Cleaning and Restoring Hazy Automobile Headlight Lenses

Are your vehicle's headlights yellowed, cloudy or scratched? You're not the only one. Unless you provide your car's clear light lenses regular attention, in 24 months or less they can deteriorate to the point of being totally opaque, making it very unsafe to operate your car in the dark and in reduced visibility conditions. The fix is faster than you might believe. The best thing is that you can restore this hazardous and ugly issue in just a few minutes. It's easy once you know the secret.

Why Do Headlamps Turn Yellow and Dull?

The issue is not caused by abuse or neglect, as you might think. It is an environmental problem. Without regular attention, UV light from the sun, acid rain, salt and road debris damage and dull all clear plastics, including headlight covers. If your vehicle has halogen or another type of high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, the problem can be worse. These sealed beam units operate at high temperatures, further contributing to degradation and yellowing.

What Is The Solution?

The solution is a quick restoration job. Headlight restoration is a plastic repair process that takes away visible damage and returns clarity to the lenses. Even severe cases of yellowing, hazing, and scratches can be fixed in less than thirty minutes.

You might be wondering why fix instead of buying new? Your headlights are a sealed unit, so you can't simply replace the outer cover. If you have an expensive car with performance lighting, replacement is very expensive. Restoration versus replacement can save you hundreds of dollars per lens, so it's well worth the energy. Plus, it's fast!

What level results can you achieve? It may look hopeless, but chances are the damage is superficial. Even if your headlights are completely opaque, they can be fixed. As long as the plastic has not yellowed completely, you have a very good chance of total restoration.

Experiment With A Gentle Plastic Polish First

If the damage is not severe, you may be able to resolve it with a simple plastic polish from the auto parts store. I suggest trying this step before any other. It won't be wasted time or expense, either, because you need to use the product regularly to maintain your headlights.

NOTE: Never use a household glass cleaning product like Windex on clear plastic. Household glass cleaners contain ammonia, which causes clear plastic to turn yellow.

If the plastic polish alone does not do the job, then you need to repair the damage with a ultra fine sand paper (2000 grit is very safe) and re-glaze to restore a clear finish. While it may seem difficult or complicated, it's not. Wet sanding is fast and easy.

TIP: You can test to see if your headlights will respond to hand polishing with a small dab of tartar control toothpaste. Toothpaste is mildly abrasive. If the small test area seems to get better, then you know polish alone may be all you need.

Wet Sanding & Re-polishing Procedure

To remove the damage with wet sanding and re-polishing, you need the following supplies:

1. Polishing towels
2. Bucket of soapy water
3. Latex gloves (if you have sensitive skin)
4. Painter's masking tape (1" to 1.5" width is best)
5. Plastic polish
6. Wet/dry sand paper (600, 1200, 2000 grit)
7. Sanding block (1" x 2" erasure works great)
8. 2.5" Velcro backing plate for use with 3/8" drill or cordless drill
9. 3" foam or wool polishing pad with Velcro backing

If you require a pictorial guide, then have a look at my Guide to Detailing blog. Here's the procedure:

STEP 1: Clean the headlamp lenses. A bucket of soapy water works best. Clean the surrounding area, too. Dry thoroughly.

STEP 2: Use painter's masking tape to mask around the headlight. This will help protect your automobile's paint finish. This only takes a few minutes, so don't skip this critical step.

STEP 3: Wet sand each headlight. First determine the amount of damage to each lens. If your headlight lenses are scratched or if they are completely opaque, you will need to start with 600 grit sandpaper. Sand thoroughly, and then progress to1200, then 2000 grit.

If your lenses are not scratched and are only slightly yellowed, you can probably get away with using 2000 grit paper only. The first sanding step is where you will actually remove the scratched and cloudy layer of plastic. The finer grades of sandpaper are to remove the scratches left from the previous grit sandpaper.

As you sand, your sanding water will turn milky. This is the damaged layer being cleaned away. Use plenty of water for lubrication and to keep the sandpaper clean. Keep sanding until the surface feels perfectly smooth. The drippings will become clearer as the damage is taken away. Dry thoroughly between sanding steps to check progress.

STEP 4: Re-glaze headlight lenses using plastic polish on a 3" polishing pad (foam or wool). First connect the Velcro backing plate adapter to your drill.

Apply a small amount of polish to the pad and start polishing the plastic. As the polish begins to dissipate, add a bit more and continue polishing. Stop polishing once the lens is completely clear again. Finish with a final hand polish using a tiny bit of polish on a soft towel or applicator.

STEP 5: Seal to protect. Use a good car sealant to reseal the plastic and protect from the elements.

STEP 6: Maintain monthly with a quality plastic cleaner/polish. The products I recommend most are Plexus and Meguiar's PlastX. If maintained regularly, your car's clear plastic lenses will never need restoring again!


By: David Bynon

Parts of your Toyota Car should be get replaced from the Authorized Toyota Workshop

In the first quarter of the year 1936 Toyota Motors entered into the industry of the automobile manufacturing. The only motive behind setting up the company was to provide people with the most fantastic vehicles which will fit proportionate to the level of their satisfaction. This motive of the company was followed by the following the very old concept of the lean manufacturing process. This process comprises of the efficiency which is in the process of production ant it not only translates to the better sales of the manufactured product, but also the products which are entirely well worth the money which is been spent by the consumer in order to buy them. This commitment of the quality and its relation with the cost makes Toyota most liked and most preferred car brand of the world. Especially when one thinks about a car which will provide him or her with the performance, reliability and good value then very first brand which comes in his or her mind is the Toyota.

Despite of being of very good quality and very good reliability the cars of each and every brand has to be maintained so is with the Toyota cars. Eventually after the usage of some years or after the run of ten thousand kilometers cars have to undergo the process of the maintenance. During the process of maintenance few parts of the car are required to be changed. But unlike the other car manufacturers who never keep their parts available in each and every part of the world Toyota parts are in each and every part of the world. One can find a Toyota service center in any part of the world effortlessly. The best thing which most of the people like about the Toyota cars is that the designers of these cars make the headlights of the cars very finely and they become one of the most attractive part of the car. All the parts of the Toyota are manufactured under the high quality control measures.

All the parts which are manufactured by the Toyota are reliable and affordable, and whenever your Toyota cars requires the part change make sure that the parts are replaced by the one which are genuine or original as much as possible one should take his or her Toyota car to the authorized Toyota workshop. Because buying original parts will add more years to the life of your lovely Toyota car.


By: Hemant Chourasia

Custom Car Seat Covers

What you ever thought about custom car seat covers? Different abuses and hazards can cause damage to your original car seats. Pets and children are some of those who cause damage to car seats but the original upholstery of your car may also be damaged through repeated abrasion and friction. Spills of beverages and water and food remains may make car seats to be unpleasant and dirty. To be able to protect the original upholstery of your car, it is necessary to protect car seat covers, and the best choice for most people is through car seat covers.

Custom car seat covers are the ones which are personalized to suit your specific taste. It is possible to make them for your car, and there are different types of materials and designs which can be used for truck and car seat covers. You can also find the custom seat covers in different colors from in many parts of the world. Some of the popular car seat covers are Ballistic seat covers, Neoprene seat covers, Velour seat covers, BMW seat covers, Suede seat covers, Tweed seat covers, Ford seat covers, Leatherette seat covers, Honda seat covers, Saddle Blanket seat covers, and so on. There are many of them; and you can even make custom ones based on your personal beliefs and interests.

In order to make good custom seat covers, you should first of all consider what is already available for the type and model of your car because it is possible that custom covers are already installed for your car. In creating the design, you can make the ones which make a fashion statement to those which are just basic black seat covers.

Custom car seat covers are good for seats like 70/30 seats, 40/20/40 seats, 60/40 seats, and the difficult-to-fit seats found in trucks, jeeps, SUVs and tractors. In installing the seat covers, the upholstery company first measures your car seats and then have an estimate built up. In most cases, this is a free service while you only pay for the customization. It is possible to make the cover to be designed aesthetically, while you may choose from the different types of fasteners like zippers, buttons, Velcro or strings, in order to improve the durability and look of the cover.

There are many types of materials which are used, and you can choose from vinyl, cotton, neoprene, denim, sheepskin, tweed cloth, velour cloth and many other materials. You can also choose specific patterns and colors, in addition to being able to consider climactic factors and the level of wear and tear which the car seats are likely to be subjected to.


By: Joseph Grut