HAZY HEADLIGHTS!!!
By Montana Grant

Posted: January 16, 2022

There is nothing worse than trying to light your path with hazy headlights. Limited light can cause an accident. Due to road grime and grit, along with thousands of smashed bugs, along with bright sunlight, headlight lenses will degrade. 

The newer headlight covers are made of polycarbonate plastic. Manufacturers add a spray protective coat to the surface, but this wears out in a few years.

Here are some tips to keep your headlights and RV light covers clear and protected.

Use the windshield wand on your lights each time you gas up.

When the lenses are clean and new, add a MeQuires sealer coating. This will keep the haze from happening.

If the Haze is already an issue, use the MeQuires Plastex restorer to clean the surface, then add the protective coating.

You can also get a polishing kit for damaged lenses, made by MeQuires or 3M that will properly clean the lens.

Many folks brag about how they clean their headlight lenses with vinegar, toothpaste, WD-40, or bug spray. Armor All also protects the plastic from sunlight UV light. All these products will clean but not restore the lenses. You will be recleaning your lenses every few months.

If you see powder on the lenses, especially RV lights, this is what used to be the protective coating. It will come right off. The new cleaning and added coating will protect them.

To really do this job correctly, clean the lenses with window cleaner. Now take some #4 steel wool and sand the lens surface. This will remove the manufacturer topcoat. Now reclean with the window cleaner. Paper towels or clean shop rags work best. Fold a towel into a flat square and liberally add Acetone to the towel. I wear plastic gloves when doing this. Now make a few smooth, consistent wipes across the lens. For smaller RV lenses, I use a flat brush and towels to clean any spillage. Now reclean with window cleaner and remove any drips.

The lens is now clean, and the Acetone smoothed the plastic surface. To keep this clear lens from hazing up again, use the MeQuires Headlight Coating.

Stay Brite!

Montana Grant

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