How much does headlight restoration cost at Brookswood Tint?
There’s no list price. Every restoration is quoted for the car in front of the shop, because two lenses of the same age can need very different amounts of work. Three things set the number: the level of restoration your lenses need, how much lens there is to work on, and the finish that protects them once they’re clear.
The level matters most. The shop works in three, and each adds work to the one before it:
| Level | Work included | Finish on the lens | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polish and seal | Machine polishing of light haze on a lens that hasn’t yellowed | Ceramic sealant | About an hour |
| Full restoration | Staged wet sanding, coarse to fine, to remove the failed hard coat and the oxidized plastic beneath; compounding and polishing back to clear | Sealant | 2–3 hours |
| Restoration plus film | Everything in a full restoration | Clear or smoked STEK light film | About half a day |
The levels run from the least work to the most, and the time each one takes is a fair guide to where your quote will land among them. The service itself is described on the headlight restoration page.
What makes one headlight restoration quote higher than another?
How deep the damage goes, how much lens surface there is and which finish you choose. A small, lightly hazed lens on a dry, intact lamp is the quickest version of the job.
How far the damage goes
Haze that hasn’t turned yellow can often be polished out in the shortest level. Once a lens has yellowed or gone chalky, the factory hard coat has failed, and it has to be sanded away in stages, coarse to fine, before polishing can bring the plastic back to clear. That is the full restoration, and it’s what most yellow lenses need; the yellow headlight restoration page explains why.
How much lens there is
Many current headlights stretch around the corner of the car and back along the fender. More plastic means more surface to sand, compound and polish evenly, so a long, wraparound lens takes longer than a small, flat one.
The paint and trim around the lens
Paint and trim next to the lamp are masked before sanding starts, so nothing gets abraded that shouldn’t. A lens set tight against a bumper, grille or hood edge takes more careful masking than one with an open border.
The finish you choose
A sealant is the standard finish. Adding clear or smoked STEK film turns the job into the half-day level and gives the lens a new outer layer with a written term. Smoked film cuts the light the headlight puts out and can fail a BC inspection; clear film isn’t off the hook either, since an inspector may still query it.
What’s included in a headlight restoration quote?
The quoted price covers the inspection of each lamp, the masking, the sanding and polishing steps for your level and the finish on the lens. Anything inside the lamp is outside its scope.
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| A look at each lamp for moisture inside, cracks and failed seals before any work | A replacement assembly when the lamp is wet inside or cracked |
| Masking of the paint and trim around each lens | Resealing a lamp that lets water in |
| The sanding, compounding and polishing steps your level calls for | Taillight film, which is a separate STEK service |
| A sealant, or STEK film if you chose the film level | Anything inside the lamp, such as bulbs or LEDs |
That first check protects your money. Internal fogging, cracked lenses and failed seals are replacement jobs, and the shop says it will tell you so before it starts rather than polish the outside of a lamp that is failing from within. If you’re unsure which side of the lens the fog is on, foggy headlight repair shows how to tell.
Is restoring a headlight cheaper than replacing it?
Generally, yes, when the lamp itself is sound. AAA’s 2018 headlight study described restoration as “the most cost effective option” of those it tested.
AAA also found the trade-off. In its lab, restoration brought clouded lamps back to about 70% of the light a new lamp gives, while OEM replacement assemblies reached 100%. So the cheaper fix recovers most of the light, and only a new lamp recovers all of it. A replacement’s price depends on the model, so ask your dealer to price the part before you weigh the two. When a lamp has water inside or a crack, the choice is made for you; headlight restoration vs replacement sets out the rest of the comparison.
What does it cost to leave cloudy headlights as they are?
Some light on every night drive, and possibly a failed inspection. A hazy lens scatters the beam it is meant to aim, and BC’s inspection rules treat a dimmed lens as a defect.
BC’s 2025 Vehicle Inspection Manual lists a lens that “reduces transmission of light” as grounds to reject a lamp, under Section 6, item 1.0(a). For most private cars that check comes at a designated inspection facility, after a move from another province or under a police order, and a clouded lens is then one more repair to finish before the car can pass. How that plays out is covered in whether cloudy headlights fail a BC inspection.
Waiting rarely makes the job smaller. AAA notes that signs of wear can show within three to five years, with the timing varying by use and location, and haze caught early is the kind a polish and seal can handle, while a lens left until it’s chalky needs the longer sanding level.
How do headlight restoration quotes compare between shops?
Compare what’s done to the lens and what’s left on it afterwards, not just the total. Two quotes for “headlight restoration” can describe very different jobs.
Ask each shop:
- Is the old coat sanded off, or only polished? A yellow lens needs the failed factory coat removed, not just brightened.
- What goes on the lens afterwards? Nothing, a wipe-on product, a sealant or a film are four different results.
- Is there a written term on that finish? At Brookswood Tint, only the film level comes with one, and STEK’s own product page lists a 7-year term on its DYNO light films.
- Is the lamp checked for water inside first? A restoration on a leaking lamp is money spent before a replacement.
- Is the surrounding paint masked? Sanding near unmasked paint risks marks on the bumper or fender.
A DIY kit costs your time rather than a shop’s, and the result turns on the same points: whether the old coat really comes off, and what protects the plastic afterwards. The shop’s own view of most kits is that they polish the oxidation without fully removing the failed coat or properly sealing the lens. If you do your own, make sure the kit leaves a protective layer on the plastic.
How do you get an exact price for your headlights?
List the car’s model year, make and model on the headlight restoration quote form and attach a daylight photo of each lens taken close up and another from a step back. Say which finish you want and whether the car is heading for an inspection, so the quote can be for a sealant instead of film.
Plan on about an hour for a polish and seal, 2–3 hours for a full restoration and about half a day with film. You can also call or text 604 534 6433, or drop by Unit 312 at 20560 Langley Bypass, open from 9:00 until 17:00 except on Sundays. If you’re also thinking about smoked lights, light film pricing covers that side, and how long a restoration lasts explains why the finish matters as much as the polish.
