Headlights are one of the most essential parts of your car not only because they help in lighting up the front end of your vehicle but also they enable other drivers to see you coming at night or during a heavy downpour or misty afternoon. However with time what used to be bright and shiny means of visual would become yellow, dimmed, or foggy due to oxidation since the plastics are made of polycarbonate, and exposure to long term sunlight makes it inevitable for oxidation.
Why should clean and restore your plastic headlights
Just as you would regularly check and gauge your vehicle’s brake, fluids, and tires, your headlights also need maintenance. Brighter headlights offer farther visibility at night which gives you that extra time to react and avoid unexpected obstacles in the road such as debris or potholes.
According to a recent study, your headlights only emit 20 percent of light capacity when its plastic coating turns yellow or fuggy as compared to when you first bought them. Such low light at night puts drivers at great risk of crashes as their car ages.
So, why not clean and restore your car headlights to its original state today?
You don’t have to be a professional or an automotive savvy in order to get your headlight restored. By simply using the right restoration kit and following the instructions below, you can effectively clean and restore your car’s plastic headlight back to its original state just from the comfort of your garage.
How to clean plastic headlight lens
To begin your plastic headlight restoration process, I would recommend you get the following:
- Bowl, Warm water, and Automotive soap: For washing your headlight before.
- Microfiber towel: For drying the headlight.
- Headlight restoration kit: For making your work super easy. I would recommend getting the clear light tech starter kit if you are restoring your plastic headlight yourself for the first time; because it contains everything you need for the easy and safe removal of severe oxidation, yellowing, and scratches.
- Buffing and Polishing pads: buff pads attached to any drill to make polishing very fast and efficient like a professional.
- Headlight Protection film: It helps to provide durable protection from sun rays, maintain clarity, and brilliance for newly restored headlights
Easy step to clean headlight lens cover
Firstly, with the headlight in a shaded area, wash the complete area of your car’s headlights with automotive soap or shampoo and rinse thoroughly to remove dirt and debris. When you are done, dry thoroughly with a clean microfiber towel to remove any dirt, dust, or debris.
Allow your headlight to dry completely and mask around the edges using masking tape to protect your car’s body paint. Be cautious around edges and be careful not to touch paint.
Open your restoration starter kit and clean your plastic headlight thoroughly in a repeated smooth uniform side to side motion using the cleaning wipe provided. Once you are satisfied it’s clean, dry the headlight using the paper tower found in the kit.
Make sure both of your headlights are thoroughly dry then, open the second packet found in your restoration starter kit. Do not unfold the wipe found in this packet. Now, wipe both headlights gently for the last time and you will be amazed by the new sparkling look of your plastic headlights.
Avoid getting your headlight wet after this process for at least half an hour for the formula in your clear light tech restoration kit to continue working and treating your plastic headlight. Also, you shouldn’t wash your car for 24hours to allow proper restoration, which is why I recommend you try this on a weekend.
Now that your plastic headlight is as good as new you can choose to polish it with a buffing or polishing pad on a drill just to give your beam that finishing touch as the professionals would do.
Finally, to make sure your plastic headlights remain sparkling new for another couple of years, I would recommend you buy a protection film and install it after cleaning your headlights using the above restoration methods.
However, you can always wipe your headlights using the protection wipe found in each restoration kit you purchase from clear light tech to continue giving your plastic headlights a dazzling beam despite the number of sun rays it’s exposed to daily.
