How to Restore and Protect Car Headlights

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Here's how to polish and protect your headlights using plastic polish and vinyl wrap.

As a vehicle ages and kilometers rack up, plastic headlights will start to become yellowed and hazy. This is particularly apparent on vehicles that have higher mileage and are often driven on the highway.

Headlight hazing occurs as a result of the plastic lens oxidizing as well as being literally sandblasted by the dust in the air as the vehicle drives. You'll notice surfaces that are facing directly in front of the vehicle tend to haze more than side or rear facing lights.

As a result, hazed headlights make a vehicle look very old and significantly impact the amount and distribution of light that the headlight can output.

This video will show you how you can polish your headlights using a plastic polish and a buffer. First, the surface is cleaned using soapy water. The polish is then applied onto a buffer with a clean microfiber pad. Mask off all painted surfaces, as the polish can damage the paint.

A clean cloth is used to buff off the polish. The headlight is then cleaned again, using rubbing alcohol, in preparation for the protection film.

A headlight protection film, vinyl wrap or tint is then used to protect the headlight. Using a liquid wax protectant will not permanently protect the headlights, as it will wear and wash off over time. A vinyl layer will protect the headlights from oxidation and reduce the surface glare so it actually brings out the clarity in the lens, making them look brand new, even though you may not have buffed them 100% clean.

Apply soapy water to the headlight and the sticky side of the vinyl. The soapy water will act as a lubricant to allow you to move around, reposition and stretch the vinyl to conform to the surface of the headlight. Use a squeegee and a heat gun to slowly squeeze out the soapy water, allowing the adhesive to tack down onto the headlight.

Use a blade to cut around the headlight and remove the scraps. Once the protective film is removed, use a squeegee to press down all the fingers in the vinyl at the edges. Allocate a few days for the vinyl to dry onto the headlight for water bubbles to disappear.

Vinyl wrap can be purchased in various lengths, rolls and colors. In this case, a light blue film was used because it matches the vehicle color better. Other colors available include orange, red, clear, blue, light smoke, medium tint or dark tint.

The vinyl rolls were purchased from EvoFilms:


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