Car headlights play a very important role when driving. Current regulations require drivers to drive with their headlights on. This is intended to improve the visibility of cars on the road and reduce the risk of accidents. After dark and at night, lights are essential for safe comfortable driving conditions. That's why it's so important to keep the headlights in good condition. One of the treatments that makes this possible is polishing.
Table of Contents:
- Why do car headlights need polishing?
- How do you polish a car headlight?
- What to polish the headlight with?
- How to polish headlights step by step?
Why do car headlights need polishing?
Daily driving causes all kinds of dirt to collect on the surface of the car. These include insects, pollen or dust carried with the air, as well as particles of asphalt, sand, grease or fuel. In newer cars, headlights are usually made of plastic. This material is much more susceptible to scratches and the accumulation of a layer of dirt than glass. In addition, the protective layer applied to the plastic tends to yellow.
The layer of dirt accumulated on the surface of the headlight and the reduction of its transparency affect the scattering of light. Therefore, especially after dark, the lamps may appear to shine less brightly and illuminate the driving path less well. This in turn translates into reduced comfort and reduced driving safety. To avoid such a situation, it's a good idea to have your headlights polished.
How do you polish a car headlight?
The lights in your car no longer shine as they used to? Driving is less comfortable and the car seems older and unsightly? You are certainly wondering, how to polish headlightsTo restore them to their original performance. First of all, you must remember that polishing will clean and refresh the plastic surface, but will not remove cracks. Therefore, the first step will always be an objective assessment of the condition of the lampshades.
If the headlight shades are cracked and chipped, the only thing left is to replace them with new ones. Smaller and larger scratches can be masked with the right methods. Therefore, it is worth entrusting this task to specialists from companies such as Vroomer. On the other hand, if the headlights are only dirty, yellowed and shine less brightly, you can perform the polishing activity yourself. Knowing, how to polish headlights and what materials to use, you will restore them to full working order. That is why it is worth betting on the help of professionals.
What to polish the headlight with?
The purpose of polishing a car headlight is not just to remove dirt. For this, washing it with water and the appropriate detergent is sufficient. Instead, the purpose of polishing is to remove the aforementioned protective layer applied to the plastic to protect the material from scratches. Unfortunately, it tends to dull and yellow, so it needs to be removed during reconditioning.
What to polish the headlight with? There are several ways to do this. The simplest one, which can be done at home, is to use cheap toothpaste. You can also reach for professional chemical preparations, such as polishing paste or varnish polish. For this, you will need sandpaper with a gradation of P800 to P2500, a microfiber cloth, tape to protect the car, wax or varnish, degreaser.
How to polish headlights step by step?
Restoring your car's headlights is best left to the professionals. Slightly tarnished or mildly yellowed headlights you can try to polish yourself before things get too far and home remedies are insufficient. To undertake polishing at home you must have the materials mentioned earlier and you must know, how to polish a car headlight. In a nutshell, do the following at home:
- Secure the body around the headlights with tape if you are not removing the covers,
- Thoroughly wash the surface of the covers,
- Degrease it with isopropyl alcohol or silicone remover,
- Polish the surface of the headlights, using successively smaller and smaller grits of paper, starting with p800 and ending with p2500. You can help yourself in this task by putting a flexible block under the paper. Do not make circular motions, but alternate horizontal and vertical ones,
- Smooth the headlights by hand with polishing paste or with a polisher with a speed of 600 and then 1200,
- Remove paste residue with a microfiber,
- Degrease the surface again,
- Protect it with synthetic wax for car lamps.
Headlight polishing Car is not difficult, but it requires time, patience and the right tools. If you don't have them or headlight shades in the car are badly damaged, headlight regeneration or lampshade replacement You can entrust the experienced specialists at Vroomer.