DIY competition

[ray6]

It seems like there's a new DIY headlight restoration product on the market every day. They all are guaranteed, promise your headlights will look like new, and anyone can do it, even a blonde 12 year old. 2 years ago I saw these kits as serious competion, but not any more. I think of them as future customers. Nearly all DIY kits are lacking for the same resaons:

May remove the old coating, but don't apply a new one, other than a wax or polish. See you soon.

Snake oil that does almost nothing, or home remidies like toothpaste, hydraulic oil, Pittman's, etc.

Kits that use a drill. There goes the paint or burn marks.

Kits that hand sand. Lots of work.

The bottom line is that most of these DIY attempts fail quickly without constant waxing or polishing, or they require skill levels and patience most DIYers are not equipped with, or they require extensive taping, polishing, masking, hand sanding or risky drill sanding. What these products also do for us as restorers is make the customer aware and far more receptive to a pro restore with a guarantee. And since they each have their own horror story about their DIY experience, they may become your best salesman.

Probably most DIYT (do it yourself tryers) are price driven so it's unlikely you would see them as a retail customer initally. However, after their DIY experience, you may see them as a new customer. Just make sure you charge accordingly to fix their mistakes.
ray6

[Old Blue 66]

Ray

I had a customer last week (retail) that called me becuase of what you just described. He had the Mothers and The Rain X in his gargare and his HL's still looked terible. BUT, that also means we (restorers) need to be more carefull as to what and how much product they have used so that our job comes out looking its best.

Just my .02