Stolen Mustang

Headlight Restoration is your road to safety

Many people do not realize that they even have them yet, it impairs your safety along with everyone else’s on the road. They are hazed over contaminated headlights caused by the outside environment. Take a look at your headlights and you’ll see what we’re talking about – with your headlights off, you should be able to see through to the inside of your headlight… still not convinced? When you go out shopping next time and park next to a newer vehicle, compare your headlights to those of the newer vehicle.

Most headlamps have a protective, transparent plastic lens covering the headlights but over time they become discolored. These lenses become opaque and cloudy from water spots and ultraviolet light. This restricts the amount of light reaching the road and makes night driving dangerous. cloudy, scratched headlight lens covers are a safety hazard as well as a blemish on your vehicle. The reason manufactures use plastic materials are; plastics are generally inexpensive, light-weight, relatively easy to mold or shape, and may be made transparent or even colored to allow for different applications. For these reasons, plastic materials (such as polycarbonates) have been widely adopted in the motor vehicle industry therefore, manufacturers have been able to build lenses that are thin and lightweight.
Before getting into this business of Automotive/RV Detailing and Headlight Restoration, I never took noticed to what condition my headlights were in nor was I really all that concerned about it. However, whether you feel you should be bothered by cloudy headlights or not, there’s always the possibility of being pulled over and cited for a “non-moving” violation. As I was going through some local area forums the other day, I came across this one post that read, “Just curious…. I installed yellow (aftermarket) skins on my headlights – just for looks. Got pulled over and was given a $71.50 non-moving violation. The officer was very nice but informed me that they were illegal.”

According to Florida Law section 316.220, (headlamps on motor vehicles), your car must have the following lights:
Bright (high-beam) headlights which show objects 450 feet ahead.Dimmed (low-beam) headlights which show objects 150 feet ahead.Two red taillights mounted on the rear, visible from 1,000 feet.A white light that makes the license plate visible from 50 feet (The plate must be kept clean).Two red stoplights. They must be seen from 300 feet in the daytime, and must come on when the foot brake is pressed.

By looking around on the road today it’s obvious to see that law enforcement isn’t eagerly enforcing this or many other laws here in the State of Florida. But, as soon as your county or town starts needing some additional income, you can bet that one of the more popular methods to gain extra revenue is with police (that were once not-so diligent in their efforts to uphold the law) starting to pull over vehicles for miscellaneous items such as contaminated headlights. So now, not only are you stuck with a $71 fine but, now you’re faced with the dilemma of having to spend even more money in getting them either fixed or replaced… so, what do you do? Many aftermarket replacement headlights can be costly (2002-2004 Dodge Intrepid – $161.43/set; 2004 Ford Mustang $145/set) and that’s if you do-it-yourself but, don’t forget, you have to get them realigned at an additional cost.

Many people have tried to clean their headlights with conventional methods or with headlight restoration kits that only work for a few months. The average time it takes headlights and taillights to become contaminated is within 3-5 years but, begin their deposition immediately upon exposure to the conditions presented with the use of the vehicle’s light. There are several articles relating to Headlight Restoration and one of the questions that come up is “to sand or not to sand”. While some believe that it is not wise to sand the headlights when restoring them because it is believed that it will remove the factory UV protection, the fact is, the UV protection that was once on the headlights are no longer present because of that protection was still on the headlights than they never would have gotten contaminated. In other words, when your headlights become yellow and hazed over it is because this UV protection is no longer there.

Many kits on the market today restore the appearance of the headlight giving them that ‘new-look’ but, the end result leaves them still vulnerable to the outside elements because the finishing product is nothing more than a polish that has either little RV protection or none at all. Unless you maintain your headlights every other month with another store purchased kit, your headlights will become hazy and cloudy within a short period of time (2 – 3 months). In order to actually “restore” your headlight’s original condition it is necessary to replace a UV/corrosion inhibitor along with a quality sealer. Then, and only then, are your headlights actually restored and will last much longer than just a few months. Once this application is applied your headlights they will last as long as they did when they were new.
The cost of new (aftermarket) headlights cost 3 times more than restoring them and that doesn’t include labor if you have your local shop install them. Headlights are rarely removed from the vehicle during the restoration process so there is no need for costly realignment once the job is completed. For more information call 321-806-8875 or go to www.scrubsautospa.com – Scrubs Mobile Auto Spa.

About the Author

Auto & RV Detailing, windshield repair, headlight restoration, and residential pressure cleaning.

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