Like all car components, headlights also deteriorate over time and need to be maintained often. They provide drivers with a clear vision while driving at night or in extreme weather conditions such as fog and rain. Headlights are especially prone to scratches and discolouration and also deteriorate more quickly than the rest of your car. Therefore, they require different care than the other exterior parts. Let’s discuss different car headlights restoration techniques to make them shine like new.
Best Car Headlights Restoration and Cleaning Tips
A well-maintained car headlight is important in the UAE to avoid hefty fines and penalties. Therefore, if your car’s headlights have started becoming yellowish or cloudy, here are some steps that can make them shine like new. Before you start the process, make sure you have the right tools with you, listed under each method.
Method 1: Standard Wash
If your car’s headlights aren’t damaged much, you can clean it by using this method.
Required Tools
- Bucket
- Soft cloth or sponge
- Water
- Mild detergent
At this stage, you can clean your entire vehicle or just the headlights by mixing water and mild detergent. Later, you can clean it with a soft cloth or sponge. This is the basic way to remove dirt and debris from the headlight.
Method 2: Comprehensive Cleaning
As the name suggests, comprehensive cleaning requires a little effort to restore your car’s headlight. Let’s find out what tools you may need and how to perform this task.
Tools Required
- Gloves
- Masking tape
- Headlight polish
- Flannel polishing cloth
- Wet & dry sandpaper (1000 to 2500 grit)
Step 1: Wash and Sand Horizontally
- Wear the gloves to wash your car’s headlight with soapy water and clean all dust particles.
- mask the area around the headlight by using masking tape so there is no scratch on the car’s paint.
- Soak sandpaper in water and sand the headlight in the same direction.
- Make sure your car’s headlight is wet otherwise it can badly leave scratches on the lenses.
Step 2: Rinse and Sand Vertically
- After rinsing the headlight, it’s time to change the direction with the next grit.
- Keep cleaning until you are finished with the 2500 grit paper.
Step 3: Buff the Lens with Polish
- Wash the car’s headlights and let them dry.
- Dip one side of the flannel cloth in the polish and apply it to the headlights with slight hand pressure.
- polish the headlight clockwise until it becomes clear and shiny.
- Let the polish dry, then use the other side of the cloth to clear the polish residue.
- Repeat this process until you are done with the car headlights restoration.
- apply a sealant to protect the lenses from hazing over again.
Method 3: Clean Car Headlights With Toothpaste
If the headlights are slightly unclear or foggy, you can restore them by using toothpaste. For this, all you need to do is:
- clean the headlights with soapy water.
- Take a fingertip amount of toothpaste and rub it on the wet headlight.
- you can also add baking soda to get instant results.
- Start scrubbing it with a soft cloth while keeping the surface wet.
- Apply more toothpaste if needed.
- Once you finally get the results, clean the headlight with water and let it dry for a while.
Professional Car Headlights Restoration
In case your car’s headlights are in extremely bad condition make sure you consult with some professional technicians. Head to an auto service centre to restore your car’s headlights
Cost of Car Headlights Restoration
The cost of professional car headlights restoration in the UAE is around AED 50. However, the car headlight cleaning kits cost anywhere between 70 AED to 150 AED.
How To Clean Car Headlights From Inside
To keep the car headlights clean from the inside is as important as keeping them clean from the outside. Here is how you can do that:
- Remove the headlight housing with a screwdriver.
- Mix a mild detergent with water and gently rub the headlight cover with an abrasive pad.
- Rinse and dry the lens with a microfibre fabric.
- Apply glass polish on the lens.
- Fix the headlight lens back in their respective receptacle.
This concludes our guide on the methods of car headlights restoration. You can make your car’s headlight shine like new by using the aforementioned techniques. However, if you are unable to get the desired results, replace them with a new pair. If you are looking for a new car headlight set, then check car headlights for sale in the UAE. Also, these upgrades make your car look expensive, so you can consider this transformation and give your car a new look.
Besides, these car cleaning tips not only extend the life expectancy of the vehicle but also increase its market value. If you are planning to buy a used car for sale in the UAE, don’t forget to check its headlights are working properly.
Stay tuned to the UAE’s top auto blog for more car repair techniques.
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