# Headlights restored with AutoGlym Kit & Sealey Mini Polisher



## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Finally got round to properly wet sanding and restoring my headlights on the CR-V after being asked by a friend if I would sort out his EP3 Civic Type R headlights if he left the car parked outside my house 

My lovely wife and son bought me an early Fathers Day present (which I can play with straight away) 

A Sealey 12v Mini Polisher


IMG_3343 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Comes with Polisher Body, 2x batteries, charger and a nice carry case


IMG_3345 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Nice little machine with a 70mm flexible backing plate


IMG_3346 by *JMR*, on Flickr

And comes with a wool pad, a polishing and a finishing pad


IMG_3348 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3347 by *JMR*, on Flickr

EP3 pics to come first


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Friend dropped his car outside my house, observing social distancing of course  and left it with me til the following day.

Its a lovely car, but the headlights were getting really yellow and cloudy.

Heres a before of the drivers side


IMG_3357 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Machine all ready to go, with the Autoglym Headlight Restoration Kit.
https://www.autoglym.com/products/gifts-kits/complete-kits/headlight-restoration-kit

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-H...ords=autoglym+headlight&qid=1590850398&sr=8-2

Started with the P1500 sanding discs out the AG pack.

I fitted these to a hook and loop 75mm interface pad bought off Amazon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BITS4REASO...rds=75mm+interface+pad&qid=1590849685&sr=8-14

Used the P1500 dry to start with as per Autoglym video on YouTube :thumb:





Then moved up to the P2000 sanding foam disc used wet.
The Sealey machine runs at 2500rpm on Speed 1.
AG recommend running at 1200-1600rpm with a drill attachment, so I used roughly half speed on the polisher, which is pretty good at modulating pressure and load.

All masked up and this is what the headlight looked like after P2000 stage.


IMG_3367 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3366 by *JMR*, on Flickr

And after the P3000 stage, still looking a bit cloudy.


IMG_3368 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Then using the supplied AG foam pad with the headlight polishing compound.
A fantastic transformation 


IMG_3369 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3370 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Left side done, right side not touched.


IMG_3372 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Very happy with the clarity and defect removal.


IMG_3371 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Making the headlight beam much clearer and safer at night.


IMG_3374 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Compared to the untouched side


IMG_3376 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3377 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Passenger side fully completed :thumb:


IMG_3380 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3381 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3379 by *JMR*, on Flickr

And front end completed.

I have to admit I was really impressed with both the Sealey polisher and the Autoglym kit.
The small 1.5Ah batteries that come with the polisher run of steam after completing one headlight, so its lucky I had the other one fully charged to swap straight over for the passenger side.
My mate was happy with the transformation too


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

And here's some before and afters of my CR-V headlights.

These are really good headlights for an old-ish car.
The are factory xenons, and are self levelling and have cornering capabilities which is nice in the winter nights as they turn in the direction you are cornering, helping you to see better round the bend.

Nice to be able to help them 'see' a bit better. 

Autoglym Kit again with the Sealey Mini Polisher.

Drivers side was polished only last week, as a test of the new machine.
But it didn't cut enough, and needed sanding.


IMG_3383 by *JMR*, on Flickr

P1500 used dry, P2000 and P3000 used wet.

This is what it looked like after wet sanding with P3000


IMG_3390 by *JMR*, on Flickr

And after polishing


IMG_3394 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3393 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3396 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Passenger side was quite a bit worse.


IMG_3384 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3386 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3387 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3389 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Looks really bad from this angle. 


IMG_3395 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Fully sanded and polished :thumb:


IMG_3397 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3399 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3400 by *JMR*, on Flickr

Front end looks great now.


IMG_3401 by *JMR*, on Flickr


IMG_3402 by *JMR*, on Flickr

And have to say, there's loads of sanding discs left, and plenty of life still in the P2000 and P3000 foam discs.

Loads of polish left too, I bet you could get at least 10 sets of headlights out of the compound they supply with the kit.

Overall, really happy, didn't destroy anything and was a pretty easy job.
God its messy though.
I had to wash the front end of both cars and even wipe the inside of the engine bay, the wet sanding spatter gets EVERYWHERE :doublesho


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Some before and after photos to see a direct comparison :thumb:

EP3 Civic Type R


EP3 After2 by *JMR*, on Flickr


EP3 After1 by *JMR*, on Flickr


EP3 After3 by *JMR*, on Flickr

CR-V


CRV After1 by *JMR*, on Flickr


CRV After2 by *JMR*, on Flickr


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Finally and most importantly the headlights were coated with a UV resistant sealant.

This time I went for 3 coats of Gtechniq C1.5v2.

Will see how this holds up over the next few weeks/ months, although I intend to top it up on a reasonably regular basis.


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## grunty-motor (Aug 11, 2016)

good job...impressive results!


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Great job and very comprehensive post James. The transformation in clarity of the CRV lights is most impressive.

Does look like an Autoglym advert though.


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## Autoglym (Apr 10, 2008)

Great write up James, very thorough. Great to see you got good results.

**Disclaimer: James wasn't paid for this post!** :lol:


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Rakti said:


> Great job and very comprehensive post James. The transformation in clarity of the CRV lights is most impressive.
> 
> Does look like an Autoglym advert though.


Hehe :lol:
Cheers Rakti

Yep its not an advert. 
Its just the fact I was so impressed that the kit just did EXACTLY what it promised to do. 
I thought it worthwhile putting all the links in to the products and where I bought mine from.

There's loads of threads on here about headlight restoration and how to do, what to use so I thought it worthwhile putting a decent-ish bit of info together.

Hope you get yours sorted mate.



Autoglym said:


> Great write up James, very thorough. Great to see you got good results.
> 
> **Disclaimer: James wasn't paid for this post!** :lol:


Thanks Autogylm, pleased you like the little write up. :thumb:
And just to confirm ** I wasn't paid for this **


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## Vossman (Aug 5, 2010)

James_R said:


> Finally and most importantly the headlights were coated with a UV resistant sealant.
> 
> This time I went for 3 coats of Gtechniq C1.5v2.
> 
> Will see how this holds up over the next few weeks/ months, although I intend to top it up on a reasonably regular basis.


Great job on the headlights, when I did mine a year ago I applied a good quality paste wax to finish as I had removed the UV layer, I do this once a month and have not had any yellowing return at all. 
I use Meguiars Mirror Glaze 16.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Vossman said:


> Great job on the headlights, when I did mine a year ago I applied a good quality paste wax to finish as I had removed the UV layer, I do this once a month and have not had any yellowing return at all.
> I use Meguiars Mirror Glaze 16.


Nice one. I'm hoping to try and remember to apply after each wash.
Would be great if the yellowing didn't return.


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

Just to add, I had a play with this kit during an Autoglym open day and it worked brilliantly. :thumb:


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## Itstony (Jan 19, 2018)

That's the key part, don't wait for them to go pants, clean off and reapply on a routine. Would be a shame if you didn't after all that for what, 15mins work ? 
Planned maintenance always better than repair:thumb:


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

looks great now, i have an Alien Magic headlight restoration kit to try out soon, be interesting to see how it compares


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

bidderman1969 said:


> looks great now, i have an Alien Magic headlight restoration kit to try out soon, be interesting to see how it compares


Thanks :thumb:
Well, you'll know what to get if it doesn't do the biz for you bidderman


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## Autoglym (Apr 10, 2008)

fatdazza said:


> Just to add, I had a play with this kit during an Autoglym open day and it worked brilliantly. :thumb:


Ah yes, we built a work bench out of pallets and screwed a selection of faded headlights onto it for you guys to have a play. That was a good day.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

James_R said:


> Thanks :thumb:
> Well, you'll know what to get if it doesn't do the biz for you bidderman


trying AM without sanding as i usually sand down before hand, so will be interesting :thumb:


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

bidderman1969 said:


> trying AM without sanding as i usually sand down before hand, so will be interesting :thumb:


VERY interested in this, as what would be the point of sanding (and buying multiple grades of paper) if this can really achieve similar results. Sceptical though (but open minded).

There's also this that I'd be very interested in hearing feedback on (this one includes a sealant).

https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=401503&highlight=Headlight


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## jcooper5083 (Jun 10, 2018)

Great write-up and use of pics, more importantly - fantastic results.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

jcooper5083 said:


> Great write-up and use of pics, more importantly - fantastic results.


Cheers mate :thumb:


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Great write up mate, really worked and made a huge difference to both cars. Look significantly better now :thumb:


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## Taxboy (Aug 23, 2006)

Great work and write up. Also worth bearing in mind cloudy headlights can be an MOT failure so definitely worth doing

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Great stuff James!


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Andyblue said:


> Great write up mate, really worked and made a huge difference to both cars. Look significantly better now :thumb:


Cheers Andy 



Taxboy said:


> Great work and write up. Also worth bearing in mind cloudy headlights can be an MOT failure so definitely worth doing


Thanks Taxboy - you're right about MOT too, the factory xenons are SOOOO much better now!



atbalfour said:


> Great stuff James!


Cheers mate :thumb:


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

how is the sealey polisher in use 
battery life "ok" for headlights


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

andy__d said:


> how is the sealey polisher in use
> battery life "ok" for headlights


My mate has an AC Delco, and we have one at work, nice little bit of kit, but pretty expensive when you buy the full kit.

So I went for the Sealey.
I read the reviews and I saw one saying a bloke had polished the whole of his Fiesta with one battery, and one saying you need the 4 Ah battery as the two 1.5 Ah batteries supplied in the kit don't last long.

I'll be honest, the 1.5 Ah batteries don't last long.
I had both charged up in readiness. Literature says about 20min.

I guess I was 15 mins or so on the first headlight on the Type R
And it died just as I'd finished.

So out with the fresh battery.
Did the second headlight, soon as I'd finished, it died too.

So I just put them both on charge, I think they charge in something like 1/2 hr anyway.
So I had a coffee, then went out and did 1 CRV headlight, then put the other battery in and did the other CRV headlight.

So yeah a bit tiresome swapping out, but the 4Ah battery is £35. Thats half the price again of the kit.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-CP1200BP4-Li-ion-Battery-CP1200/dp/B07TLYGBCY

I can handle the two small batteries as its only going to be incidental stuff you polish with these.

They'll give you a combined 30-45mins, whereas I guess the 4Ah will give you a good hour


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

James_R said:


> My mate has an AC Delco, and we have one at work, nice little bit of kit, but pretty expensive when you buy the full kit.
> 
> So I went for the Sealey.
> I read the reviews and I saw one saying a bloke had polished the whole of his Fiesta with one battery, and one saying you need the 4 Ah battery as the two 1.5 Ah batteries supplied in the kit don't last long.
> ...


Thanks

if the batteries do a headlight each,, and a hour to charge thats Fine with me,, gives enough time to clean up and take the masking off, mask dads car and a coffee before there ready to go again,

thats amazon getting a order

(do your own car, its cheaper,,,,,,, yeah Right)


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## butler (Apr 6, 2008)

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai...ics6zf4p7vAhUkREEAHZ8jBfoQ9aACegQIBBB2&adurl=

Ive just bought this polisher, same as the sealy and delco ones... paid £55 off amazon and great for windows, bumpers, mirrors loads of stuff.


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