With out a doubt headlights are one of he top safety features on a car. Without them we wouldn’t be able to drive at night, or in adverse situations. We trust them to always light up the road ahead of us when we turn them on and we use them to signal other motorists to danger or a friendly warning that a police officer may be up the road. We neglect them until they burn out, or until the lenses are foggy.
Hazing is caused by the wearing away of the protective hard coat which then exposes the softer plastic underneath to scratches, oxidation and grime. There are several ways to clear up an old headlight ranging from the simple and cheap to the pricey and a professional. No matter what the path the first step is always to wash the headlight and get all of the dirt and grime off. Second you’ll need to get several grades of sandpaper, ranging from coarse to fine. anytime something as abrasive as sandpaper around your car make sure to protect and tape off the surrounding area. During sanding you may notice that the factory coating is coming off. It’s typical practice that so go ahead and sand it all the way off. The next step is to buff the headlight to soften the scratches made by the sandpaper. Buffing compounds range in quality and price and can be found at your local auto parts store. Aluminum polishing compounds work best to get your lights in tip top shape, but any decent bathroom acrylic will work. From here you’ll buff the headlights until they’re nice clear and new looking. It may take a few coats and some elbow grease but they’ll get there.
Changing out your head lights will provide the best improvement to visibility. Next up we’ll talk a bit about types of head lights and their advantages.