Bug Spray "Trick" Vs. Headlight Lens Restoration Products

[Angus]

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[COLOR=Black] 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...

[TroyScherer]

Nicely done.


I had heard of this "off" trick but never looked into it. My understanding though is that is chemicaly melts the plastic allowing for this trick to work. And then later on the plastic is very soft and tacky making them discolor faster.

[Angus]

Thanks, Troy!

And you`re exactly right, the chemicals in the bug spray dissolve the top layer of plastic "removing" the yellow haze while the oils make the lens appear clear. As soon as I did my IPA wipe down, I immediately noticed the bug spray area grabbing the towel and was tacky to the touch. Instead of fixing your headlights, the bug spray is accelerating the weathering process, which IMHO will lead to more server damage requiring wet sanding and/or total replacement.

[GearHead_1]

Interesting, thanks for taking the time.

[Angus]

Interesting, thanks for taking the time.

My pleasure! I hope it helps those who`s headlights need a little TLC

[Stokdgs]

Thanks for taking the time to do this, Angus !
Dan F

[RaysWay]

Thanks for sharing Angus! This was like our own special episode of Mythbusters.

[ca.detailchick]

Wonder what the bug spray does to your skin!?

[MrCleanit]

Awesome info! Thank you.

[mnehls86]

[/QUOTE]

Lol. Great review Angus. Should have thrown the toothpaste into the mix too. I tried it once and didn`t get anywhere near the results off using stuff made for headlight restoration or wet sanding and polishing.

[Angus]

Thanks for taking the time to do this, Angus !
Dan F

You`re welcome, Dan!

Thanks for sharing Angus! This was like our own special episode of Mythbusters.

Cheers, Vega!

Ha! While writing this up I did wonder if those guys had ever tried this or one of the many variations.

Wonder what the bug spray does to your skin!?

It`s more about what it does after it gets absorbed into your body that worries me! From Wikipedia:

In the DEET Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported 14 to 46 cases of potential DEET-associated seizures, including 4 deaths. The EPA states: "... it does appear that some cases are likely related to DEET toxicity," but observed that with 30% of the US population using DEET, the likely seizure rate is only about one per 100 million users.[18]

The Pesticide Information Project of Cooperative Extension Offices of Cornell University states that "Everglades National Park employees having extensive DEET exposure were more likely to have insomnia, mood disturbances and impaired cognitive function than were lesser exposed co-workers".[19]

Yikes! Thank you nitrile glove for protecting my hands!

Awesome info! Thank you.

You`re very welcome

Lol. Great review Angus. Should have thrown the toothpaste into the mix too. I tried it once and didn`t get anywhere near the results off using stuff made for headlight restoration or wet sanding and polishing.

Cheers! Yeah years ago before I knew better I tried the toothpastes trick too w/o any luck. At least it smelled nice...

[ca.detailchick]

You`re welcome, Dan!



Cheers, Vega!

Ha! While writing this up I did wonder if those guys had ever tried this or one of the many variations.



It`s more about what it does after it gets absorbed into your body that worries me! From Wikipedia:

In the DEET Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported 14 to 46 cases of potential DEET-associated seizures, including 4 deaths. The EPA states: "... it does appear that some cases are likely related to DEET toxicity," but observed that with 30% of the US population using DEET, the likely seizure rate is only about one per 100 million users.[18]

The Pesticide Information Project of Cooperative Extension Offices of Cornell University states that "Everglades National Park employees having extensive DEET exposure were more likely to have insomnia, mood disturbances and impaired cognitive function than were lesser exposed co-workers".[19]

Yikes! Thank you nitrile glove for protecting my hands!



You`re very welcome



Cheers! Yeah years ago before I knew better I tried the toothpastes trick too w/o any luck. At least it smelled nice...

Scary on the DEET bug sprays! Thanks for the great write up!

[Angus]

Scary on the DEET bug sprays! Thanks for the great write up!

Isn`t it though? And thank you for the kind words