2024 test7 productsCar Care & Detailing
Which Headlight Restoration Kit Brand Wins?
We compared 7 headlight restoration kit options head to head. Sylvania came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Sylvania
Price shown in test: $22
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Runner-up
Cerakote
Price shown in test: $17
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Kit contents | Process time | Real oxidized headlight test placement | Polycarbonate sheet abrasive speed test | Polycarbonate sheet final scratch/appearance test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sylvania$22 | surface activator spray, 3 sheets of sandpaper (400, 1,000, and 2,000 grit), clarifying compound, UV block clear coat | around 21 minutes, the longest process time of all 7 kits | 1st place (winner). Narrator: 'this kit does take a little bit more time to use but the finished product makes the headlight covers look as good as new' | sandpaper cut away the damaged layer of polycarbonate in about 45 seconds, the slowest of the 4 brands explicitly ranked in this sub-test (3M 20 sec, Rain-X 30 sec, Cerakote 35 sec, Sylvania 45 sec) | 1st place (winner). Narrator: 'looks absolutely amazing, however the Sylvania coating is not as resistant to scratching as the Cerakote brand' |
| 2Cerakote$17 | 8 oxidation remover wipes, 1 surface prep pad, 2,000 and 3,000 grit sandpaper discs, 2 ceramic clear coating wipes, 4 application gloves | around 15 minutes | 2nd place. Narrator: 'I've tested the Cerakote plastic restoration in the past and their protective coating is amazing' | removed the damaged plastic in about 35 seconds, third fastest of the 4 brands explicitly ranked | 2nd place. Narrator: 'did a great job at removing the scratches and the coating is very difficult to scratch' |
| 33M$15 | disc pad holder, six 500 grit gold sanding discs, four 800 grit white discs, one 3M Trizact refining disc, 1 oz of 3M rubbing compound; requires a drill | about 10 minutes (transcript later garbles this as '3 M10' in the efficiency recap, read as '3M, 10 minutes', consistent with the individually stated figure) | tied for 3rd place with Rain-X, described as too close to call. Narrator: 'the 3M kit does not include a protective coating, however it did a terrific job at removing the oxidation' | removed the damaged polycarbonate in about 20 seconds, the fastest of all kits tested in this sub-test | 3rd place (not explicitly numbered in the transcript, but its ranking between Rain-X's 4th place and Cerakote's 2nd place makes it 3rd by elimination). Narrator: 'has done by far the best job yet at removing the deep scratches, a ceramic coating and the 3M would look as good as new' |
| 4Rain-X$21 | drill attachment, 1500/3200/4000 grade sanding discs, headlight polishing pad, headlight buffing polish, headlight protectant sealant wipe, gloves | about 9 minutes | tied for 3rd place with 3M, described as too close to call. Narrator: 'also did a pretty good job but the protective coating really helps its appearance' | cut away the damaged polycarbonate in about 30 seconds, second fastest of the 4 brands explicitly ranked | 4th place. Narrator: 'some of the scratches are still visible and the coating is soft and inconsistent' |
| 5Rust-Oleum$1 | Precision Wipe It professional lens polishing pad, a pair of nitrile gloves, one microfiber towel | 11 minutes | 5th place. Narrator: 'did a better job of removing the oxidation but the protective coating doesn't seem as smooth or transparent as some of the other brands' | not given an explicit time figure in this sub-test; only 3M, Rain-X, Cerakote, and Sylvania are individually ranked by seconds | 5th place. Narrator: 'the scratches in the polycarbonate were not removed, however the coating is not as soft as the Meguiar's and the Armor All' |
| 6Armor All$13 | four pouches for step one (oxidation removal wipes), two pouches for step two (UV sealant protection wipes) | about 7 minutes, the fastest process time of all 7 kits | 6th place. Narrator: 'the restoration wipes weren't able to wipe away the oxidized material, the top coat reduced the appearance of oxidation' | even after 6 minutes of scrubbing, marker/damaged material was still visible and not fully removed; not given a completion time since it did not finish. Per the safety data sheet it contains a powerful solvent, good at removing permanent marker but the narrator says unlikely to remove damaged polycarbonate | 6th place. Narrator: 'the damaged polycarbonate is visible and the coating is pretty soft' |
| 7Meguiar's$22 | two cleaning pads, cleaning solution, headlight coating | attempted for 10 minutes but could not finish; narrator: 'I'm just not going to be able to remove the oxidized material on the headlight cover... definitely need a stronger abrasive' | 7th and last place. Narrator: 'the kit does not include anything with a strong enough abrasive to remove the badly oxidized material, the coating is like putting lipstick on a pig' | even after 6 minutes of scrubbing, the marker was still visible and not removed; not given a completion time since it did not finish. Narrator: 'not well designed for removing heavily oxidized material' | 7th and last place again. Narrator: 'the coating is helping hide the underlying damaged polycarbonate, however the coating is pretty soft' |
How it was tested
- real-world test on badly UV-oxidized used headlights (7 headlights sourced from an auto salvage yard, one kit per headlight, half taped off for before/after comparison), scored on oxidation removal and coating quality/appearance after 24 hour cure
- controlled polycarbonate sheet test: new polycarbonate sheets sanded with 220 grit to simulate oxidation, marked with permanent marker to visualize removal speed, timed with each kit's abrasive step
- final scratch/appearance ranking on the polycarbonate sheets after full cure
- process time per kit, timed from start to finish
“If I had to choose just one kit I would definitely go with the Sylvania but I also like the Cerakote quite a bit. Both brands perform very well.”