Steps to restore your car headlights in Fairfax

Headlights are considered an important component in your car. Unfortunately, as your car aged through time, it turns out foggy, oxidized, and faded. When it is not restored immediately, you may pose road hazards. With less light that gets through to illuminate the road, you may struggle to see the distance correctly. Luckily, Airport Auto Sales Used Car Dealership in Fairfax, Virginia has some effective tips for you to clear and restore your foggy headlight with the aid of some tools that often be seen in your home.

With the aid of toothpaste

Toothpaste is a good cleaner not just to make your teeth whiter but also be used as an alternative to making your car headlights look like new again. Abrasive white toothpaste will do the trick in this procedure (not a gel). If your fluoride toothpaste is not abrasive, you can mix it with baking soda to the toothpaste to have some gritty texture, then get a bottle full of tap water, some wax, clean cloth, and a worn-out toothbrush to get started.

Step 1: Add the baking soda to your toothpaste if you think it is not gritty enough for whitening. Once it is ready, use your hand to rub it into your headlight thoroughly.

Step 2: Use a used toothbrush to brush the paste into the headlight.

Step 3: Spray the headlight with lukewarm water. After this, wipe it with a cloth or a paper towel to wash off the paste and dry the headlight completely.

Step 4: Cover the headlight thoroughly with wax to keep the plastic from quickly getting dingy.

Step 5: Use the cloth to wipe off the wax completely. The layer of wax is essential as it serves as a protective barrier that will keep your headlight clear for a long duration.

Look at the headlight and give it a feel with the use of your hand. If you feel that the headlight is smooth, the fogginess may be coming inside the headlight, which is something you most likely cannot fix on your own.

However, if you feel that it is bumpy on the outside and see some spots on the external glass, then this procedure can help you. Bear in mind that the yellowish and older your headlight is, the longer you will have to scrub the paste into your headlight. This will restore your headlight to its former glory.

With the aid of sandpapers

Step 1: Get sandpapers with 800 grit, 1,500 grit, and 2,000 or 2,500 grit, a spray bottle containing clean water, a two-step polishing compound, or any popular polishing compound, a masking tape, and a dual-action polisher plus a small finishing buffing pad.

Step 2: Dry sand the surface of the headlamp with the use of 800 grit sandpaper while stroking a left-to-right, back and forth motion. This will get rid of the surface of oxidized plastics. The headlight will be hazy after making this step, which is normal.

Step 3: Switch to 1,500 grit sandpaper. You will be damp-sanding the surface while spraying a thin layer of water over your headlamp and sandpaper. You will stroke it in up and down strokes to flatten out those tiny peaks for a better finish later on.

Step 4: The last process involves the use of 2,000 to 2,500 grit sandpaper. You should follow the procedure you made in the previous steps, but you revert to the left-to-right motion. When you did the right way, noticeable improvement in terms of clarity is now evident. Once you’ve done it on the whole surface, you can now feel a huge difference in terms of surface smoothness.

Step 5: Use a dual-action polisher for the finishing touches. Airport Auto Sales Used Car Dealership in Fairfax, Virginia suggests you ask a pro or search online for a demonstration video on how to use a dual-purpose polisher. If it is not available, use a quality microfiber towel for the finishing touches instead. It will require you a lot of patience and endurance but rewarding afterward.

Need some help?

For more similar contents for car maintenance, elicit the help of Airport Auto Sales Used Car Dealership in Fairfax, Virginia for more details.

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