LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Foggy headlight covers can really reduce the brightness of your headlights causing a safety issue. But what do you do besides spending upwards to $200 at a shop to fix the problem? This week we're trying the CCP '5 Minute Headlamp Lens Restorer' before you buy it!
Ever since we started the 'Try It Before You Buy It' segment, a lot of you have sent me suggestions on my Facebook page on which products we should test out. For instance, Leslie Stewart asked me to check out the car headlamp cleaner to see if it really works. So this week we're gonna try it...before you buy it.
There's several different versions of this product on the market. We're testing the ' 5 Minute Headlamp Lens Restorer,' manufactured by CCP.
According to the package directions, you are suppose to clean your headlamps prior to using the restorer. After cleaning off both headlamps of a 'retired' WAVE-3 vehicle, we put the restorer product to the test. This particular product comes complete with six buffing pads that are pre-treated with their restorer compound. The buffing pads are the applied to a buffing wheel that's inserted into any household drill. The directions then call for you to use a spray bottle to gently dampen the pads before using.
After applying water to the buffing pad, I begin to start buffing the passenger side headlight cover. After 5 or 6 minutes we check the progress. It does appear to be helping a bit, but the lens cover is still a little on the foggy side. Again, I proceed with a little more water on the pad and continue to buff. After another 3 to 5 minutes we check the final outcome. It does help clear some of the foggy residue from the headlamp lens. And according to the directions, the longer you buff each lens, the clearer they should be.
Although the lens covers don't look brand new, I found them to be much cleaner than they were when we started. Co-worker Nina Ballinger, disagrees though. She walked through our parking lot while we were conducting the tests and says she wouldn't spend $10 on the product. She felt she could get just as good results by using a rag and plain soap and water.
So, in the end we find that the 'CCP 5 Minute Headlamp Lens Restorer' does a fairly good job for the price. However, understand that your lens covers are not going to look brand new. And you can expect to spend some time buffing your headlamp covers for the absolute best results. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the very best, I would give this product about a 7 or 8 on that scale.
If you have a product you'd like to see us test on 'Try It, Before You Buy It,' let me know. You can send your suggestions to cmcgill@wave3.com.
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