How to Restore Your Headlights

Cloudy headlights don’t just affect your vehicle’s cosmetic appearance. Left unchecked, increasingly cloudy headlights can and will decrease your ability to see at night. Restoring your headlights to their original factory-fresh clarity may be out of the question, but you can get pretty close. Here’s everything you need to know about restoring your cloudy headlights:

Why Are My Headlights Cloudy?

Image via Pixabay by tookapic

If your vehicle has cloudy headlights, it’s probably due to one of two reasons. The first and most common reason is ultra-violet light damage. This damages the outside of your headlight. As your vehicle soaks up the sun over time, the headlight’s exterior plastic yellows and becomes cloudy.

The second reason happens to the inside of the headlight’s plastic lens. Moisture might have made its way into the headlight and damaged it. If this is the case, you will probably need to have the entire headlight assembly replaced.

However, if you find yourself in the first category, you’re in luck. There are a variety of methods you can use to bring your headlights back up to snuff.

Use Sandpaper

Using sandpaper on any part of your vehicle may seem like a scary concept, but it’s one of the best ways to remove the build-up and damaged UV protectant from your headlights. For best results, start with a lower grit level and work your way up to sandpapers with finer grits to smooth out the plastic on your headlight. We recommend using 800 or lower grit sandpaper for the first run-through, 1,000-1,500 grit for the second, and 2,500-3,000-grit sandpaper to polish the job off.

Be sure to tape off the area around your headlight to ensure you don’t accidentally sand away your vehicle’s paint. Start sanding using a side-to-side, back-and-forth motion. Try to avoid using circular motions. Once you’ve covered the whole headlight, switch to an up-and-down motion and cover it again.

The Toothpaste Method

If you’re looking for a quicker DIY treatment that doesn’t require you to go to an auto store, try the toothpaste method. You probably have almost everything you need for this method at home. The jury is split on this method, but it’s an easy fix that’s worth a shot.

You’ll need a toothpaste that is an actual paste, not the gel variants. Find an abrasive toothpaste or add baking soda to the toothpaste to make it more abrasive. Use your hand or a cloth to wipe the toothpaste over the entire headlight. Then, take a toothbrush and scrub the headlight like your car is going in for a check-up at the dentist’s office.

After you give it a good scrub, spray the headlight with water and wipe the toothpaste away with a cloth. If you see an improvement, you can repeat the process to see if you can clear the plastic up a little more.

Headlight Restoration Kits

If you don’t want to collect the necessary materials to clean your headlights, buying a headlight restoration kit is faster and can be cheaper. Keep in mind that there are quite a few kits on the market, and some work better than others. We suggest reading the reviews for a kit you’re considering before you give away your money.

These kits essentially perform the same functions as the do-it-yourself methods already mentioned. The kits will generally contain a way to remove the outside layer of plastic on your vehicle’s lenses and a solution for cleaning and protecting them. Instead of having to buy different grades of sandpaper or an orbital sander you’re never going to use again, you can just purchase one box with everything you need in it.

However, it’s worth mentioning again — read the reviews before you buy. You should also try to ascertain whether your headlights are damaged on the outside or the inside before you buy a kit.

Final Steps: Polish, Wax, and Seal

When you find the method that works well for your headlights, you’ll want to polish and protect your headlights to keep them from getting cloudy again. You can purchase a headlight polishing compound from most automotive stores. Put some of this polish on a microfiber towel or an orbital sander and rub it into each headlight thoroughly.

After that, apply wax to leave your headlights fresh and clean. This will help buff out more of the cloudiness and wipe away whatever you removed from the lens. You can apply the wax the same way you would on the car’s body.

Finally, it’s time to apply the UV sealant. As its name suggests, UV sealant should protect your headlights from the sun during your future drives. This is an important step, as it’s the one that keeps you from having to restore your headlights again sooner than you would like. Without proper protection, your headlights will get cloudier faster.

Leave It to the Pros

When all else fails during your DIY escapades, you can always leave it to the professionals. A quality service center — especially one that specializes in your vehicle’s make and model — will have all the necessary tools to make your headlights look like new. If you’re having trouble deciding if the damage is on the inside or outside of the lens, a certified technician should be able to tell you in short order.

Taking your vehicle in for a quality headlight restoration doesn’t have to be an admission of defeat. Whether you’re not comfortable with performing your own DIY restoration or you just can’t seem to get your headlights back in order, letting professionals tackle the restoration for you is a sure-fire way to get the job done right, especially if you take it to a quality shop such as Stan McNabb Chevrolet.

If you find that these tips and tricks don’t work and you simply need your headlights cleaned professionally or replaced, our team of expert technicians at Stan McNabb Chevrolet of Columbia is here to help you. With our know-how and skill, we can help you reverse what ails your Chevrolet.