Headlight Restoration

I’m Chris Duke, and welcome to eHow’s Auto Center brought to you by Mobil1! Hey Chris, I’ve got a 98 Mustang that I’ve totally repainted and restored - it’s beautiful - but the headlights have definitely seen better days. The lenses on them are hazy and they don’t perform as well at nighttime as they used to. Should I buy new headlights or can I fix them? Thanks John. In most cases they can be repaired, but it depends on how long the damage has been around. If they’ve been bad for years, then you might need to replace them with new ones from your vehicle’s manufacturer, or aftermarket ones which can be a lot cheaper. But first, you should always try to repair them to see if you can bring them back to life. Hazy lenses greatly reduce vision at night and that’s a risk that’s just not worth taking. All you need is a headlight restoration kit like this one, a variable speed drill, masking tape, some water, and safety glasses, and some gloves. Those glasses help protect your eyes from the abrasive cleaning chemicals. You’ll also be working in some tight spaces so the gloves will save a little skin on those knuckles. You can pick up a headlight restoration kit at your local auto parts store for under $25. There are several available from different companies. This one comes with a “Powerball” for your drill, restoration pads, polish, and a micro fiber towel. If your headlights aren’t badly oxidized you can probably just get away with using the Powerball and the provided polish. If, however, the damage has been around for years without any attempt at saving them, then you might want to take the extra time and use the restoration pads. The restoration pads have varying grits, and each side has a different grit of sandpaper. The pads need to be soaked in water first, so while those are taking a bath, let’s mask off our headlight with some masking tape so we don’t damage our paint. Before we get started with the restoration pads, we want to make sure the headlight is as clean as possible by using the Powerball first. This will make these pads work even better. Apply a nickel-sized drop of polish to the Powerball and get started. Put on your safety glasses, and vary your pressure from light to moderate, keeping your drill speed between 1500 and 2000 RPM. Go slowly, and overlap each pass slightly for best results. The included restoration pads vary between 800 grit on the #1 side, all the way up to 2,000 on the #4 side. Start with side 1, going left and right until it’s uniformly white. Then use side 2 up and down, spending a little bit more time than you did with side 1. Then repeat that same process with sides 3 and 4. Keep a spray bottle of water handy, as you’ll need to keep the headlight well lubricated while you’re using the pads. To avoid creating deep scratches in your lens, use even and light pressure, and keep the pad flat. I’m starting with the 800 grit side 1, going from left to right. Now switch it up to side 2, which is 1,000 grit. Spend a little bit more time with this side, going up and down this time. Next use side 3 (1,500 grit) and go back to a left and right motion, spending even more time than with side 2. Finally, switch to side 4 (2,000 grit) and go back to the up and down motion. This is the finest grit of sandpaper, so spend even more time using this side for best results. Now that you’re done with the restoration pads, clean the entire headlight with a micro fiber towel. You’ll probably notice at this point that your headlight is still a little hazy from the restoration pads. It feels a lot smoother, but it’s not clear just yet. We’ll fix that with the Powerball. Apply another nickel-sized drop of polish and like last time, slowly go over the entire headlight. Wipe it clean with your micro fiber towel, remove your masking tape, and repeat the process on the other side. Check that out! The difference is night and day! Now it should take you between 30-60 minutes per headlight. This is a heckuva lot cheaper than buying a new set of headlights, and the kit can be re-used several times in case your other vehicles need some help too! It’s really easy to restore your own headlights. Just be sure to take your time and follow the instructions. Thanks again for the question John and good luck with that Mustang! Remember you can check back here for more episodes. For eHow’s Auto Center, I’m Chris Duke. Here’s to helping keep your car running like new!