Any things tend to lose their original appearance under the influence of various factors. This also applies to automotive optics. Over time, the headlight turns yellow, scratches appear on the surface. Something needs to be done with this. You can give 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 the car is very important, but the headlights are constantly exposed to various influences - this is sand, gravel, dirt, stones, flying out from under the wheels of other cars. In addition, various insects act on 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.
Avoid this will not succeed. Therefore, periodic cleaning, polishing, and headlight repairs are necessary. It’s best to tidy the optics with your own hands - this can save a considerable amount of money and time. Plastic headlights may become cloudy and deteriorate due to careless cleaning with a rag. It may be that the cloth is not soft and clean enough, or it is saturated with 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 as a material, you can use goy paste or ordinary toothpaste. Polishing the headlights with toothpaste is suitable for any optics - both for 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. Sanding with deep scratches requires sandpaper with different grain sizes. The maximum range of grain size should be from 600 to 4000. To perform this work as quickly as possible, a grinder or any other power tool is useful. Naturally, polishing the headlights with toothpaste will not work without the paste itself. Clean the surface to be wetted with clean water and rinse it.
Polishing plastic headlights with toothpaste involves the presence of a foam sponge. Felt or felt is also great. If none of this exists, then you can use the
polishing nozzle for the electric drill.
Before starting work, the optics must be removed, having previously taken care of electrical safety, and fix the headlights in a convenient position. Only then can you get to work.
Polishing process
The technology includes several stages:
- Closes metal parts and rubber seals.
- Preliminary cleaning of dust or dirt.
- Polishing the headlights with toothpaste.
- Cleaning up.
At the first stage, it is necessary to prepare a field for work.
First of all, using tape, it is necessary to seal all metal parts or seals to protect them from possible damage during polishing. Further, the entire surface is thoroughly cleaned of any contaminants. It removes not only dust and dirt, but also various fats, oils and more. For such cleaning, it is best to use a degreasing agent.
When all the preparatory work is over, you can proceed to the rubbing process. Do-it-yourself polishing of headlights with toothpaste involves applying the substance directly to the surface or to felt or any other soft tissue. To polish the surface, it is necessary to make energetic and very fast circular movements.
For greater efficiency and high results, it is recommended to use electric tools. It can be either a grinder, or a perforator, or a drill. Power tools should be equipped with special polishing devices or grinding wheels on which toothpaste or any other material is applied. Polishing of headlights of a car can also be carried out using a specially designed composition based on diamond dust.
If it is necessary to process a glass or plastic headlight, it is important that the surface is not exposed to overheating. Otherwise, it may cause cracks, and the plastic may become 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 onto the glass, then everything is in order. It is important to pause in the process. If you have certain skills, you can easily achieve excellent results.
Features of glass polishing
Polishing the headlights with toothpaste, if the surface of the optical device is glass, actually does not differ 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 grinding is carried out with felt or a towel, but already without toothpaste. The whole process from start to finish will take from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. The total time depends on several factors:
- The size of the scratches.
- The applied tool.
- Manual or automated polishing.
- Optics material.
If the scratch is quite deep, you can apply sandpaper processing , but only for the draft. And after the scratch is destroyed, you can proceed to the process of polishing and polishing the glass. There are situations when, after the work done, the headlight is still cloudy. In this case, the optics are completely disassembled and all the actions are carried out, but from the back, the inside.
Polishing fog light
If it is necessary to polish the glass in PTF, then everything will do the same as for ordinary glass. The terms 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 must be abundantly moistened.
DIY polishing benefits
Polishing the headlights with toothpaste is a simple and affordable process for everyone. But there are also other indisputable advantages of this method. So, the price of polishing at the service station will be about 800 rubles. In severe cases, it can be higher.
At home, the same process will cost almost free. Another advantage is time. Finally, all technology is performed without special tools and devices. Reviews say that this way you can polish the headlight in absolutely any conditions.
Minuses
With all the advantages, there are also disadvantages. The main drawback is the short-term effect, and the process itself must be repeated with sufficient regularity. In addition, if the process is not carefully maintained, the glass can be easily damaged.
But in general, despite the shortcomings, home polishing of the headlights is the most optimal option when you need to quickly and inexpensively return the optics to an excellent appearance and performance. Owner reviews say that for a better effect, you should purchase a special polish.