The Most Effective Way to Remove Oxidation from Headlights
Your headlights might turn hazy for several reasons; it might be because of being fogged up because of moisture, it might be because the dust covers are not well secured, or it might be because of oxidation. To understand why your headlights might get foggy, check our article here.
The first step in removing oxidation is to identify oxidation. Oxidation is formed on the exterior of the headlight. It is evidenced by a cloudy or yellowish deposit on the headlight. This happens naturally because of the Sun, and oxidation will occur over time as a car gets older.
There are many ways of removing oxidation they include:
- Toothpaste
- Vinegar
- WD40
- Vinegar
- Sanding/Wet sanding
While all these are going to clear your headlights, they do not get rid of oxidation. The most effective way to remove oxidation will always be to sand the headlight; I speak from experience with over five years of restoring headlights.
The truth about oxidation is that there are varied options to clear headlights. To restore them, we must sand, restore and protect. If these three steps are not considered, the process will be repeated within days. Hence, the most effective way to remove oxidation from headlights is to sand them down and complete restoration and protection. Wiping the headlight might remove some of the oxidation but not all hence sanding is required.
In order to remove oxidation, we have to sand down the headlight with four different grit of sandpaper kicking off with 400 grit, 600 grit, 1500 grit, and finally 2500 grit. It is not a must to use these specified grit, the idea is to progress each stage by getting rid of sanding marks created previously and finally grinding to the best result possible. Here is an article on the best sandpaper to use on your headlight.
To competently do the job, sand the headlight in a checkered manner, starting in one direction and then changing to the next. this is to have a balanced cut on the lens.
Once done with sanding, you can proceed to restore the headlight. There are countless procedures to restore and protect a headlight. I have written an article on restoring headlights professionally. This can guide you on the best process to take.
To conclude, the best way to remove oxidation from headlights is by sanding. However, this should be followed by restoration and protection.
