Does Cleaning Headlights With Toothpaste Really Work

The final matter you demand when y'all're driving in the rain, snow and fog of wintertime is dirty motorcar headlights.

Before y'all spend hundreds of dollars replacing them, you should consider restoring them. Yous'll brand driving at night easier and safer — and save a few bucks, too.

According to Brian Noble, North America marketing director for Sylvania Automotive, 2 factors contribute to foggy headlights: road droppings and UV rays from the sun. Both wear away at the protective coating on headlights. To fix the situation, the damaged coating needs to be removed and a new protective coating added.

Although experts say you lot should bring your car in for a professional person headlight restoration service, here are some of the most common DIY methods we've seen for cleaning headlights.

How to clean automobile headlights with toothpaste:

If the headlights are but slightly foggy, you tin effort and restore them using an abrasive, similar toothpaste, and lots of scrubbing. First, clean the headlights with Windex or soap and water. So, using a soft cloth, rub a fingertip amount of toothpaste onto the moisture headlight. (Toothpaste with baking soda works best.) Start scrubbing. Go on the surface wet and utilise more toothpaste as needed. Once yous've removed the protective coating, apply a sealant.

Yes, toothpaste could be the answer! — Yep, toothpaste could be the reply! Getty Images

How to clean foggy headlights using a DIY headlight-restoration kit:

When choosing a restoration kit, expect for one that contains several grades of sandpaper, a plastic cleaner/polish, polishing cloths and a protective coating. One kit usually has enough to clean two headlights.

Noble has the following advice when using a DIY headlight restoration kit:

Follow the manufacturer'southward directions. Don't improvise.
Don't blitz through it. Depending on how foggy headlights are, this could take 15-20 minutes per headlight. Retrieve, you're rubbing abroad years of oxidation AND the original protective blanket.
Equally you sand, run your hands over the wet headlights. If you experience rough spots, sand until shine.
Be careful not to scratch the machine's paint while sanding. Some kits recommend taping around the headlights to help. But be careful: The tape itself may lift off the paint on some older cars.
Keep information technology wet. Use a spray canteen, a bucket of water or a hose to wet surfaces while sanding.
Trust the kit. The headlights will look hazy afterward sanding simply they'll be clear subsequently applying the blanket.
Make sure the headlight is completely dry before applying the protective sealant.
Let the sealant to dry out for several hours — ameliorate yet, overnight — before using the car. Yous don't want bugs or dirt sticking to your newly restored headlight.
Some kits require reapplication of protectant every 1-3 years, depending on weather, temperature extremes and if the auto is kept inside a garage or not.

Brand sure to exercise caution when using DIY kits; if you're not also familiar with how to restore headlights, you could run the take chances of ruining them completely if y'all use a kit, co-ordinate to Alex Murenko, the owner of ONEighty, an automotive shop that offers headlight styling and restoration services in New York City.

"If they don't put the protective flick on at that place, people can restore their headlights but vi months later, they're going to start yellowing again because the original coating from the manufacturer is already wearing off," he said. "Once you shine them, there's no more coating, so now you're back to exposing the headlights to natural elements like rain, snow, the dominicus, the dirt."

Go to a professional

Instead of tackling the job yourself, Murenko recommends drivers take their headlights restored by professionals.

"We'll lightly sand down all the yellow and dust with a very fine sandpaper," he said. "When yous sand information technology, it but becomes a matte finish. That'southward why afterward we have to vitrify it and smoothen it. This restores the clarity and the smoothen. Subsequently nosotros buff and smoothen, we put clear protection film on them to protect them from yellowing, from rock chips, from scratches."

The next time yous find your headlights starting to go dull, go on these tips in mind!

This story was originally published Nov. 9, 2018.