanded for quite a while trying to remove all the visible yellowing, but stopped after seeing that the remaining yellowing was deep into the plastic. Sanding process was better after I found a piece of closed cell foam to use with the small pieces of sandpaper in the kit. Finishing the process did give very good results. Not brand new looking but I would guess it was an 80% improvement.

I'll see how long the results last. All said and done, I would recommend this product to others and despite the fact that this product is more expensive than other headlight products.

update 6/24/2010
Well it's been a year and the degradation of the lens is becoming noticeable again. It looks like it is spreading from the deep set areas that I did not sand out last time. However the lens is still clear in color, just have the growth along the top edges working downward. I purchased a Flitz polish kit with power buffer drill attachment, they say it also works well on plastic so that is what I will use for the next hedlight treatment.

I took my 2000 Mustang to a car wash and they offered to fix my head lights because they were yellowing like lots of cars do now a days with the plastic instead of glass. So they told me they would make them look like new for 90.00 or replace them with new ones for a lot more so they convinced me. It looked great made my car look new again but, 4 months later they yellowed again. I took car back to car wash place and they said there is no warranty its not there fault.So I talked to a friend in the car business and he told me they should have used some type of coating ,he told me to try this restoration with a special coating
stuff called glassylite . So I bought it and did it following the instructions. 3 months later still looks good. hope this helps people not to get ripped off

I did a lot of research on different methods and products and then a friend of mine told me about this stuff he read about in Sports Compact Car magazine. The editors tried it and were very pleased so I thought I'd give it a shot. I am very pleased as well.
The headlights on my wife's 2002 Civic were deteriorated and yellowing pretty badly, to the point of not being able to see the road well and now they look almost new. Nothing will get them perfect, but this is the best I could ask for.
The real work is done by the wet-sanding. All the gunk that rolls off lets you know that no simple polish would have done the trick. The package contains two SMALL pieces of sandpaper. Very cheap but really all you need. Or do what I did and buy some at an auto body supply shop for a couple of bucks.
What you're paying for is their so-called nano-sealant. You only get a few drops so be careful. It's pretty close to a miracle in a bottle though and worth it.
Good luck!

My 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback headlights were cloudy and pitted. I read the instructions several times between each step since I wanted to make sure I got it right. In hindsight, the process is very easy to follow if you just take your time. The end result were headlights that looked brand new.

The cleaning step (with provided sandpaper) is obviously critical to the end result. You can't overdue the sanding since eventually the grit just wears off the sandpaper surface of the small strip that is provided. I folded the sandpaper in half and used one half for each headlight. It is not until you hit the polishing step that you begin to see the stunning results.

One note about the final "protect" step. The nonoselant is the consistency of water and spreads on the headlight as if you were applying water. Therefore cut the paper towel into a small rectangle (rather than folding a large section as the instructions state). This will get more of the product on your headlights rather than lost in a thick piece of paper towel. I was able to apply 3 coats of the nanosealant to the headlights to ensure complete coverage.

Can't speak to its durability but others have noted it is long lasting....we'll see.

Several years ago I used another product to restore my 1999 Toyota Solara's headlights. It involved sanding the yellow haze off first using fine grit sandpaper. The product worked and today the headlights are still clear. Couldn't find the product I used in 2007, so my search for a new product began and ended with Glassylite.

This time I was faced with a 2000 VW GTI that has spent the last several years it very harsh sunlight (Tempe, AZ.) From my previous experience I learned the only way to remove the yellowing and other UV damage was to sand it off. So to start with I purcahsed 600 grit wet sand paper from my local hardware store. I used it to remove all yellow haze plus the other UV damage the harsh AZ sunlight had caused.

I then opened the Glassylite kit and followed the directions. Note: there are separate sets of steps set 1 - sand & polish or set 2 - clean & polish. I followed the simple instructions for sand & polish.

After sanding and rinsing off I started the next the next step - polishing. I spent a little more time during this step and the extra effort was well worth it. The more time spent polshing the clearer the headlights become.

After a quick wash off with dishwashing detergent and a rinse with clean water I completely dried off the headlights before taking the last step - sealing. From all my research on headlight restoration, all the "experts" agree that the headlights must be sealed with an agent that will prevent UV damage. The sealant in Glassylite is nanotech that completely blocks out UV while adding a shine and further clearness to the headlights.

The total time to restore both headlights using the sandpaper I purchased separately plus working with all the items in the Glasstlite kit about 30 - 40 minutes.

When I asked my son to take a look at the headlights, he could tell from 50 yards away that the process worked extremely well.

The next time I have to restore headlights, I'll use Glassylite again.

My restoration was on a 1999 Honda Civic with over 140K miles. The plastic looked like milk before I started. My son and I each took one headlight cover. Its actually a fairly easy process that takes less than an hour/headlight. The steps are:
1) 1500 grit sandpaper used wet
2) 3000 grit sandpaper used wet
3) Fine polish
4) Extra fine polish
5) Nano sealant

You need to supply a spray bottle filled with water and some elbow grease. Make sure to uses plenty of water and follow the directions exactly. I even used water with the liquid polishes. Make sure to wash the lenses with soap and water and allow them to dry thoroughly before applying the nano sealant.

My results couldn't have been any better. The headlight covers look like new. This is clearly one of the best products I've ever reviewed.