6 ways to polish your headlights at home
You can polish the car headlight yourself in several ways. A detailed study of each of the methods will help you choose the best option. Additionally, you need to find out about the durability of the result after polishing and, accordingly, about the frequency of the procedure.
How to polish headlights
Car headlight covers are made mainly from plastic materials, glass is installed on older models. The problem is that during operation, the shades are exposed to pebbles and other small hard materials, after which scratches form. Another pest is the sun, under its influence the plastic becomes not transparent, but yellow. Polishing will help to solve this problem, it is easily done by hand.
No. 1. Sandpaper
Some methods require special equipment, but it is quite possible to polish the headlights without a grinder. In such cases, you will have to work with your hands, and sandpaper will be used as a tool for removing the top layer. It is better to prepare skins of different grain sizes, soak them in water for 10 minutes before use.
Which grit to use depends on the degree of damage. If there are deep scratches on the ceiling, then you need to start with the smallest skin at 600, if the damage is small, then start at 1000. After removing the protective layer, polishing and varnishing are performed.
The graininess must be changed gradually, too sharp a transition can spoil the structure of the plastic surface.
No. 2. Special funds
In addition to various folk and improvised methods of plastic recovery, there are also special tools from well-known companies. They are sold in almost every car shop and the choice is quite large, the table describes only the most popular options.
| Name | Description | Appearance of the package |
|---|---|---|
| 3M headlight restoration kit | A complete repair kit that consists of sanding wheels, protective tape, polishing foam, paste, disc holder, finishing and gradation polishing pads. The grinding wheels in the set are made like a drill attachment, so you only need this tool, the rest is included. You can also use a screwdriver. |  |
| Doctor Wax – Metal Polish | The polish was originally designed for metals, but is well suited for plastics. There are no coarse abrasive particles in the composition, so the polishing will be soft, with the elimination of small scratches. |  |
| Turtle Wax Headlight Restorer Kit | This kit is designed to restore glass shades. The kit even includes gloves, lacquer wipes and sprays. The tool is quite economical and polishing two headlights takes about 20% of the contents of the bottle. |  |
| Magic Liquid | The tool helps to perfectly clean polycarbonate headlights, but will not cope with deep damage. An additional advantage of Magic Liquid is that the polish is suitable not only for headlights, but also for other plastic parts. |  |
| DOV Light | Affordable wipes. Extremely easy to use. First you need to wipe the headlights, treat them with a No. 1 napkin, wipe dry with a paper towel, and process with a No. 2 napkin. After that, leave the car in a place where it will be protected from moisture, the product will set in 30 minutes, and you can leave. |  |
Number 3. Toothpaste
If you don’t want to buy special tools in order to save time or money, then you can resort to improvised methods. An interesting option would be to use toothpaste, because it contains silicon dioxide.
You need to wipe it in a circular motion. It is important that the paste does not get into the joints or on the body. It is better to choose whitening pastes, they have the best effect.
If there are many scratches on the surface of the ceiling, you can use tooth powder instead of paste, it is more abrasive.
No. 4. Abrasive pastes
Factory abrasive compositions for polishing shades were mentioned in the subsection on special tools. It is also worth mentioning that the pastes are produced by Runway, Lavr, Sapphire, Arbo. They are selected depending on the materials of the headlights and the degree of damage.
There is also a folk method of cleaning with abrasive paste, it involves the use of GOI paste. It contains chromium oxide, thanks to which the mixture can even cope with mechanical scratches.
No. 5. Sander
No matter how hard a person works manually, it is unlikely to achieve the effectiveness of technology. Therefore, in the presence of serious damage, a grinder (or a drill / screwdriver with a special nozzle) is used for polishing.
No. 6. Hot steam of acetone
A liquid such as acetone acts very aggressively on plastic, so it can be used to remove the damaged top layer of the ceiling. In its pure form, you should not use acetone, the headlights will simply become unusable. It is necessary to heat it and process the plastic surface with the resulting steam.
Step by Step Instructions for the 3 Basic Polishing Methods
Sometimes the result of polishing may not depend on the effectiveness of the product itself, but on how the polishing was applied. Therefore, it is important to adhere to the technology for performing work when cleaning ceiling lamps with various means.
Preparation practically does not depend on the chosen method. It includes cleaning the headlight from dirt, dust, drying the surface. It is also worth considering that there are two polishing methods:
- Removable. The headlight is dismantled from the car before processing. The method takes more time, but is more convenient.
- Fixed. Body protection is important when using this method. All parts around the headlights are covered with paper tape.
Using sandpaper and polish
Sandpaper becomes the most effective method, with the exception of a grinder, to help get rid of difficult damage in the form of deep scratches. Polishing consists of 3 stages.
| Step 1. Sanding | It starts with the skin with the lowest grit (in advanced situations it is worth starting with 600) and gradually moving to the highest grit up to 2500. Processing with each sandpaper takes 2-3 minutes. After processing with sandpaper with the largest grain size, the surface of the ceiling should become matte |  |
| Step 2. Processing with polishing paste | Depending on the material and the degree of damage, polishing paste is selected. It gently covers the surface of the ceiling, after processing, scratches disappear, the headlight becomes transparent, not matte |  |
| Step 3. Final polishing | For this purpose, paper towels, microfiber cloths and other similar materials are used. The goal is to remove all remnants of the abrasive paste |  |
The polishing process is complete. Additionally, shades can be coated special varnish, it will create a protective layer, give the headlights shine, increase the service life.
Use of toothpaste
Another popular method, its advantages are low cost and ease of work. The disadvantage is that toothpaste will only help eliminate minor damage to the ceiling.
For work you will need:
- toothpaste (any will do);
- Toothbrush;
- warm water;
- clean rag;
- polish.
The work process is outlined in the following table.
| Step 1. Applying the paste | Toothpaste is applied to the cleaned headlight. The manual method uses a toothbrush or some other small brush, you can also use a grinder.The application of the composition is carried out in a circular motion with considerable effort |  |
| Step 2 Clean up | Rinse off any remaining toothpaste with warm water. After that, the surface of the plafond is thoroughly wiped with a dry cloth. |  |
| Step 3 Polishing | The final step will be the application of polish and processing the surface of the material with a dry cloth |  |
Damage is usually on the outside, but it can also be on the inside. To clean the inner surface, you will have to dismantle the cover.
We fix the information by watching the video.
Use of acetone vapor
Acetone is an effective agent, but it is used only for processing plastic surfaces, it is ineffective for glass headlights. You will need a special device that heats acetone, on which a lid with an elongated spout is installed. You can make such a tool yourself, for this, craftsmen use a piece of shock absorber, a heating filter tape, a tube and connections with molten plastic. Alternatively, you can purchase a ready-made evaporator.
In the room where polishing with acetone will be carried out, there should be no sources of combustion, including cigarettes. You need to work in a respirator and protective clothing.
The step by step instructions are described in the following table.
| Step 1. Acetone is poured into the heating device | The device is connected to the power supply. You need to wait until steam starts to come out of the tube. |  |
| Step 2. A plastic cover is processed with a jet of steam | It is necessary that the device is located as close to the headlight as possible. It is important to “apply” the steam so that the treatment is even, without missing areas. |  |
| Step 3. After processing, the headlight is left for 10 minutes | It is important not to touch it with anything, because a cloudy spot forms at the point of contact. | |
| Step 4. Airing | After polishing is completed, the room must be ventilated for at least several hours so that all fumes can escape. | |
Processing with acetone vapor allows you to achieve the effect of transparency. To fix the result, the headlights are additionally covered with a special varnish or protective film.
You can visually study the method using the video.
How long does headlight polish last?
How long your headlights last for a presentable appearance depends on many factors. This is affected by the quality of polishing, the operating conditions of the car, how carefully the maintenance is carried out, even the climate and the quality of the road surface make themselves felt.
Inside
After internal polishing, the surface will retain its appearance for at least 3 years. From the inside, few factors affect the ceiling. To maximize this period, you should adhere to the following recommendations:
- Quality installation. It is important that after installing the headlight there are no gaps left through which dust and dirt can enter.
- Weather protection. The car should not be left under the direct influence of the sun. It is desirable that the vehicle is in a garage, or at least that the headlights are covered.
- Use of appropriate lamps. The instructions for each car have recommendations for lamps that can be used. It is not worth installing clarification with heating, elevated temperature will damage the structure of the ceiling.
Outside
After polishing, the headlights retain their appearance for at least 12 months.To extend the period, you must adhere to all the recommendations that are prescribed for the inside, and provide additional protection in the form of varnish or film.