The car headlights They are like the eyes of a driver. Have them in bad shape reduce visibility, which in addition to being able to carry a good more or make the car not exceed the ITV, it’s very dangerous. Driving at night with the headlight lens in poor condition can cause a driver to lose up to 40% of visibility. In addition, in personal injury accidents, the proportion of fatally injured vehicle occupants and pedestrians increases an average of 84% when visibility is limited, according to Philips.
For clean the car headlights on the outside no need to take it to the workshop. It is true that performing a cleaning inside It is somewhat more complicated, since it would require the use of certain specific tools and because sometimes it is a risk to open the headlights and then not know how to close them. In this article we will advise you how to make a perfect polish on the outside. We advise you to delegate the cleaning inside to an expert person.
When to clean car headlights
The first step in getting your headlights clean is realizing that they are dirty. It may seem simple, but not everyone knows when the time to act has come. One way of perceiving the incorrect state of this essential element for road safety, which is part of the lighting system, is usually the yellowish and opaque tone that end up showing and that cause a loss in the quality of the illumination.
Why are the headlights damaged?
1. By meteorological conditions, the passage of time and a long constant exposure to the sun. The sun can scorch the polycarbonate, which is the material that covers the bulbs and can become quite discolored and yellow. This tone takes away clarity and transparency from the focus, which is very dangerous because it will reduce visibility, especially at night.
2. For him use of bulbs not recommended. The use of bulbs with a capacity greater than that of the power to be used, makes the interior of the headlight turn whitish and, therefore, very opaque, reducing its capacity of alum.
Tricks to clean car headlights
Before starting with any of the methods that we propose below, fill a spray can with tap water. We will see why later.
Cleaning the headlights with toothpaste
1. Once you have the car clean, we will protect paint with masking tape and paper. Glue it around the lighthouse.
2. Wash the headlights with soap and water (this can be a mild soap such as dish soap).
3. Apply the toothpaste over the headlight with a lint-free microfiber cloth.
4. Spread the pasta well making small circles until it covers the entire headlight of the car and leave for five minutes. Throughout this process, every time it dries, spray with the water that we have reserved in a spray bottle so that the toothpaste is well homogenized. Try to repeat the process every minute as the toothpaste dries
5. Clarifies with water and clean the headlights again with water until completely dry with a dry cloth.
Cleaning the headlights with vinegar and baking soda
1. Protect the headlights with masking tape so that nothing we use splashes or affects the paint.
2. In a container, put the same amount of baking soda as vinegar, adding the latter little by little, since it will form a very bubbly and foamy dough.
3. Apply the bicarbonate and vinegar mass all over the lighthouse for a time of 5 minutes, polishing firmly and in circular movements. This way you will be able to more effectively eliminate the imperfections and impurities that the lighthouse has accumulated.
4. As you add the mixture, add water because the headlight will be very dry. The baking soda and vinegar batter dries very quickly, so as you apply the batter, spray water every now and then.
5. To finish, remove the rest of the bicarbonate with vinegar with water and kitchen paper and with glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth, carefully clean the entire headlight, always pouring the product on the cloth first so that it does not splash.
Polish yellowish headlights
1. Repeat the same protection process that we explained previously, spreading the masking tape and paper around the two bulbs.
2. You will need 600, 1,000 and 1,500 sandpaper. To get started, use sandpaper 600 first.
3. With the tap water spray, wet the entire bulb and begin to polish it, making firm movements and in circle. To make sanding more uniform, we advise you to use a sanding sponge, placing it on top of the sandpaper. This method is more comfortable and the sanding becomes more uniform.
4. You will notice that the bulb dries up. Therefore, pour water with the spray as you go sanding. You can also clean the rest of the water with the microfiber cloth to see the results. In a matter of minutes you will notice that it has stopped being yellow and that it is white again.
5. Make sure you don’t have any more imperfections, since what you leave for later surely cannot be removed with the rest of the fine sandpaper.
6. Next, use sandpaper 1,000 to refine all the scratches that we have caused with the previous sandpaper, following the same process that we have done.
7. With the help of the lija 1,500 we can reduce the scratches, making them thinner.
8. So that the varnish better grip on the headlight, you can use a degreaser first. This step is recommended, but you can skip it if you don’t have a degreaser at home.
9. Finally we get to the step of the varnish, it will be enough to use one acrylic. To get a good result you have to apply this trick that we will leave you next. The total number of coats of varnish that you are going to apply are two, but apply two coats to each coat. That is, as you apply the first coat, do it twice with enough quantity (without dripping), before moving your hand towards the rest of the lighthouse. Between coats you have to leave a minimum of 10 minutes for the two coats to dry or whatever the manufacturer recommends.
10. Once both headlights are varnished, do not remove the masking tape until the varnish is dry, and the same advice we give you when driving. Do not start the car until the varnish has dried well, as the varnish can splatter drops on the car and those drops will mark on the paint.
Now that we have left you these three remedies, choose your favorite. We hope they are useful to return your headlight to an impeccable condition!
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
