Polishing headlights with toothpaste. Tips, reviews

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Any things tend to lose their original appearance under the influence of various factors. This fully applies to automotive optics. Over time, the headlight turns yellow, scratches appear on the surface. Something needs to be done about this. You can give the optics a perfect look. Do-it-yourself headlight polishing with toothpaste is a simple technology that gives optics a second life.

Why periodically polish

Optics in a car is very important, but the headlights are constantly exposed to various influences - sand, gravel, mud, stones flying out from under the wheels of other cars. In addition, various insects affect the optics. All this sooner or later can lead to the fact that the light will lose its brightness and direction. In addition, the car loses its appearance, presentability and attractiveness.

There is no way to avoid it. Therefore, periodic cleaning, polishing, headlight repair is necessary. It is best to put in order optics with your own hands - this way you can save a considerable amount of money and time. Plastic headlights can become cloudy and deteriorate due to inaccurate cleaning with a rag. The cloth may not be soft and clean enough, or it may have been soaked in some harmful detergent.

What you need to know about cleaning and polishing optics

At home, many use simple and time-tested technology. Reviews say that goy paste or ordinary toothpaste can be used as a material. Polishing the headlight with toothpaste is suitable for any optics - both glass and plastic.

Tools and materials

In the standard arsenal for polishing, there must be tools with which you can remove the caps. You should also stock up on masking tape. To sand deep scratches, sandpaper with different grits is needed. The maximum grit range should be from 600 to 4000. To do this job as quickly as possible, a grinder or any other power tool will come in handy. Naturally, polishing the headlights with toothpaste will not work without the paste itself. The surface to be sanded is moistened with clean water, and it is also rinsed.

Polishing plastic headlights with toothpaste requires a foam sponge. Felt or felt is also perfect. If none of this is available, then you can use the polishing nozzle for an electric drill.

Before starting work, the optics must be removed, previouslytaking care of electrical safety, and fix the headlights in a comfortable position. Only then can you get to work.

Polishing process

Technology includes several stages:

• Metal parts and rubber seals close.
• Pre-cleaning of dust or dirt.
• Polishing the headlight with toothpaste.
• Cleaning.

At the first stage, it is necessary to prepare the field for work.

First of all, with tape, you need to seal all the metal parts or seals to protect them from possible damage during the polishing process. Further, the entire surface is thoroughly cleaned of any contaminants. It removes not only dust and dirt, but also various fats, oils, etc. For such cleaning, it is best to use a degreaser.

When all the preparatory work is over, you can proceed to the rubbing process. Do-it-yourself headlight polishing with toothpaste involves applying the substance directly to the surface or to felt or any other soft cloth. Vigorous and very fast circular movements are necessary to polish the surface.

For greater efficiency and high results, it is recommended to use electric tools. It can be either a grinder, or a puncher, or a drill. Power tools must be equipped with special polishing devices or grinding wheels on which toothpaste or any other material is applied. Car headlight polishing can alsobe carried out using a specially designed diamond dust compound.

If a glass or plastic headlight needs to be treated, it is important that the surface is not overheated. Otherwise, it can lead to cracks, and plastic can be deformed at high temperatures. To prevent this, the temperature is constantly monitored during the process. This is done with one hand - if you can hold on to the glass, then everything is in order. It is important to take breaks during the process. If you have certain skills, then you can easily achieve excellent results.

Glass polishing features

Polishing the headlight with toothpaste, if the surface of the optical device is glass, is actually no different from polishing plastic. But the process itself requires extreme accuracy. It should also be borne in mind that the same work at the service station will cost much more. In work it is recommended to use brushes with an average degree of rigidity. The process is carried out until there are no scratches on the surface. Then polishing is carried out with felt or a towel, but without toothpaste. The whole process from start to finish will take from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. The total time depends on some factors:

• Scratch size.
• Means used.
• Manual or automated polishing.
• Optical material.

If the scratch is quite deep, you can apply processing using sandpaper, but only for a draft. BUTafter the scratch is destroyed, you can proceed to the process of polishing and grinding the glass. There are situations when, after the work carried out, the headlight is still cloudy. In this case, the optics are completely disassembled and all actions are carried out, but from the back, the inside.

Fog lamp polishing

If it is necessary to polish glass in PTF, then everything is the same as for ordinary glass. The requirements and conditions will be the same. But the main nuance is that the glass in such a headlight is thicker, although its area is smaller. Such optics are polished much faster, and the risk of damage to the glass from overheating is minimal. However, this glass needs to be moistened abundantly.

The benefits of DIY polishing

Polishing a headlight with toothpaste is a simple and affordable process for everyone. But there are other undeniable advantages of this method. So, the price of polishing at the service station will be about 800 rubles. In severe cases, it may be higher.

At home, the same process will cost almost free. Another advantage is time. Finally, the whole technology is performed without special tools and fixtures. Reviews say that this way you can polish the headlight in absolutely any conditions.

Cons

With all the advantages, there are also disadvantages. The main disadvantage is a short-term effect, and the process itself must be repeated with sufficient regularity. In addition, if proper care is not taken during the process, the glass can easily be damaged.

But inIn general, despite the shortcomings, home headlight polishing is the best option when you need to quickly and inexpensively return the optics to an excellent appearance and performance. Owner reviews say that for greater effect, you should purchase a special polish.