Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I own a 2004 Nissan 350Z. Obviously I enjoy it because it is a sports car, but at the time, one of the coolest things to me were the headlights. Back in 2004, Xenon headlights were rare and I really liked how they looked, especially with the clear headlights. Unfortunately in this day in age, most headlights, if not all are made of plastic. They aren't like they used to be (my dad's Ford Aerostar and my mom's Chevrolet Corsica had glass headlights). What many people don't know is that your plastic headlights, when you buy the car off the lot, actually have a clear coat on them that provides UV protection. Over time this clearcoat wears down due to various elements, chemicals, and abrasives (sun the rain, pollution, road salt, bugs, car wash, automatic car washes - the bristles). When this clear coat is worn down, the sun's rays will eventually break down your headlights to that yellowish color with or without the haze. When this happens, you have a choice to either restore them or replace them. Obviously restoring is usually cheaper but the results vary and the yellowing of the headlights returns within weeks or months. There are many headlight restoration products out there. I've used a handful, such as Meguiar's PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polish -10 oz. and Stoner 95121 Invisible Glass Headlight Restoration Kit - Pack of 2. Although these products do clear your headlights, they do nothing to protect them after you clean them. Remember, the yellowing occurs from the sun's rays. Luckily my 350Z's headlights aren't to the point where there is no return. The haze/yellowing is mostly around the headlight and not in the center. But still, yellowing/haze headlights are embarassing. It wasn't until this Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit was one of the Lightning Deals of the Day did I decide to pull the trigger. I did compare the LIghtning Deal price to my local Autozone. With the deal, it was $2 cheaper and I decided to give it a try. First and foremost, READ THE DIRECTIONS BEFORE THE WORK. I'm the type of guy who reads the directions as I go along and I really wish I hadn't. Here are a few tips for those of you like me. 1. Honestly set aside at least an hour and 30 minutes. The box says 30 minutes, but that's bologna. I did exactly what the box said and it took me an hour and a half given my headlight damage. 2. The glove that comes with it is for the last step (applying the UV coating). When I saw the glove and didn't see any mention of it on the first 2 pages, I put it on. It won't hurt to put it on right away, but it's really for the last step. 3. The Step 1 Surface Activator is used in more than 1 step! I ended up using 2/3rds of the bottle by graciously spraying it all over both my headlights. This made for a skimpy amount when you reapply it after the sanding procedure. In actuality, there you should only use 1/4 of a bottle per headlight for a total of 4 times. 4. In the sanding step where it says apply medium pressure, really do apply medium pressure. The only time you apply firm pressure is in the last step of sanding with the 2000 grit sandpaper. Although my headlights look great, if you look real close, you can see some scratches that are still there. It's because I applied firm pressure with the 400 grit. I thought the firmer the pressure, the quicker I could get the hazing/yellowing out. Well because of that, there were some scratches that were deeper than they should have been. 5. In the last step where you apply the UV block clear coat, douse your blue cloth with it. You want your towel saturated. Don't worry about wasting it because you won't. I doused mine and had about 1/3rd of a bottle left. The reason you want a heavy saturation on the blue towel is because you want a nice heavy coat of the stuff on your headlights. Heavy coat = heavy clear coat = lasts longer. Thin coat will wear away quicker over time. So remember, put a HEAVY COAT on it! The results? Freaking amazing man. My headlights look brand new. I really don't know how this is possible because anyone who has polished anything can tell you that after the using a rubbing compound with a buffer, things should look shiny after you wipe off the compound. This is the exact opposite from using this kit and finishing the Clarifying Compound step. Even the directions say after cleaning off the Clarifying Compound, the headlights will still be hazy. Knowing there was 1 more step, I was very skeptical. I thought there was no way 1 more step of just a UV coating can clear up the haze from the sanding & clarifying compound. But the end result is just like my review title says, how is this even possible?? I can't believe the results. I give this kit 5 stars. It's only been 1 day since I applied it and things are looking good. What I'm curious about is how long it will last because any person who knows about yellowing headlights knows it won't last forever. The clearcoat that's applied will eventually wear away. Which leads me to my next point... the kit itself has a lifetime warranty! Why would Sylvania do this? Again, clearcoats don't last forever so , if Sylvania is going to send me a new kit every time the clear coat wears away, then I'll definitely take advantage of it. I am so impressed by this kit, I bought another for my wife's car who is experiencing the same yellowish-haze. I showed her my car after using the kit and she asked if I could do hers. Don't forget to look at my before & after pics! I'll come back and update in a few months.