How to Clean Headlights
Learn how to restore car headlights. This inexpensive fix will immediately brighten your nighttime headlights.
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.
Family Handyman
Introduction
Plastic lenses can become dull, scratched and yellow over time. Polishing them will clear the haze. Restore your car headlights in 45 minutes for less than $15, rather than spending $100s to replace them.
Tools Required
- Flannel polishing cloth
- Latex gloves
- Masking tape
- Wet & dry sandpaper (1000 to 2500 grit)
Materials Required
- Plastic polish
Note: The following procedure will not repair damage to the inside lens of the headlamp. You should replace a headlamp if the reflective coating is peeling or corroded.
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Complete DIY projects like a pro! Sign up for our newsletter!
Project step-by-step (4)
Wash and Sand Horizontally
- Wash the cloudy headlight with warm soapy water.
- Rinse with plenty of clear water, then let it dry.
- Then mask the area around the lens so you don’t scratch the paint.
- Soak the sheets of sandpaper in water, then start with the grit that suits your situation.
- Sand in one direction.
- With sandpaper, the higher the number, the finer the grit. If the headlight is just dull or yellowed, start with the 1,500 grit and work up to the 2,500 grit. If there are light scratches, start with the 1,000-grit paper.
Family Handyman
Rinse and Sand Vertically
- Rinse and change direction with the next grit. Keep doing this until you’re finished with the 2,500-grit paper.
Family Handyman
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Complete DIY projects like a pro! Sign up for our newsletter!
Do It Right, Do It Yourself!
Buff the Lens with Polish
- Wash the headlight with plenty of clear, cool water and dry.
- Wet one corner of the flannel cloth with the polishing compound.
- Using firm pressure, polish the headlight in a circular pattern until it becomes smooth and clear.
Family Handyman
Polish the Headlight Lens
- Allow the polish to dry, then use the clean end of the cloth to buff off any polish residue.
- Repeat the polishing process.
- Depending on the damage to the headlamp, small areas may still appear foggy. Try repolishing only those spots with polishing compound. Buff the area again and inspect. The lens should look perfectly clear! If you’re planning to buy a headlamp, this Fenix HM65r headlamp is perfect.
- To keep foggy headlights clear, wash often with a mild detergent and a soft-bristle brush or sponge, flush with plenty of water and dry. Here are a few tips for adjusting your headlights.
- Never clean clear plastic with any chemical that’s not formulated for the task, including car waxes or polishes. And that is how to clean headlights yourself!
- Working on a vehicle can be intimidating for non-mechanic types, but some DIY car maintenance is surprisingly easy.
Family Handyman
Car Headlight Repair Fluid – The Ultimate Solution for Clear and Bright Headlights!
Car Headlight Repair Fluid
Car headlight repair fluid is a handy solution for those looking to restore the clarity and brightness of their headlights. Over time, headlights can become dull, hazy, or yellowed due to exposure to UV rays, environmental factors, and general wear and tear. This not only affects the appearance of your vehicle but also compromises its safety on the road. With car headlight repair fluid, you can easily rejuvenate your headlights without having to replace them entirely. The specially formulated liquid works by removing dirt, grime, and oxidation from the surface of the lens, restoring it to its original clear state. By improving visibility at night and enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of your car, headlight repair fluid offers a cost-effective alternative to expensive professional repairs or replacements. Using car headlight repair fluid is a simple DIY process that requires minimal effort and equipment. With just a few easy steps, you can achieve remarkable results in no time. Whether you’re a seasoned car enthusiast or someone who wants to take care of their vehicle’s maintenance themselves, headlight repair fluid provides an accessible solution that anyone can benefit from. Don’t let faded or yellowed headlights dim your driving experience. Explore the world of car headlight repair fluid and discover how this innovative product can help bring back the shine and clarity to your headlights with ease.
Understanding Car Headlight Repair Fluid
When it comes to car maintenance, one crucial aspect that often gets overlooked is the condition of our headlights. Over time, headlights can become dull, hazy, or yellowed due to exposure to UV rays and other environmental factors. This not only affects the aesthetics of our vehicles but also compromises visibility during nighttime driving. Thankfully, there’s a solution: car headlight repair fluid.
Related: The Process of Car Paint Repair Shops
- Easy Application: Most headlight repair fluids come in user-friendly kits that include everything you need for the restoration process. Typically, they include a cleaning solution or polish, sandpaper or abrasive pads for removing oxidation, and a protective sealant for long-lasting results. The application process usually involves scrubbing the lens with the provided materials and then applying the sealant for added protection.
- Cost-Effective Solution: Replacing an entire headlight assembly can be expensive. However, using car headlight repair fluid is a cost-effective alternative that can save you money while still achieving great results. With just a fraction of the cost of replacement, you can restore your headlights’ clarity and performance.
- Enhanced Safety: Clear and properly functioning headlights are essential for safe driving at night or in low-light conditions. By restoring your headlights with repair fluid, you ensure optimal visibility on the road while reducing glare caused by yellowed lenses.
- Longevity: Car headlight repair fluids not only remove existing damage but also provide a protective layer that helps prevent future discoloration and oxidation. This means your headlights will maintain their clarity and brightness for a longer time, reducing the need for frequent repairs or replacements.
- DIY vs. Professional Help: While many car owners opt for the do-it-yourself approach to headlight restoration, it’s worth noting that professional assistance is available. If you’re unsure about tackling this task yourself or if your headlights require extensive repair, seeking the help of a professional can ensure optimal results.
Related: How to Balance Quality for Exterior Car Door Handle Repair Cost
Remember, maintaining clear and bright headlights is crucial for both safety and aesthetics. Car headlight repair fluid offers an accessible solution to restore your headlights’ performance without breaking the bank. With its easy application process and long-lasting effects, using this product can help keep you safe on the road while enhancing your overall driving experience.
How to Clean Headlights
This article was co-authored by Chad Zani. Chad Zani is an Auto Detailing Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the Director of Franchising at Detail Garage, an automotive detailing company with locations around the U.S. and Sweden. He and his team are auto detailing experts that offer detailing and car care services.
This article has been viewed 2,047,982 times.
If your once-crystal clear headlights now look like they’re covered in wax paper, it’s safer to learn to clean and buff them up yourself to maintain the life of the vehicle. Learning to inspect the headlights to figure out the degree of damage will help you learn how to approach the task. Then you can learn to abrade the wear and buff them to a new shine.
Part 1 of 3:
Getting Started
Inspect the headlights to see what approach makes most sense. If you’ve noticed that your headlights are hazier or not as crisp as they once were, examine them in daylight, both on and off. It’s important to figure out how bad the damage is to know which cleaning methods will be the most effective, whether you need to get the headlights examined professionally, or whether the headlights might need replaced. Look for major abrasions and scratches that might be signs of more serious issues.
Wash the headlights with regular car soap. Regular road grit and grime can make your headlights look dirty and hazy to a degree that can make a more accurate diagnosis difficult. Before you start looking for specific problems, just give your car a wash with regular warm water and car wash soap. Wipe down the headlights and let them dry thoroughly. Examine them clean to look for specific issues.
Advertisement
- If this seems to be the problem, doing a cheap quick clean will be an effective way of slowing the degeneration of the headlights, but a more comprehensive clean may be called for.
- If you notice yellowish coloring on the headlights, you need to opt for a more comprehensive clean, using Rain-X or some polishing compound to clean them up and correct the damage. A thin layer of transmission fluid can temporarily clear them up as well.
- If this is the case, you might need to replace your headlights or have them resurfaced, which might end up costing more. In the meantime, clean them up as best you can using a quick method and start pricing new headlights.
Have glass headlights examined by the pros. Most headlights are plastic and will exhibit the symptoms described above. Glass headlights, as are found on classic cars and older models, are more complicated and are best examined by professional body technicians. If your glass headlights are wearing out, take them in and have them checked.
Advertisement
Part 2 of 3:Sanding the Headlights
Get a few grades of wet/dry sandpaper. To start with, you’re going to buff out the headlights, using an increasingly-fine series of wet/dry sandpaper. 3M is usually the best brand for the job, and you typically want to have at least one coarser grade (1500 or so) and a finer grade to finish abrading the headlight (around 2000). If you want to start with coarser sandpaper, that’s up to you. [2] X Research source
- Before you get started sanding, it’s usually a good idea to wipe down the headlights once more, using clean paper towels and a bit of rubbing alcohol. This should dry quickly and you’ll be ready to go.
- If the factory coating begins to come off, you will notice a hazy «line» begin to appear and change shape as it is sanded off. It is generally best to sand the coating completely off.
- On headlights with an interior texture where you cannot necessarily see the bulb, you can usually stop at 1500 grit paper. The headlights will look hazy, but even and not yellow.
Advertisement
Part 3 of 3:Polishing the Headlights
- If you’re looking for a cheap option, plain blue toothpaste is a common substitute. Use plain blue toothpaste, not anything with peroxide, whitening agent, or other additives.
- If you want to use a hand drill with a buffing kit, you can apply buffing compound directly to a foam pad that will spin on the drill, then buff the headlights at a low RPM. Using gentle pressure, slowly ease the RPMs up, moving the pad uniformly around the headlight. Go slowly, about an inch a second. This will go much faster than polishing by hand.
Continue buffing until your headlights look clear. It’ll take some elbow grease, because you may want to add as many as three coats of buffing compound to get your headlights like you want them. Go until you’re satisfied with the clarity and the sharpness of the light. You can test your headlights by shining them against the wall of the garage, or some other flat surface.
Consider having plastic adhesion added. If you want to really seal your headlights and keep them in good shape, you might consider having a local auto body shop mask and spray the headlights with a plastic adhesion promoter, like Bulldog. That plus a few coats of automotive clear-coat helps to extend the life of headlights considerably, and should only cost between $20-50, depending on the shop. A less expensive option is acrylic floor wax. Apply a coat and let dry. Multiple coats can be applied for a more durable finish and it can be re-applied as necessary.
Advertisement
By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube.Expert Q&A
Why do my headlights look yellow?
Chad Zani
Auto Detailing ExpertChad Zani is an Auto Detailing Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the Director of Franchising at Detail Garage, an automotive detailing company with locations around the U.S. and Sweden. He and his team are auto detailing experts that offer detailing and car care services.
Auto Detailing Expert
Expert AnswerThe reason the headlight looks yellow that the plastic is broken down, which is generally caused by the sun.
Thanks! We’re glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
As a small thank you, we’d like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full price—wine, food delivery, clothing and more. Enjoy! Claim Your Gift If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHowHow do I use household items to clean my headlights?
Chad Zani
Auto Detailing ExpertChad Zani is an Auto Detailing Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the Director of Franchising at Detail Garage, an automotive detailing company with locations around the U.S. and Sweden. He and his team are auto detailing experts that offer detailing and car care services.
Auto Detailing Expert
Expert AnswerHousehold remedies can help temporarily, but they won’t fix the problem. For instance, if you rub petroleum jelly on your headlights, they will look better for as long as the petroleum jelly hangs around. Similarly, any kind of oil-based product, like olive oil, will make a dull headlamp look better, but only momentarily.
Thanks! We’re glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
As a small thank you, we’d like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full price—wine, food delivery, clothing and more. Enjoy! Claim Your Gift If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHowHow can I restore my headlights for cheap?
Chad Zani
Auto Detailing ExpertChad Zani is an Auto Detailing Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the Director of Franchising at Detail Garage, an automotive detailing company with locations around the U.S. and Sweden. He and his team are auto detailing experts that offer detailing and car care services.
Auto Detailing Expert
Expert AnswerUse headlight restoring product, which you can get for around $17. Use that with a cordless drill and a microfiber pad to make your headlights look fantastic.
Thanks! We’re glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
As a small thank you, we’d like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full price—wine, food delivery, clothing and more. Enjoy! Claim Your Gift If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHowAsk a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Advertisement
Use rubber gloves to keep the polish out from under your fingernails.If your UV coating has been compromised, you must restore the headlight lens by fully removing the oxidized layer of plastic by some mechanical process like wet-sanding, then sealing the lens with a high temperature resistant UV inhibitor coating. This prevents future degradation of the headlight lens.
There are several commercially available kits that are used for aircraft windshields (which are made of plastic, not glass) that will work very well for removing the haze. Check with your local aircraft supplier. These will cost around $5.
Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
Advertisement
If you choose this method of refinishing / cleaning your headlights, keep in mind that you will have to reapply this method over and over because you removed what was left of the protective layer. You must maintain the headlight lenses every month or so. You can avoid the monthly extra maintenance by applying a high temperature resistant UV coating to the headlight lens. Also keep in mind that anytime you’re using abrasives like toothpaste or sandpaper that you’re going to strip away the UV layer which will soon turn your headlight yellowish,you may want to look into a UV safe deoxidizer, saves time as well. [5] X Research source
Advertisement
You Might Also Like
Repair Oxidized Cloudy Headlights with a Headlight Cleaner
Fix a Low Beam Headlight
Best Ways to Clean the Outside & Inside of Your Car
Start a Toyota Prius (US)
Turn On Headlights
How to Adjust Your Headlights in 12 Easy Steps
A Complete Guide for Properly Using Your Car’s Fog Lights
How to Restore Foggy Headlights Using Toothpaste
Instantly Remove Oxidation from Headlight Without Sandpaper
Change Headlight Bulb on a Chevrolet Silverado
Change the HID Headlights on a 2007 Prius (Without Removing Bumper)
Fix a Burned Out Headlight
Clean Plastic Headlights
Brighten Your Car’s Yellowing Headlights
Advertisement
References- ↑https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a10346/how-to-make-your-headlights-shine-like-new-16649941/
- ↑https://www.familyhandyman.com/automotive/car-maintenance/restore-and-polish-auto-headlights/
- ↑https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a10346/how-to-make-your-headlights-shine-like-new-16649941/
- ↑https://www.familyhandyman.com/automotive/car-maintenance/restore-and-polish-auto-headlights/
- ↑https://www.theartofcleanliness.com/automotive/how-to-clean-headlights-restore-them/
About This Article
Co-authored by:
Auto Detailing ExpertThis article was co-authored by Chad Zani. Chad Zani is an Auto Detailing Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the Director of Franchising at Detail Garage, an automotive detailing company with locations around the U.S. and Sweden. He and his team are auto detailing experts that offer detailing and car care services. This article has been viewed 2,047,982 times.
14 votes — 62%
Co-authors: 68
Updated: August 28, 2023
Views: 2,047,982
Categories: HeadlightsIf your headlights are looking hazy or fogged over, you can clean them using a few simple supplies to get them looking new again. First, wash your headlights with soapy water and let them dry. Then, apply painter’s tape around the perimeter of each headlight so you don’t accidentally damage the surrounding paint. For a quick fix, apply toothpaste to a damp cloth and buff the toothpaste into each headlight for about 5 minutes. Toothpaste is mildly abrasive, and it can help remove any buildup on your headlights. Rinse off each headlight with water and let them air dry. You can also try using baking soda and vinegar. Mix 2 parts white vinegar with 1 part baking soda, and rub the mixture into each headlight with a cloth for a few minutes. Rinse your headlights with water and repeat if needed. For really hazy headlights, try wet sanding them. First, wet the headlights and some 1000-grit sandpaper with water. Then, sand each headlight using horizontal strokes for 5 to 10 minutes, keeping the sandpaper wet at all times. Repeat with 2000-grit and then 3000-grit sandpaper, changing the direction you sand in each time. Finally, polish and wax your headlights to really make them shine. If you want to learn how to protect your headlights with plastic adhesion, keep reading the article!
Did this summary help you? Yes No
Bahasa Indonesia: Membersihkan Lampu Depan Mobil
Nederlands: Koplampen schoonmaken- Send fan mail to authors
Headlight restoration guide — when and how to replace or restore them
Over time your headlights can get cloudy, leaving them dangerously dim without you even realising it.
Foggy headlights and dimming beams affect even the most conscientious drivers, so let’s look at why your lights might not be as bright as they once were, and the different ways you can restore them.
How headlights degrade
There are two main ways that your headlights degrade over time:
- Dimming bulbs
- Discoloured headlight casing
It’s important to work out what part of your headlight has degraded before attempting to repair them.
Headlight bulb lifespan
Headlight bulbs will dim over time through wear and tear. The range of bulbs used in headlights typically last for:
Headlight casing becoming cloudy
Headlight casing can become cloudy or appear yellow for several reasons:
- Oxidisation: headlight lenses are coated in a clear layer to help prevent acrylic from oxidising. Over time the coating wears off and UV light oxidises the casing, turning it yellow.
- Wear and tear: your protective coating is prone to scrapes and scratches from debris on the road, when this reaches beyond the protective layer the casing becomes damaged and appears cloudy.
- Dirt: after miles on the road, a thin layer of dirt and chemicals from pollution can gather on headlight casing, dimming your beams.
- Water vapour: headlights come with a watertight seal that often breaks through wear and tear, once this happens water can collect inside the casing, scattering beams of light.
Even with bulbs in perfect condition, your headlights will appear dim or discoloured when you have cloudy/foggy casing.
When to replace or restore headlights
The highway code (Rule 226) says: “You must use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced”, with ‘seriously reduced’ defined as when you are able to see less than 100 metres in front of you.
As headlights must be used during the hours of darkness (Rule 113), where ‘hours of darkness’ is defined as the period between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise, it’s important that your headlights are bright enough to see 100 metres in front of you at all times.
Use these distances to decide if you should replace or restore your bulbs. Make sure you replace both sides at the same time for even illumination.
Watch this video for tips on how best to check your car’s lights.