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Clean, clear headlights make for safe driving, much like the best rock salts on icy roads. Headlights illuminate what’s ahead of you, making driving safe at night and in low-visibility conditions. They also help you to be seen by other drivers. Your headlights get dirty, foggy, and yellow for different reasons, including due to oxidation caused by exposure to the elements, sunlight, and road debris. While you can use WD-40 to temporarily brighten your headlights, a proper cleaning and restoration is much more effective.
How to properly clean or restore your headlights depends on how dirty or foggy they are. In this article, we outline all the different ways you can clean your headlights, what works and what doesn’t, and when you may need to replace them.
Why Headlights Get Foggy in the First Place
Headlights are exposed to all kinds of weather conditions and road debris, which can cause foggy headlights. Alan Gelfand, the owner of German Car Depot in Hollywood, Florida, notes, “Cloudy headlights almost always come down to oxidation.” New vehicle models come with headlight lenses made of polycarbonate plastic material that are cured with a UV coating to block out sunlight. However, over time, exposure to the sunlight degrades this protective layer, leading to plastic oxidation and the formation of a yellow, hazy film.
The good news is that if the damage is external, there are still ways to salvage your headlights. Jeff Artzi, founder and CEO of OOROO Auto, explains, “There is no real way to clean a cloudy headlight. The only real solution is to refinish them.” This process involves sanding to remove the haze, applying a clear coat to enhance the finish, and curing to ensure durability. Cleaning your headlights without sanding down the haze and adding a layer of UV protection will only provide a temporary fix.
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Cleaning vs Restoring Headlights
There’s a major difference between cleaning and restoring headlights. For starters, when you clean your headlights with WD-40, toothpaste, or other homemade hacks, it’s only a short-term solution. You’re basically removing the debris and a little haze from the headlight lenses. Restoring or refinishing is a long-term solution for fixing your foggy lights.
According to Artzi, these are the steps a professional will take to refinish your headlights properly:
Sand down the headlamp surface to remove the damaged material with very fine grit sandpaper.Apply a clear coat to restore your headlights’ original finish.Use a UV lamp to cure your headlights.
When a Simple Clean Works
If a simple wash makes you headlights brighter, than they likely don’t have severe oxidation yet, and you can prevent it from happening. Keeping your headlights clear of road debris and protected from sun exposure minimizes the risk of getting severe oxidation. Wash your car’s headlights regularly to prevent buildup. Experts also advise parking vehicles out of direct sunlight when possible.
When You Need a Full Restoration
You need a full restoration when the haze has spread across the headlight lenses and substantially reduced their performance, which can lead to unsafe driving. A complete refinish can be achieved by using a DIY headlight restoration kit or by hiring a professional. However, if your headlight lenses are cracked, show internal or water damage in the housing, or have a spiderweb pattern, you need to replace your headlights.
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What You’ll Need to Clean Headlights at Home
Performing a headlight restoration at home is entirely doable. However, the effectiveness of the cleaning will depend on the method you use.
Basic Household Supplies
Household basics, such as warm water, soap, baking soda, vinegar, and toothpaste can be used for cleaning minor headlight oxidation. However, their effectiveness in eliminating cloudiness is limited.
Gelfand explains that these hacks are merely a “temporary cosmetic solution.” Without properly applying a UV coating, the problem will reappear soon enough.
Automotive-Grade Products
WD-40 is a very popular product used to clean foggy headlights, but it isn’t as effective as people claim. Artzi states, “WD-40 will just give the headlights a temporary shine, which is really just a way to cover up a problem instead of choosing a lasting solution.” Within a couple of weeks of applying WD-40, the oily film created by the solution will wear off.
A lasting fix includes sanding the lenses to remove the haze and applying a clear coating to restore the lost UV protection. If you still want to do it yourself, but you want the results to last, consider headlight restoration kits—professional-grade products designed to bring your headlights back to their original state.
What Not to Use on Headlights
When it comes to your headlights, don’t try getting creative or testing out something you’ve come across on social media, especially products like cooking oil and insect repellent. Even if the cloudiness is really bad, never use rough sandpaper; always use fine sandpaper.
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How to Clean Headlights
How to remove headlight haze depends on the level of damage to your headlights. You can clean or restore them using household cleaning products or, for maximum effectiveness, use a commercial headlight restoration kit.
Artzi says to keep in mind that if you’re using basic cleaning supplies, such as soap, baking soda, vinegar, or toothpaste to clean your headlights, “the results only last a few months because you’re not sealing the surface that has just been exposed. Without a barrier from the sun, the damage happens much more quickly.” With that in mind, if you plan to use any DIY cleaning hacks, the last step should always be to apply a UV protectant for lasting results.
Soap and Surface Cleaning for Light Haze
Using warm water, soap, and a soft sponge will help you remove grime and road debris from your headlights to tackle minor haze.
Baking Soda and Vinegar Method
Create a baking soda and water mixture, apply it to each headlight, and scrub the surface with a microfiber cloth—the abrasiveness of baking soda will remove light haze from the headlights. Then, dampen a clean microfiber cloth with vinegar to finish cleaning the headlights.
The Toothpaste Method
As with any of the hacks listed above, using toothpaste on your headlights will only work for light haze and, as is the case with these other methods, toothpaste unfortunately won’t provide UV protection. In other words, this trick won’t work for long.
Commercial Headlight Cleaner
If you want to clean your headlights the right way, the best way to do it is by restoring them with a commercial headlight cleaning kit that includes fine-grit sandpaper, polishing pads, and UV protection. You just need to make sure you follow the manufacturer’s directions.
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How to Restore Badly Fogged Headlights
If your headlights are in real need of TLC, this is what Gelfand recommends:
Step 1
Clean the lens of the headlights and remove any road debris.
Step 2
Start by wet-sanding with 800-1000 grit sandpaper for severe cases, then move on to 1500, followed by 2000 and 3000 grit sandpaper. This process will remove the haze from the headlights, leaving the polycarbonate plastic material exposed to the elements.
Step 3
Apply UV protection to the sanded headlights. Even if they look great, if you don’t reseal the lens, the haze will return because the raw plastic is exposed, and sunlight damage will occur much faster.
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Common Headlight Cleaning Myths
There are many hacks and shortcuts people use to “clean” their headlights, but the reality is that they don’t provide the same results as restoration.
Toothpaste as a Permanent Fix
No, toothpaste is not a permanent fix; it only masks the problem and only helps if the cloudiness is minor.
Bug Spray and Harsh Chemicals
Bug spray and any other chemicals won’t get rid of foggy headlights. Sure, they will help your lights appear clear and clean, but that’s only because the surface is now covered with an oily film. Soon enough, once it’s washed off, the problem will be back.
Why Shortcuts Often Make Fogging Worse
If you’re not sanding and applying a UV coating, any other work you do will only make the problem worse. The reason is that when you scrub away the haze from the headlights, you’re exposing the raw materials to the elements, which will cause the issue to arise once again and this time things could get even worse now that the plastic lacks a layer of UV protection.
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How Long Cleaned Headlights Stay Clear
How long your headlights will stay clear will depend on whether you reseal the lenses with a UV coating or not.
With No Protection
If you sand your headlights and do not apply a UV coating, you can expect them to be clear for a few months until sunlight and the elements begin to affect the lenses’ materials yet again.
With a UV Sealant
When applying a UV sealant, you’re setting yourself up for success and your headlights will stay clear for several years. Avoiding direct sunlight when you park your car or simply parking your vehicle inside your garage will reduce sun damage.
How to Keep Headlights From Fogging Again
Let’s keep this straight: Your headlights will get foggy again. It is part of the lifecycle of the headlights because they are exposed to the sun and elements, but there are steps you can take to minimize how quickly it happens.
UV Protection
Adding UV protection is the most important of the steps involved in cleaning and restoring your headlights. A coat of UV protection will extend your headlights’ lifespan and protect them from sunlight exposure, minimizing the damage it creates over time.
Parking and Maintenance Habits
Experts recommend parking your vehicle in shaded areas and avoiding leaving your car out in the sun when parked. Ultimately, sunlight is one of the main causes of your headlights getting cloudy.
How Often to Reapply Protection
A good rule of thumb is to reapply a UV coating to your headlights every six to 12 months. This will help your headlights endure the sun’s rays longer.
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Headlight Cleaning FAQs
Is headlight fogging a safety issue?
Yes, foggy headlights don’t perform as well as clear ones, creating a real safety issue when you’re driving at night or in low-visibility conditions. Foggy headlights drastically reduce your visibility and also make it harder for oncoming drivers to see you.
Can foggy headlights cause inspection failure?
Yes, foggy headlights can cause an inspection to fail in some states because they don’t provide enough visibility to make it safe for you and other drivers at night.
Is professional headlight restoration worth it?
Yes, it is well worth it to get your headlights professionally restored. They remove all the haze, apply a UV protection coat, and ensure that no internal damage has occurred.
Can headlights be permanently restored?
No. Over time, headlights will become foggy, yellow, or hazy. When your vehicle is exposed to the sun, that will simply happen. There are ways to reduce how often you restore them, including resealing them every 6 to 12 months and parking in shaded areas or inside your garage.
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