Angus
AspiringProductSpecialist
Since my original post over on AutoGeek Online regarding a very popular FB video of guy cleaning his hazed over headlights with nothing more then insect repellent sprayed on a sock has gained over 34,000 views I decided to do a little test of my own and challenge the idea of using insect repellent to restore hazed headlight lenses to perfect crystal clear clarity. I’ll also be using two products designed specifically for headlight restoration in an attempt to prove why you should always use products for their intended purpose.
For the test, I’ll be using my folks’ 98 Subaru Outback. They’ve had this car since new and the headlights are badly hazed thus making it the perfect test vehicle for this challenge. Of the headlights, the passenger’s side lens is the worst, so I’ll focus my efforts on that one:
After thoroughly cleaning the headlight with soap and water, I divided it up into 3 equal sections, grabbed 3 clean terry cloth towels, using one towel per product/ per section, and went to work rubbing each product by hand for ~20 seconds.
Products I'll be using:
First up, OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent. Towel sprayed with product:
Working into headlight:
After 20 seconds, of rubbing the towel certainly looks dirty:
Next up, DP’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish:
Following the same steps:
And finally, Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Polish:
Same steps as above:
And now for the results:
Tape removed exposing the control surfaces:
Compared to the control surfaces, all 3 sections look pretty good eh? Well lets see what happens when I remove any remaining residue with a few sprays of CarPro’s Eraser followed by a light buff:
Updated results:
Looks pretty different I’d say.
With the oils and other chemical residue removed the area “cleaned” with insect repellent no longer appears clear and is tacky to the touch:
However DP’s section still looks great:
As does Meg’s PlasX:
From the side:
From the top down:
Conclusion
As I’ve shown, OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent will not correct hazed headlight lens. DP’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Polish however work extremely well. Of the two, I'd have to give DP’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish the advantage of working faster and correcting better then Meg's PlasX did.
I also purposely choose to do this test by hand instead of with the assistance of a machine to show how little effort it takes to get decent results. Save your insect repellent for what it does best - keeping bugs away not fixing your headlights.
Recommendation
This was my first time using DP’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and I was very impressed by how well it works. I’ve used Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Polish for a few years after buying the Meguiars Headlight & Clear Plastic Restoration Kit from my local Pep Boys to fix my Honda Civic’s headlights. What’s missing however from Meg’s kit is a headlight sealant. If you want long lasting results you must re-seal your headlights with a product designed to prevent your headlights from hazing over again in a few months. My recommendation is to buy The Detailer's Total Headlight Restoration Kit as it comes with everything a novice needs to get the job done right the first time.
Cost Consideration
The 6oz can of OFF used in this review cost $8.99
(purchased on 11/11/14):
However a 10oz bottle of Meg's PlastX was purchased at my local Pep Boys for $8.99. So even if you didn't want to get the DP Kit I recommended, ounces per ounces PlastX is cheaper and produced better results then OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent did.
Final Results
Here’s some before and after shots of both headlights after being fully corrected and sealed with Detailer’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and Detailer’s Headlight Protectant Spray:
Passengers side BEFORE:
Passengers side AFTER:
Drivers side BEFORE:
Drivers side AFTER:
For the sake of time I did use a machine (my GG 6', w/a 5' backing plate and thin wool pad) to achieve the above results. Full review on using Detailer’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and Detailer’s Headlight Protectant Spray on the Subaru’s headlights coming soon.
Links for more info on the products used:
Detailer’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish
Detailer’s Headlight Protectant Spray
Meguiars Plastx Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish
CarPro Eraser Intense Oil & Polish Cleanser, IPA, paint cleaner, polish remover, wax remover
OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent
As always, comments and questions are welcome! I hope this was helpful. And remember, please save your insect repellent for the bugs...
For the test, I’ll be using my folks’ 98 Subaru Outback. They’ve had this car since new and the headlights are badly hazed thus making it the perfect test vehicle for this challenge. Of the headlights, the passenger’s side lens is the worst, so I’ll focus my efforts on that one:
After thoroughly cleaning the headlight with soap and water, I divided it up into 3 equal sections, grabbed 3 clean terry cloth towels, using one towel per product/ per section, and went to work rubbing each product by hand for ~20 seconds.
Products I'll be using:
First up, OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent. Towel sprayed with product:
Working into headlight:
After 20 seconds, of rubbing the towel certainly looks dirty:
Next up, DP’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish:
Following the same steps:
And finally, Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Polish:
Same steps as above:
And now for the results:
Tape removed exposing the control surfaces:
Compared to the control surfaces, all 3 sections look pretty good eh? Well lets see what happens when I remove any remaining residue with a few sprays of CarPro’s Eraser followed by a light buff:
Updated results:
Looks pretty different I’d say.
With the oils and other chemical residue removed the area “cleaned” with insect repellent no longer appears clear and is tacky to the touch:
However DP’s section still looks great:
As does Meg’s PlasX:
From the side:
From the top down:
Conclusion
As I’ve shown, OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent will not correct hazed headlight lens. DP’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Polish however work extremely well. Of the two, I'd have to give DP’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish the advantage of working faster and correcting better then Meg's PlasX did.
I also purposely choose to do this test by hand instead of with the assistance of a machine to show how little effort it takes to get decent results. Save your insect repellent for what it does best - keeping bugs away not fixing your headlights.
Recommendation
This was my first time using DP’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and I was very impressed by how well it works. I’ve used Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Polish for a few years after buying the Meguiars Headlight & Clear Plastic Restoration Kit from my local Pep Boys to fix my Honda Civic’s headlights. What’s missing however from Meg’s kit is a headlight sealant. If you want long lasting results you must re-seal your headlights with a product designed to prevent your headlights from hazing over again in a few months. My recommendation is to buy The Detailer's Total Headlight Restoration Kit as it comes with everything a novice needs to get the job done right the first time.
Cost Consideration
The 6oz can of OFF used in this review cost $8.99
(purchased on 11/11/14):
However a 10oz bottle of Meg's PlastX was purchased at my local Pep Boys for $8.99. So even if you didn't want to get the DP Kit I recommended, ounces per ounces PlastX is cheaper and produced better results then OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent did.
Final Results
Here’s some before and after shots of both headlights after being fully corrected and sealed with Detailer’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and Detailer’s Headlight Protectant Spray:
Passengers side BEFORE:
Passengers side AFTER:
Drivers side BEFORE:
Drivers side AFTER:
For the sake of time I did use a machine (my GG 6', w/a 5' backing plate and thin wool pad) to achieve the above results. Full review on using Detailer’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and Detailer’s Headlight Protectant Spray on the Subaru’s headlights coming soon.
Links for more info on the products used:
Detailer’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish
Detailer’s Headlight Protectant Spray
Meguiars Plastx Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish
CarPro Eraser Intense Oil & Polish Cleanser, IPA, paint cleaner, polish remover, wax remover
OFF Deep Woods Insect Repellent
As always, comments and questions are welcome! I hope this was helpful. And remember, please save your insect repellent for the bugs...
