Like all things, the headlights of a vehicle can get old. If they have been used enough, headlights can begin to appear cloudy inside and seem much less effective than they had been in the past. This can make your headlights look ugly. It can also be quite dangerous. Unfortunately, replacing headlights can be extremely expensive. Thankfully, there is a way for you to restore your headlights on your own without spending a lot of money to replace them. Simply follow these instructions.
The first thing you’ll need to do is acquire a headlight restoration kit. There are many choices available on the market. You can find different headlight restoration kits at nearly any store that has an automotive section. Thankfully, they aren’t that expensive. The most popular brand retails for around twenty dollars.
After you have taken your restoration kit home, you should inspect the contents of the kit to make sure it includes everything you will need to for the restoration. Parts of the kit that should be included are a pair of gloves, four pieces of sandpaper, six pouches, four cloths, and instructions.
Before you get started, you should first clean your headlights. Wash them thoroughly to remove all dirt and grime. This will make the restoration much easier and allow you to not waste the materials in your kit on simple dirt.
The next step is to sand the headlights. First, you should spray the headlights with some water. This will help give the sandpaper a bit of lubrication. Now take one of your pieces of sandpaper. The kit probably came with a couple of pieces of blue sandpaper and a couple of pieces of brown sandpaper. Take a piece of the brown and use it to sand the lens thoroughly. This should remove most of the material that is giving your headlights a foggy appearance. When done, wipe with a towel.
Next, take a piece of the blue sandpaper. Again spray the headlight with water for lubrication and then sand the headlight with the sandpaper. This is done to smooth out and roughness left by the last sanding. When finished, again wipe the headlight clean with a towel.
Now it’s time to give the headlight a bit of polishing. Get the pouch that came with the kit that is labeled CV1. Open it and pour the liquid inside onto one of the cloths that came with your restoration kit. Take the cloth and use it to polish the liquid into the headlight thoroughly. When finished, use a wet cloth to scrub the headlight clean. Scrub it as hard as you can.
Next, take the pouch labeled CV2. Open it. Inside will be sealant. Pour the sealant onto one of the cloths that came with the kit. Make sure to pour all of it. Now take the cloth soaked with sealant and begin to apply it to the headlight. Do this by moving the cloth along the headlight in long continuous swipes. Do this until the headlight is covered in one coat of sealant. After one coat has been applied, allow the sealant to dry for two minutes.
Next, you will have to apply another coat of the sealant to the headlight. Repeat the same steps you took for the first coat. There should be another pouch of CV2 sealant that you can apply to another clean cloth. Simply apply it the same as you did with the first coat and then let it dry.
You should also be careful to clean up all sealant that may have accidently leaked onto other parts of your vehicle. This sealant can damage chrome or paint if it is allowed to dry on these parts long enough. To clean it up, simply scrub the affected areas clean with a wet cloth.
Next, you have to repeat the above steps for the second headlight. Your kit should come with enough material to restore both.