CERAKOTE Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit – Guaranteed to Last As Long As You Own Your Vehicle – Brings Headlights Back to Like New Condition – 3 Easy Steps – No Power Tools Required

It sounds cliché but i would never have believed it had i not tried it. I read the reviews and decided that instead of paying nearly $400 a piece to replace the sealed headlights on the 2016 pilot that i would invest an afternoons worth of elbow grease to see if this was worth the amazon ratings.

After the cerakote box arrived i read the step by step instructions and watched the youtube video just to be doubly sure i understood what i needed to do. I also watched a few of the video reviews on amazon to see how others approached it.

I followed the instructurions and throughly washed the lights and rinsed them well. I noticed a few others put painters tape around the edges of the lights and thought it prudent to do the same. This will make a lot of sense when you get to step 2 of the process and will prevent inadvertent damage to your paint job around your lights.

I proceeded with step 1 and took my time being as careful as i could to maintain a consistent circular pattern with each of the cerakote oxidation wipes on both headlights. The wipes turned yellow just as the instructions said and by the 4th one in the series they were still slightly yellow but the instructions said not to worry as step 2 would remove the rest.

Again, i took my time and followed the instructions with step 2 and completed the wet sand of the lights in sequence. I noticed that as i was sanding you could feel the rough patches on the lights and took great care to focus on those areas so they were sanded smooth. This probably took a bit more time than the 2-3 minutes the instructions stated to get past the worst of the oxidation.

The next step was to get the headlights ‘bone dry’ as the video instructions said. I noticed one of the reviewers on amazon used an electric leaf blower to help with this and i thought that was easier than pulling out my air compressor so i used that technique instead. I deviated slightly and used a lint free cloth and a 70% isopropyl alcohol to give the lights a final wipe to make certain they were completely dry.

Finally, step 3. By this point my back and arms were sore from being an uncompromising perfectionist with following each of the steps, excepting the noted deviations from above. At this point my lights looked like frosted glass so i was a bit nervous. However, following the instructions with the horizontal wipe from top to bottom with a 50% overlap did the trick. The lights were crystal clear. I was dumbfounded that it actually worked as advertised. Today is day 1 so we will see how well it holds up with the florida heat and salt fog so i’ll try to remember to update this in about 6 months. For now 5 stars. Just make sure you don’t have rain in the forecast when you use it.

Please read my entire review before attempting to work on your headlights!!!!

This kit is perfect, but it leaves out the most important step in the entire restoration process! You must polish the headlights with compound and a wool polishing pad after the 3,000 grit wet sanding step, and before applying the ceramic coating!!! If you follow the instructions and apply the ceramic coating after only sanding you will see the fine scratches left from the sand paper and your headlights will look faded, scratched, and dull.

I followed the instructions religiously the first time around and i was left with headlights that were hazy and you could see most of the fine sanding marks left over from the 3,000 grit sandpaper! I thought i ruined my headlights.

So i ordered another kit. I sanded off the previous coating with just the 3,000 grit sand paper in order to remove the old ceramic coating and i got to work with meguire’s ultimate compound and a drill attached wool polishing pad (you can purchase both on amazon for ~$30). The results were nothing short of perfect!!! The headlights were crystal clear and you could just barely see very very fine scratches left over from the sand paper (which is what you want so that the ceramic coating has something to bind to). Before applying the ceramic coating, i cleaned the headlights with rubbing alcohol to remove any compound residue/oils and then applied the ceramic coating. The fine scratches were filled in completely and my headlights are absolutely perfect now!! Literally better than new. Amazing. Follow my instructions and you’ll be soooo pleased!! Just check out my after pictures!

I can’t believe the manufacturer left the compounding step out… There’s no excuse for that.

A couple of pro tips:
1- when sanding with the 2,000 grit, go only horizontal
2- when sanding with the 3,000 grit, go only vertical (the compounding stage goes in a circular motion)
3- mask around your headlight and open your hood, it’ll make your life so much easier!

Good luck!

And followed their instructions faithfully. And i even used a timer and lots of water from a garden hose for the sanding part. Use the supplied gloves, two pair in all, for steps 1 (remove oxidation) and 3 (the clear coat): there is something very chemical going on. Use masking tape around the headlight lens for all the steps. Basically, after using the oxidation wipes in step 1 and sandpaper in step 2, the headlight lens were very cloudy. Step 3 is crucial. The instructions said to apply step 3 on completely dry headlights, so i took their advice about making sure everything was dry to heart and had dinner while the headight lens dried, then i marched back out with clean, dry towel and a can of air spray to force out water from the nooks crannies around the headlight lens. (did not need the can of air.) then i applied the clear coat: it was like one of those miraculous transformations on those as seen on tv commercials: the headlights were crystal clear. Let me be as clear as the restored headlight lens: they were not brand new with no time and mileage, but they looked very more like new than they were before. Step 1 probably takes more than five minutes and involved four wipes for each headlight lens, and total sanding time was 3+3 minutes per each grade for each headlight lens. Final coat was one wipe for each headlight lens. Total time was more than the stated 30 minutes, but before and after step 3 i really took my time. The instructions said to wait an hour after step 3 (which they don’t count in their 30 minute time estimate): don’t touch, don’t use the car, and do not get any moisture on the headlights; so i set my timer, waited an hour, and did not touch the headlight lens in the mean time. I kept the hood up to avoid shaking any water on the headlight lens when closing. Remember, follow the instructions: when it says circular motion (step 1), use circles, when it says horizontal (steps 2 and 3), go horizontal. I don’t know how long the results will last, but i’ll note when it fails. Professional restoration runs anywhere from $50 to $200, and i notice the cerakote sells a wholesale version of their restoration kit to the pros. A replacement lens runs something like $150-non dealer to $520 -dealer and takes a bit more expertise and time to install. Cerakote offers a limited lifetime warranty, i.e. Refund, when instructions are followed
day 2 report: overcast day and i when i looked close, i saw some fine scratch lines from the sanding. If i step back a few feet. Then the scratches are not noticeable. This is a 13 year old car and i am happy enough that the headlights are now more effective.

2003 honda pilot. Original headlights. I had sanded and buffed out the headlights previously and they looked great but would start to yellow withing a week during the summer when the sun is strong. Applying wax or a hybrid ceramic did not stop the yellowing. I was about to try a 2k clear coat on them but when seeing good reviews on this product decided to try it. Way easier than masking and painting. I did not use the sanding discs but used the oxidation wipes until i wasn’t getting much yellow on them. When applying follow the instructions. Do not rub! Use a single sweeping motion with a overlap. Only wipe once or it will start to dry and you will have an uneven mess. Looks amazing when done. One week later it hasn’t changed so i suspect this will last but we’ll see. I will follow up with another review after a few months. Been waxing cars for 55 years and have tried – used just about every detailing product over the years. Cerakote impressed me. Have used both their trim and paint sealant and so far i’m impressed.

Compared to most headlight restoration kits this is fairly simple to use. One kit was enough for me to do 2 pairs of headlights. I have done old fashion headlight restores in the past where you sand from 800 all the way to 3000 grit then go over with rubbing compound. The difference between this is the ceramic coating. I don’t know how long this coating will last but at the time being it looks like headlights that are sanded and clear coated professionally. The kit is not bad if your headlights are weathered. But if you have deep scratches you have to start at lower grit and work your way up. There is no such thing as a simple headlight lens repair. It involves elbow grease. If your prep work is good the finish will be good. The instructions are fairly simple to follow. I like to remove the headlights and throughly clean the headlight prior to using the 3 step process. If the headlights have deep scratches i skip the step 1 prep wipe and go to 800 grit then 1000, 1200,1500,2000,2500,3000 and then coat with step 3. I recommend cleaning good between each grit change to avoid causing scratches. I tried it on 5 headlights at this point ranging from 1990s to 2021.

Holy crap, this stuff is awesome! I rarely write reviews, but this product blew me away!

I haven’t used any restoration products previously in headlights from 2014. My car sits out in the sun and elements and they were yellow and it was becoming increasingly difficult to see at night due to the yellowing of the headlights. I just finished using this product and the difference is wild! Honestly, just after using step 1 with the oxidation remover wipes, you can see a remarkable difference. Wet sanding and the clear coat just makes it even better.

Really impressed with this product, even more because it’s only like $18 a box. Will absolutely buy again for my boyfriend’s truck next.

Honestly, i like a lot of products and think about writing reviews… And never do. This product really impressed me! (and, i know of four friends who have already purchased it on my recommendation.)

it works just like it says. The instructions are easy and the results are amazing! I have paid a lot more to have my headlights professionally restored, before. It took them hours. The results were similar to what i got with this kit.

Easy to use, just a little time and elbow greese. I didn’t time myself, but i believe it was less than an hour start to finish (other than the final dry time of an hour.)

i love the results! I especially love that i can see at night because my lights can shine their brightest. First time night driving, i actually had someone flash their brights at me, thinking i had my high beams on.

Worth every penny!

Pictures speak louder then words. This was worth every penny. Take your time and follow instructions precisely and you won’t regret the results. After step 2 my husband was almost convinced he made them worse, but he continued with the instructions and made sure to follow them explicitly. The end result looks like new headlights. I have family that has tried many others on the market and were never happy with the results, they ended up buying new replacement headlights. We avoided spending hundreds since this kit actually works.
….
We paid full price and this is was not part of any deal or offer for leaving a 5* review. This is honestly just an incredible product that saved us a lot of money. I will buy more in the future for our other vehicles and have already recommended it to friends and family.

Ive used a lot of different products to do this job for our fleet of trucks. New headlight buckets are hard to find sometimes and never cheap. I used this product on headlight i know no other product would work on. I even tried to buff off the oxidation and it just didnt do anything. So, i applied this product to the first headlamp cover and was almost immediately wondering what magic was in these wipes! It was literally amazing. Nobody in the shop or upstairs thought it would work, and within seconds, this product proved us all wrong. After completion, you cant tell that the headlamp covers have ever been touched. Worth every penny!

I have a 13 year old highlander. Living in a hot climate (central texas), my headlight lenses had become really yellowed by 5 or 6 years ago. I tried a 3m kit (which had worked great on an old ford f150) several years ago, but it was a total fail on the highlander. Cerakote had great reviews so i tried it today and am hugely pleased. The lenses are almost perfectly clear. The kit had everything except water and rags, and was very easy to use. My only suggestion: the instructions should recommend putting masking tape on the painted surfaces around the lenses. Despite being as careful as i could, i still scuffed the paint with the sanders in several places.

Satisfied with the product’s performance as it helped restore the headlights on my 2012 jeep liberty. Instructions are clear and concise, easy to follow and the work involved straightforward un-complicated – took me about 30 minutes to work on both headlights and most of the time was spent reading the instructions to be sure i got the procedure right.

The whole process is divided into three steps: 1 – remove the oxidized original/previous protective cover, 2 – sand down the lens surface with the provided sanding discs and holder tool, 3 – apply the new protective chemical. There’s a rinse with water and dry out betweens in there.

The con is on the size/quality of the protective gloves provided. Two sizes small for my hands. Out of the 2 pairs provided (maybe 3, don’t recall right at this moment) i tore through 3 or 4 of them, seem to come in small size – ended up doing the chemical pads with a half way in glove only on my right hand, good enough to protect the skin on any unwanted irritant exposure. The retrofit kit should come with larger size gloves. That alone keeps my review at 4 stars instead of the 5 it could have reached otherwise.

::2 years after application::

brutally tested on a subaru that’s been through many road trips. Most of it dry hot weather including its first major outing in joshua tree in 110+ heat back in 2020. The vehicle is not parked in a garage and is exposed to the elements on a daily basis. It has been washed 3 times in my ownership of 3 years.

Unfortunately after 2 years it has begun to oxidize once again. I’m buying another kit to see how long it will last this time, but i’m going to wait until after these heatwaves we’re having so it can cure properly.

I do wish that this was a one and done deal. I will update later on after i buy my 2nd kit. If this doesn’t work i’m just bringing to a friends shop to have it done properly. So hopefully you guys don’t let me down my 2nd try.

Not perfect but i’m certainly satisfied for the moment. I’ll update my review in a few months or do to see how long lasting this is. Although the process indicates no tools required it does take some muscle and time with the sanding part. Be very thorough. I followed the instructions to the letter. With one of my assemblies i can tell that there is internal fogging. So although i followed the instructions and i’m confident the job was completed well i can see that some fogging never changed throughout the whole process. That tells me that the fogging is internal. But it looks really good on outside and is very smooth. Definitely a big improvement. I just received brand new led bulbs to the other day. So it will be exciting to see the difference at night. I’d, recommend this product to someone. As long as you follow the instructions and your thorough you’ll get good results. Not perfect, but very good results. I’ll order another box and do my van headlight assemblies next.

Restored my old cloudy headlights to (almost) like new in a few easy steps. Instructions, which were also on youtube, were clear and easy to follow. My only complaint was due to the last step, which is adding the clear coat. My headlights are large and have a lot of surface area (2008 honda odyssey) and the clear coat pads did not seem big enough for them. The pads started drying out before the headlight was fully and thoroughly coated. The instructions say to overlap clear coat strokes by 50%. I couldn’t do that because the pad was drying out long before i was nearing completion. Hope it lasts.

The instructions are pretty darn good. Follow them and you shouldn’t run into problems.
I originally bought this kit to restore the head lights on my 17 yr old truck but soon realized that they were too far gone for this kit to work satisfactorily. They looked like they’d been sand blasted and half the clear coat was gone.. But it did work on my wifes car a 2010 mazda cx9 with cloudy, splotchy looking headlights.
Pros:
this definitely improves the head lights making them almost new.
The deoxidizer pads really work to remove the oxidation, this is what separates this kit from the others
the ceramic coating works well.

Cons:
they should have included some 5000 grit sand paper to get them a little bit clearer prior to coating.
They perhaps also should have included some 1500 grit or 1200 for those really bad head lights.
This kit will not remove pits from road debris. Keep that in mind.

My headlights weren’t terrible, they still had clear coat on them, they were just getting splotchy looking and cloudy. No pits or rock chips.

If your headlights are losing the clearcoat, either get some new headlights, or sand all the clear coat off and then progressively sand up to 1000, then spray clear coat them with a 2k clear coat. That’s a lot of work! For some cars it’s probably not worth it unless the new headlights are so expensive that completely sanding them makes sense.

If your headlights are just yellow and cloudy, this is a worth while endeavor. They won’t come out perfect but they’ll be almost new looking until you get right up on them. You can still see some sand scratches and a small bit of cloudiness where i feel that the clear coat could have went on a bit thicker. I wish there was the ability to put on a second coat of the ceramic clear, that might have cleared them up perfectly. This is why i say that they should have included 5000 grit sand paper also. And perhaps a way to do a second coat. The instructions say not to apply a second coat, so i listened. I didn’t want to botch the job.

I cant speak to longevity as i just did them. I might update this if it turns out not to last. I’m not expecting miracles, but 2 or 3 years would make me happy. Anything under a year of longevity and i will consider this a fail.

This product works wonderful and easy to to follow directions. The first time i used it was amazing but the second time i purchased the last step left a cloudy film. I reached out to customer service and they quickly responded and sent overnight steps 2-3 free of charge. Once i completed again it is awesome this time.

Very good instructions and well laid out information. Easy to use as you follow the instructions, and i followed the instructions to a ‘t’ exactly and precisely the way as instructed (and i’m ocd and an engineer, that comes natural).
The box says 30 minutes – to do it properly is twice that time, 30 minutes on each lens, but that’s okay.

I gave it four stars because it took twice as long as indicated, but more importantly it did restore the lens to i would say 90% of clarity.

It is a top rated product for this purpose and i would say better than most of the ones out there.

I would buy it again and recommend it.

And i would give it four and a half or 4.8 stars if that was an option.

After using this product, the headlight lenses on my wife’s car did look much better. Although there is more work to do even though i followed the instructions closely. And maybe the lenses on this 11-year old car were that bad. Anyway, will try again,

I have no idea how long the clear coat will last, but application was not hard to apply and thought i had damage after rinse of sanding disk and dry for the clear coat application, but as soon as clear coat was applied all the scratch fog went away and lens was restored. It now nooks new!

35yr old female here. My car is 10 years old and had an ugly build up, aswell as very dim lights, which i was thinking was from the build up. Bought this product that comes neatly packed and with great detailed instructions. I read a review that said use lots of water so i was prepared for that. It’s work, not the simplest thing in the world, but the company made the process simple. My headlights looked great immediately after the application, which you can see in my before and after photo. I’m not sure i applied the last step well.. The next day the headlights looked hazy all over, but probably from something on my end. The headlights look much better than before, so im happy about that. I do think my light is casting a litte ‘brighter’ than before. Even though they don’t look perfect, i am happy with the product.