I'm going to chime in here also. I'm all for good ole fashion elbow grease however, if you know you're going to be doing more than 20-30 minutes worth of sanding then polishing, the Headlight Restoration kit from 3M is the only way to go IMHO. This kit and a drill and your set
Amazon, normally $20, on sale as I write this for $10. http://www.amazon.com/3M-39008-Headlight-Restoration-System/dp/B001AIZ5HY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426871140&sr=8-1&keywords=3m+restoration.
Those that have read my rebuild thread know the nightmare I had to deal with. Sanding and polishing that took me a few hours with the 3M kit, would have taken me a week + with manual labor. I swear buy this kit. I use the Novus polish also for touch ups but for blending areas of repair, 3M Repair kit.
Sorry Tim didn't mean to hijack your thread also. You know you're highly respected in my book sir