Why headlight restoration?

[Dean]

I just watched a video published by one of the major auto parts dealers in which instructions were given for rejuvenating the plastic covers over headlights on modern cars. My question is: Why are these covers there?

Once upon a time there was a headlight which was enclosed in glass. Basically it was a large light bulb. If it needed cleaning I wiped it with a rag and that was it. According to this video it is necessary to use an electric drill with a polishing pad treated with a special polishing compound. Then there was a treatment with three different pads which had to be rubbed on (making sure the headlight stayed wet during treatment) in three different directions depending on which pad was being used. Then the drill with the polishing pad and compound was used again. Nest the headlight was wiped and was crystal clear. WOW!

The narrator on the video suggested that if you didn't buy this kit to clean your headlights you would have to buy new headlights for a lot more money.

Were these plastic covers developed just to give someone the opportunity to come up with this complicated and probably expensive treatment?

Bring back the Good Old Days!

 

[imaginative]

Headlight Restoration Using Toothpaste
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNMlVZyem78

 

[Green Co.]

Some vehicles (tho fewer & fewer) still use the old sealed beam headlights, either round or square. They're vulnerable to rocks & highway debris chipping them, then they burn out their filament.

The newer headlamps utilize a small replaceable bulb, like most light fixtures. Doing this allowed the auto mfgrs to make the headlamps covers in whatever shape they desired. And like most light fixtures, you can change the color and brightness of the bulb.

 

[rugmaker]

I'm going to try this tomorrow!

 

[imaginative]

I'm going to try this tomorrow!

I just got in from cleaning off the headlights of my Toyota truck & my CRV. 4 headlights- 10 minutes- a bit of toothpaste and they look brand new.

 

[TXKajun]

Can ya'll say "Cheap, Chinesem CRAP!"? I thought ya could.

(Mr. Rogers imitation off)

Kajun

 

[Sportsman]

I bought the cheap harbor freight kit on sale for about $7.00. Spent about 15 minutes on my 2000 F-150 pickup hadlights and the difference was almost like night and day. I can see again!

I undersatand the reason they went to the plastic covers, but I sure wish they'd use a more stable plastic.

If your vehicle is over 4 or 5 years old, take a good look at the headlights. If there's any fogging or scratches in it, get a cheap kit (or use the old standby of brasso or toothpaste if you're really cheap). It'll be well worth the effort.
~Sportsman

 

[rugmaker]

Brasso works too? Is it better. I have that.

 

[Sportsman]

I've never personally tried Brasso on headlights... I got the cheap HF kit with the pad to use on my drill. But, I have used Brasso to polish the scratches out of an old Timex watch in the past. Worked well for that, and I've been told by others that they used toothpaste or Brasso on headlights....

Take a little area of your headlamp cover and try it. Takes lots of rubbing by hand, but just a minute or so if you're using a drill to spin a polishing pad. If your headlamps are as fogged over with tiny scratches as the ones on my pickup, nothing could actually make them worse.

~Sportsman

 

[rugmaker]

Thanks Sportsman.

 

[The Mountain]

I just watched a video published by one of the major auto parts dealers in which instructions were given for rejuvenating the plastic covers over headlights on modern cars. My question is: Why are these covers there?

Once upon a time there was a headlight which was enclosed in glass. Basically it was a large light bulb. If it needed cleaning I wiped it with a rag and that was it. According to this video it is necessary to use an electric drill with a polishing pad treated with a special polishing compound. Then there was a treatment with three different pads which had to be rubbed on (making sure the headlight stayed wet during treatment) in three different directions depending on which pad was being used. Then the drill with the polishing pad and compound was used again. Nest the headlight was wiped and was crystal clear. WOW!

The narrator on the video suggested that if you didn't buy this kit to clean your headlights you would have to buy new headlights for a lot more money.

Were these plastic covers developed just to give someone the opportunity to come up with this complicated and probably expensive treatment?

Bring back the Good Old Days!

Once upon a time, headlight shape was regulated severely. Only round (and later, square) sealed-beam headlights were allowed. When that regulation was changed, it allowed for headlight reflectors to be any shape. That meant you could put headlights on the car that actually contributed to the shape of the nose, instead of having to be designed around. Once that became the new norm, it was immediately apparent that fixed-reflector light assemblies with small replaceable bulbs was the way to go, and plastic is a lot easier to get contorted into those new curved shapes than glass would be. Higher-end cars do use glass covers for the reflector assemblies, but mass-market uses plastic for cost and especially for weight reduction. The downside is that the clear outer cover, especially in older cars, degrades over time (and those older cars often used inferior plastics that yellowed when exposed to heat/UV/roadsalt/etc). Newer assemblies use better plastics that don't degrade (as much).

So, no. Plastic aerodynamic headlights are not a conspiracy to sell snake-oil plastic restoration kits. Even with the downsides, the new freeform headlights are (ahem) light-years beyond the old glass sealed-beam units. The exact shape of the beam, including cut-off (the edges of the illuminated area) can be precisely defined. The beam can be "tuned" for greater illumination in various areas (a big hot-spot on the road, and a smaller one on the shoulder, for example). Higher-wattage bulbs can be used, since the light is more carefully aimed, which in turn increases the driver's range of vision at night. And the lamp assembly can be shaped to fit the overall lines of the vehicle, improving design and aerodynamics.

 

[West]

When replacing the headlight bulb in our Mazda (PITA) there must of been a short in the plug, because it eat up two bulbs. Finally after the other headlight went out I used some electrical grease in the connections/plugs and that did it. Then I bought the kit to clean the cheap plastic lenses.