Headlight Restoration Using Toothpaste - Does That Really Work 

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I just bought a 3m headlight restoration Kit for $23.99. After seeing your Video, i grabbed my toothpaste, a dishwashing sponge, a water bottle and tried on the headlight of my 2003 Lexus RX300. Perfect, It really works!!! I am going to return the 3M kit. Thanks Donny~~!!

Donnie, I used this temp repair method on a 1961 chevy six, and I would like to tell you I did not go through all the prep work you did. and that repair is still holding after 14 yrs. glad I found you.

best smelling headlights in town lol

Do you recommend flossing the grill?

People talk about using REGULAR toothpaste not, with all the ingredients that you have. You can also use just baking soda and peroxide. Awesome video. Thanks a lot.

Thanks Donnie. When I was in Vietnam, I saw Vietnamese venders using toothpaste to polish plastic watch crystals. I've used it several times as a basic polish. Anyway, I used this method on my '99 Miata headlights and was happy with the results and you can't beat the price. Sadly it only lasted for a few months and I'm ready to do it again. This time I will finish them off with Diamondite Clear Plastic Liquid Armor and UV Protector to seal & protect them from UV rays.

Wow!!! , I just literally tried this 5 minutes ago and to my amazement it worked!!!... I was just about to go to the store and blow 10-15 bucks on a kit...I'm glad I found this video. Thanx dude...

Oh man you helped so much not only with the headlight but also with that mouth sores. I get a lot since I was a kid. But now I have found the solution. Thanks a lot.

Actually did mine on my Frontier before seeing this. Only difference is I applied the toothpaste dry and used my fingers to apply it then wiped down with a damp microfiber cloth. Repeated it three times (they were pretty bad) then wiped the lenses down with a silicone based plastic restorer (as seen on tv) to remove any minor haze that remained. Turned out phenomenal. Will be looking through your other videos for more easy tips.

They are called Ulcer's and Toothpaste will work well as it is just another abrasive compound like cutting polish, been doing this for maybe 15 years or more - ever since I've had Lexan covered headlights anyway. Oh a side note Donnie, just about all toothpaste has baking soda in it as the abrasive content. the peroxide is likely what is drying out the ulcer's and killing the bugs.

Thanks for testing, and posting. I heard about this, and wanted to brighten up the wife's night vision. Appreciated

The problem is you need to use a sealer to reseal the plastic. I recommend using a clear spray lacquer just like you would use clear coat furniture. Just make sure that you get one that is SAFE FOR PLASTIC surfaces.

All you need is Tooth paste with Baking soda, or just Tooth paste and a $1 box of baking soda and a green skinny scrubbing sponge (NOT the heavy duty but the soft one) to rub the paste all over as it eliminates any imperfections and smooths out any rough surface on the head lights. Then after 5 minutes of scrubbing and letting it set... you then wash it off with the hose and dry. Its better doing this when washing the car.... Use liquid polish or liquid wax to give it that fine superb shine! This method is the best and lasts the longest...

Well done Donnie! The key to the toothpaste use is the proper selection of the paste. You want to use one that indicates it will "polish" your teeth, like Colgate Advanced White or Crest Extra Whitening; both state right on the packaging that they are for polishing your teeth. Some toothpaste tubes have none of the abrasive material needed for this job. And don't buy any that are gels, they will not do much. As you mentioned, it really depends on the condition of the headlamp covers just how effective toothpaste will be. If they are too oxidized or pitted, then you'll likely require the commercial restoration kits to get the results you'd want. For simple hazing or yellowing, this trick for a few dollars may be all that is needed.

thanks for the comeback, Donnie!

Hi Donnie, Yes, not surprised that it works. Toothpaste is a light abrasive, and it also works well on light paint scuffs much like a fine polishing compound. Thanks for the video's its nice to see if things really work or not.

ericthecarguy referred you for body work lessons. Looking forward to learning from you as much as I have learned from Eric.

For mouth sores. White,( ulcerated looking). For years I've used Alum. It is used for canning veges. Guarnteeded your mouth won't be sore in the morrning ! Place a small amount on the back of a spoon. Place directly on sore. HOLD in mouth, until you have to spit. Rinse and repeat at least once. After years of use . . . it will work.

One thing about this trick to remember: for best results use a tartar control toothpaste or one with baking soda because it's the mild abrasive action that helps remove the oxidization layer. That is what I've heard and it seems to make sense. Also, your headlights WILL smell minty fresh.

Had my doubts but it worked for me too. Thanks Donnie

I did this with my truck and it increased my night visibility tenfold (and I did this before winter last year and they are slightly dimmer, but not noticeably), what I did was, I used our buffing wheel with a high abrasive toothpaste (such as colegate "extra whitening") put it on and let it dry (I did tape some news papers around it so I wouldnt scratch the paint) after that I got a spray bottle full of water and put a light mist over it and went to work with the buffer again (using the make-it-shiny wheel instead of the put--on-the-waxy-crap wheel, and yes, that is what i call them, IDC about the real names) ever so often spraying water over it, keeping it lubricated until you are finished buffing it out.

Not bad, two suggestions that may help your future video creations. First, make sure the audio on your video is completely in stereo. Mono audio sounds bad and leaves a hissing sound out of the other side of a stereo headset, headphones, or earbuds. Even if you can't record the audio is stereo, there is all kinds of free audio software that will take mono audio and allow you to change it to stereo. Second, although I completely understand where you are coming from on wanting to change up the video to make it more interesting and you cut and paste good parts from different takes into the final cut. Simply zooming in and out on your camera has a strange effect on the human eye's depth perception, which makes it look very weird and doesn't give a professional look to the finished product. Instead try moving the camera in different positions and angles to give different perspectives on your shots, especially when you are showing the item you're demonstration is based upon. When you were showing the difference between the taped side and the polished side, a closer straight on front shot and then a close angled shot would give the viewer a better vision of the difference you were trying to show had occurred after the polishing. Overall it was an okay video, but I think if you would try these suggestions, remake the video, have your friends and family view them, and you will see that they will be more appealing to the general public. Thanks and hit me up sometime if you remake it, I would love to see the difference. See ya.

No more sores on my headlights!!! Also...I use Crest White Strips on my white raised letters on my tires...

Yes, thank you for your honesty, keep it up!

Works. Worked really well on my bmw e46 too. Fail it's road safty on head lights and passed after the headlight trick

I would like to see tests with other mild abrasives, like stainless steel polish, glass cooktop paste, etc. I have a glass cooktop range and the paste to clean it...I think I might do my own test. I have a Honda CR-v and a Golf with fogged covers.

Good video Donnie. What do you recommend for cleaning a scratchy windshield? I've read clay bar treatments have good results.

Great video, Donnie! Thanks for the info!

Should have 2 towels, one for buffing and other for wiping everything off. Wet the headlight lense first with some water, then about 8 inches of toothpaste, use one dry towel to spread the toothpaste around in a circular motion, and up down, and sideways to cover the light. Work the light buffing for about 15 minutes or so. After your done with that step, wet the light some and use the other dry towel to wipe off the toothpaste.

wet sanding works the best and the cheapest option, just remember to not go lower than about 1500 grit and work your way up to 5000 and looks brand new

10/10 video for getting rid of mouth canker sores. Wood watch again.

Regarding your comment of canker sores. I too am very susceptible to getting them and did some research. Its the Sodium Laureth Sulphate that is a sudsing agent and caused my outbreaks. Not sure if your toothpaste happens to also not contain that. Its often missing in most "sensitive" toothpastes which is what I have to use. Did a test and used regular for a couple weeks, and sure enough, they came back.

One guy recommends using Crest Extra White Toothpaste with Polishing on the cover, something abrasive to help clear the lense. I would wonder if you could use a small sandpaper in a low grit to help spread the paste around and help better?

Great video. I will try it and let you know "Thanks". Keep making videos.

I have tried other restoration kits as well but I'm always unimpressed with how fast (or so it seems) I need to redo my lens. How are your lens holding up after a few months of toothpaste application?

Headlight Restoration Using Toothpaste. I tested it and this is what I found!

Thanks Donnie! But how long does it last?

I've polished headlights with sandpaper which works quite well but, as for toothpaste, I have found that it works well for cleaning my gold rings.I use an old toothbrush to apply and then just rinse with water.

Works great I have a lot of night time driving cheap and works thank you

That's amazing! I'm gonna do it right now!

Some chemist was going over a chemical compound and one of his colleagues said hey that's the chemical used in toothpaste! Let's go try it for lunch. They fixed it and out to a random car and here we are lol

I tried it once, toothpaste makes perfect sense! It has to have some abrasive properties to clean teeth, so I tried it.

I have seen some videos where headlights are dry sanded with 500 & 800 grit then wet sanded with 3000 and then cleared with automotive clear. Would you recommend that type of restoration ?

Saw a bunch of vids about this and tried it this morning. It really did make a HUGE difference, but once I rinsed and wiped them dry they completely clouded right back up. Scratching my head over this now...

Thanks for the tip Donnie. I would like to know who had the original brainstorm to try this as well. Thanks again....

Thanks dude. Great video.

I have used toothpaste to clean windshields also. worked pretty good.

Hey Donnie, What is the brand name of the toothpaste for mouth sores ?

Hey Donnie, do you have in DIY tips for cleaning chrome wheels??

I hears of this for CDs back when they were around

Very great advise, Thanks

we have been using many different kinds of toothpaste but with peroxide paste seems to be better .old school was baking soda as a polisher too with a bit peroxide into a paste works great and it is better whitening tooth paste too not too much peroxide on your gums will burn if so... best whitener on teeth since the 60s and cost effective , on a budget...>^.^

Is the lamp glass or plastic?

Hi Donnie..great idea question? how long did U find the clarity lasted after using toothpaste to brighten the lights?

Toothpaste does seem to work well, but have you tried hemorrhoid cream?

jiff gives you best results its a cleaning compound works really well recommeded to anyone for cleaning your headlights i use it all the time...

Iv done this toothpaste trick on my truck about 3 times now.. and im just now starting to see a difference.. I don't know maybe im not scrubbing enough but iv been spending about an hour doing both headlights I even broke out the drill and buffer ball. I am starting to see a difference so im just gonna keep doing this until I get the results I want. and anyone else that trys this if it doest work out like you want just try again its only toothpaste..

If you have to restore the headlight, it needs it about once a year. I bought a bottle for 4 bucks 3 years ago, still have a fair amount left. So using toothpaste may work but not that much cheaper in the long run.

Back in my Navy days I sometimes scrubbed toothpaste on my whites like dixie cups and stuff-still do sometimes. Actually, the cheaper the paste the better it will work. So... it may be related to that. I dunno. But then again, we also used bug juice (military issue kool-aid) to polish brass. Yeah, they gave us drink mix that taste like ass, but it would also eat the tarnish off of metal, who knew?

Tooth paste was also used for taking oust small scratches on windshields a long time ago. Owners of small planes also used on their windshields.

Toothpaste contains microabrasives, a lot like buffing/polishing compound. What works on paint and tooth enamel also works on plastics.

If you have mouth sores another solution to try is acidophilus. It is a good bacteria that is naturally found in your mouth and your gut, it comes in pill form or liquid. Put this on the mouth sore and within 24 hours you will see an improvement. My son had mouth sores and the doctor burnt off the first one, I swore I would never put a child through that again so I went to the health food store and was able to get this and it worked fantastic.

Mine are pretty well oxidized, this did not work very well. Do you have any other suggestions?

will that work on indicators, tail lamps and fog lamps also??????

Thank you,got it. Tooth paste can clean lots of things,including the cups and clothes

For the best results use a toothpaste with crystals. It uses the crystals as a polisher for the headlight.

thanks its time to clean my truck lights using spray water and tooth paste and it works

I am a car dealership owner and car detail-er of 23 years +. I just read down a little farther and seen the post regarding the 3M kit. (cheapest at Walmart) Its does works great if your headlight's UV clear coat is flaking off, big job and time consuming, but you will need to sand the bad clear coat off and polish them back to clear, but if you don't have a clear coat problem, no sanding is needed. Lenzclear.com will do the job with just a few drops and a few minutes .

absolutely big difference. thank you

How quickly did you have to clear the haze from your headlights again?

Look on the toothpaste tube's ingredients for "pumice" which some toothpastes use as a mild abrasive. Those with these abrasives should work best. The reason somebody tried toothpaste (to answer Donnie's question at the end) was probably because pumice in a paste carrier is what many polishing compounds are made of (the minty flavor, hydrogen peroxide for whiteness and fluoride to stimulate calcification for stronger tooth surfaces are just bonuses). Good info. Thanks Donnie.

Try using an old sock instead of and or in conjunction with a rag. Cheers from CANADA!

I would try it in next two days

I simply bought new headlight assemblies for my '97 Lexus. Cost $180 and it is brand new. I tried polishing a couple times, but it didn't last long.

In this episode, I checked to see if my left ear went deaf.

Donny!! you are the man! seeing is believing and after watching you i ran downstairs (toothpast in hand). and no sh$& it worked!! thankyou for being the guinnea pig!!

Hey Donnie, good vid man. Any advice for itchy buttcrack.

Came to watch to restore headlights... Left knowing how to get rid of my sores

Is it ok if i do this in cold weather??

Thanks Donnie - interesting. I had used Kit 'Scratch Out" - it worked OK. But, my OPTICIAN told me that using a light abrasive on the lenses, will put micro-scratches in the lens (just as it would in plastic eyeglass lenses.) Don't know if that's true, but food for thought. In any event, nice prove-out of someone's suggestion. Thanks. (Also, lastly, I think that different t-pastes MAY have different levels of abrasives in them (e.g., I use a brand for "sensitive" gums - I am a big "softy" ;-)) Anyway, good, money-saving, practical tip. And, with the right audience at a backyard barbecue, I could be a hero ! Thanks. Joe K. State College PA

Don't use any gel toothpaste or toothpaste with whitening capability just old fashioned white paste type. Toothpaste has been used for years as a low dollar low abrasive lapping compound. Thanks for all the great videos.

You forgot your toothbrush. Haha

If you try Pepsodent tooth paste it is a little grittier like compound than modern day stuff they still make it Wall mart sells it.

i wounder if you wet sand it and use wool buffer. how much it would clean the lens.

good vid, went behind the toothpaste, with wax, a significant difference!!!

Toothpaste can fix anything. It can also restore geological faultlines and prevent earthquakes.

zep mfg sells an old polish called zeperfex its a compound and polish in one . Originally for older painted cars without clear coat it would actually take some paint off the old paint and put carnuba wax on at the same time . THey still sell it but most of the reps are too new to know about it .

good job brother..very informative ; )

Dude! Brake fluid applied carefully and then buff it out with a clean cotton cloth..try it!

You did this video cause you saw my video. lol.. It works well..

The grittier the toothpaste the better. I use one with baking soda. If needed add a little bit of baking soda for better results

Not bad my friend!

thanks bro, subscribed and thumbs up. Please making these videos

If you leave the toothpaste on to dry for 10 mins before rinsing it helps it even more.

I only tried this one brand, but according to what I've found online, any toothpaste is supposed to work.

the right audio channel is severely missing in the opening sequence and again starting at 4:10 or so.

In Soviet Russia...we use ak-47's to clean headlights.

I had some really yellow headlights that would not pass inspection and I did not have the money to restore/replace them right then. Someone suggested using bug spray on the yellow haze and you know what, it worked. It helped clear my headlights up enough to pass that inspection. Now I also put some car polish on them to help them stay that way for a while, they do need replacing and after 6 months they are again getting quite yellow but the lens are crazed anyway so I will be replacing them in the near future. Bug spray does do the trick in a pinch though but I do believe it destroys the plastic so only if you are at a last resort do you try it. Make sure if you do try it though to wash them right away or the bug spray will start etching the plastic.

I recently discovered what I believe is the best solution for most and so inexpensive, why bother! This most likely will not last with the application of a sealer and it didn't clear up the lens completely. I was in Sam's recently and they now offer headlight restoration with a 5 YEAR WARRANTY. The price is only $29.95!