Product review: "Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer"

[lighthammer]

Right guys, so on my last visit to Laughlin & Degannes to service the Frontier, I spied a kit in their showroom made by Turtle Wax, for cleaning and clarifying fogged over lenses.

I decided to try it out today and here's some pics I took after I washed the van this morning:


Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer. Tried it out on the Frontier's fog lights. You can see how hazy they've become from exposure on the road.


Before



What comes with the kit - Headlight clarifying compound, headlight cleaning lubricant, 3 rubbing pads (very fine-grit sandpaper0


(puppy not included)


Step 1: Apply white clarifying compound to headlight with clean cloth, allow to dry and then buff-off.



Step 2: Spray a film of clear lubricating solution onto both the headlight and the cleaning pad

Step 3: Use Pad #1, with film of lubricant and rub gently across the surface of the headlight in one direction (side-to-side). Make sure the surface of the headlight is kept wet.



Step 4: Spray on a film of lubricant onto Pad #2, and then rub gently in a perpendicular motion to Pad #1 (Up-and-Down)


Step 5: Wipe off with a damp chamois cloth. Then spray another clean film of lubricant onto the headlight and Pad #3 - repeat the side-side motion as with pad #1.


Then immediately turn over to pad #4, spray lubricant onto pad and then repeat up-and-down motion, perpendicular to pad #3


Step 6: Dry with chamois, then apply another coat of white lens-clarifying compound. Allow to dry and then buff off with soft clean dry towel.



Step 7: Apply a coat of Turtle Wax Carnauba hard-shell Wax, or equivalent Carnauba wax to protect the newly-shined surface





Step 8: After buffing, step back and admire a job well-done. Then go inside and have a nice glass of iced tea (no beer, cuz I'm driving into town soon).

Before:


After:

[badart]

nice

[3stagevtec]

Results looks great.. My headlights tend to dull out pretty quickly, so i'll give the turtle wax system a try..

[flat_out]

Whats the price of that kit?

[Cooper]

It looks good, but it's too much work. Try Mother's Plastic Polish.... wax on, wax off.


BTW, what's the puppy's name? He looks very interested in what you're doing

[lighthammer]

I got it for $95 at Laughlin & Degannes, POS. Not sure who sells it outside but it might be cheaper. $95 sounds like a lot but you really done need much product per headlight to get the job done.


Cooper, it wasn't that much work actually, but I'd like to give the Mother's a try once my turtle was is finished.

[ek4ever]

It looks good, but it's too much work. Try Mother's Plastic Polish.... wax on, wax off.

Yup ...that's the bizness right there.....and every 2-3 weeks or when I have a 5 mins to spare just hit the lights a quick polish....my lights look great

[nicholas7129]

yea i use the mothers all the time all u need is a rag and 3 mins

[civic minded]

mothers work great - had it for a while now - used it everytime i wash the van.

[lighthammer]

I'll have to check out the Mother's plastic polish. Who sells it and for how much?


The reason I like the Turtle Wax system is the abrasive pads with lubricant are excellent for smoothing and sanding out glass/plastic lenses that are pitted with corrosion. I cleaned my sister's civic headlights which were quite yellowed-out and pitted with stone-marks. The lens-clarifying compound is good enough to remove light oxidation and hazing but the sanding system really is best for removing that top-layer of yellow scale.



Cooper The pup's name is "Appa". When he was brand-new, his face looked just like the flying-bison from Avatar: The Last Airbender, plus on his back he has brown-fur with a white-arrow too. Very curious puppy, always investigating stuff and following his nose - as Spaniels tend to do

[Cooper]

Check Extra Foods in grand Bazaar, I can't remember the price but all I know is that they sell a lot of Mothers products and they plenty cheaper than most of the actual dealers that sell car accessories and parts.


Make sure you get a lot of chew toys for Appa. Some puppies tend to have a strange attraction to brake and ABS lines on cars/trucks. A fellow Diesel tuner put his dog up for sale because the puppy keeps chewing up the brake lines on his truck

[lighthammer]

A fellow Diesel tuner put his dog up for sale because the puppy keeps chewing up the brake lines on his truck

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!
Poor dog! He needs the dog whisperer:


We used to have a doberman who kept chewing on my dad's L200 mudguards. We tried everything to make her stop, my dad even put hot pepper sauce on the mudguard to try to discourage her. But then instead of chewing the mudguard, the dog just kept licking it and expecting more


I bought him a chew-rope and he's ignoring that. He only plays with it when I bring it for him.
He's now found a liking to chewing the leaves on my dad's plants, thankfully he has no taste for slippers and truck mudguards - yet.

[nos_specialist]

Aye allyuh Mcguires.....Plastx.
IF allyuh doh believe meh, hit meh up a pm for a demonstration.

Dat will make turtle soup outta turtle wax

and it goh make Mothers....um i doh have a snappy one for mother's but anyway...it is the BEST.

[civic minded]

I had the sane problem with my dog a while back - I bought something called - keepoff- bought it in phonkypets- worked really well- you just spray it where you don't want your dog to chew and they won't , they chew when they are teething so don't worry it won't last long.
Lighthammer you did this like a commercial dude - you should approach "turtle wax" for royalites-lol

[lighthammer]

^ I'm gonna be rich!!!

[SEVin]

Aye allyuh Mcguires.....Plastx.
IF allyuh doh believe meh, hit meh up a pm for a demonstration.

Dat will make turtle soup outta turtle wax

and it goh make Mothers....um i doh have a snappy one for mother's but anyway...it is the BEST.

I have to agree with the Meguiars PlastX, I found it alot easier to use and the final product was awesome. I should have taken some dam pics

[lighthammer]

Do those plastic polishers work on heavily pitted and hazed over headlights? I mean headlights that so fogged over and hazy that they look like rally-style foglights?

The turtlewax package came with some very fine grit sandpaper that first ground down the surface of the lens, removing the layer of dirt that was embedded in the lens, then smoothing it over.

Would the polishes be able to remove the deep dirt?

[Cooper]

A friend of mine used a high speed buffer with the Mother's Plastic Polish for an initial cleaning and it came out great. I had to rely on elbow grease, but I think it's a good product to maintain clear headlights if used at least every two months.


Went to the grocery (Xtra Foods in Grand Bazaar) earlier this week and got the price, keep in mind that some "car places" sell this for up to $70

[Rutless Tiida]

Dam... Xtra Foods is the new car detailing store for me.

[speedaholic]

^^ close to home too!

[Dj_Bee]

we all kno that the products work, but how long does the headlight last b4 having to apply another application of the product?

[Dj_Bee]

btw the frontier fogs are glass right?
did you use the restorer on your head lights too? they looking reall clean lol

[lighthammer]

^^ yeah the foglights are glass, the headlights are plastic. Worked like a charm for both.
I find the turtle wax is good for removing a thick coat of oxidation, instead of simply cleaning it.


So far they're still looking clear. The headlights might need some touching up because the edges are still a bit hazed over, giving the rest of the clear parts of the lens a bit of a very slight brownish casting.

[civic minded]

cool stuff - i dont really need that as yet cause with a quick wash my fogs and headlights looking bess - I use the mothers plastic polish on the 2006 ranger every-time i finish wash and looks extremely clean afterwards.

[Team Loco]

i will buy a kit today. i have three vehicles to do