Many car owners perform do-it-yourself maintenance on their vehicles, a sensible approach considering the professional repair and replacement costs. But there are many car maintenance must-dos that shouldn’t be a DIY project and headlight restoration is one of them. We strongly advise professional headlight restoration at Car Spa for best results and here’s why.
You May Use Chemicals
The first, and worst, mistake among DIY enthusiasts during headlight restoration is the use of chemicals. These may be cleansers, bug sprays, brake fluids, and WD40, all of which cause damage in one way or another.
Bug spray and brake fluid, for example, will melt the plastic on the headlights and eat the paint upon contact. WD40 can displace water in the headlights’ plastic component and, when used several times, it will seep through the lens. This will then create oil droplets on the headlights’ interior part resulting in reduced visibility.
Metal polish is also a big no-no in headlights restoration because it causes crazing, which are small surface cracks on the headlights. This is also true for Brasso.
You May Use Compounds
Rubbing and polishing compounds are also a big no-no in headlights restoration because these also cause crazing and, thus, worsen the issue. Both cause crazing, the telltale signs of damage on the headlights, as well as increase the risk of cancer among humans (i.e., contain carcinogens).
You also shouldn’t use compounds used for polishing painted surfaces for this reason. You must also avoid using paint, especially when it isn’t safe for use on plastic. The paint will not withstand the constant contraction and expansion of the plastic parts of the headlight; these microscopic changes are caused by changes in the light level. Over time, the light output of the headlights will be affected so the purpose of its restoration will be defeated.
You may obviously buy a headlights restoration kit from an auto parts store and follow its instructions. But many things can go wrong with a DIY kit, such as using less water and making more scratches than necessary. With it, you will make progressively finer scratches until the microscopic scratches are removed by the polishing and sanding steps – and that can be problematic for non-experts.
Indeed, you may spend a few more dollars for a professional headlights restoration job but the results are always worth it. The aged headlight lenses on your car will look brand-new, as well as become more effective in terms of its light output – and you didn’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on new headlights, too!