Cleaning headlights can be a simple and effective way to maintain your car’s visibility. To clean foggy headlights, follow these steps:
- Clean your headlights with soap and water, then air dry them.
- Apply painter’s or masking tape around each headlight.
- Combine 2 parts distilled white vinegar with 1 part baking soda.
- Scrub each lens with a microfiber cloth dipped in the mixture.
- Rinse each headlight with water and allow them to air-dry.
A cleaning solution of baking soda and vinegar is a great DIY option for cleaning foggy headlights. Household vinegar is effective in dissolving dirt, grease, and debris, making it an environmentally friendly cleaner.
To restore headlights, first wash them with dish soap or soapy water and rinse to remove grime. You can also restore headlights using white vinegar.
To clean the fender panel, remove the bumper, wipe the headlight with a clean cloth, and mask the edges to avoid scratching during sanding. Dip a microfiber towel into a bucket of soapy water and gently scrub off any debris from the headlight lens. Make a paste using 1/4 cup of vinegar and mix it with 1/4 cup of baking soda.
After 30 days, wet sand the headlights with 400 and 800 grit wet-sand paper until all fogged parts are clear. Smooth it out with the 800 grit paper.
In summary, cleaning headlights is essential for maintaining your car’s visibility and safety. By following these steps, you can effectively clean your headlights and prevent potential hazards on the road.
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I bought and used the Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish on my son’s CR-V headlight lenses. Worked quite well. I decided to try the other lens, but I applied the polish with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Big difference! I took out more of the pitting and made the lens even smoother! You should have seen the amount of yellow that was on the magic eraser as well! I went back over to the first lens and re-applied the polish with the magic eraser. Same thing! Much smoother and removed more of the yellowing. I used a soft cloth to remove the rest of the polish, then I gave both lenses a couple of coats of wax. They look fantastic now! Thanks for the tip! Recommended!
Thank you, young man, for this article! I’m a 77-yr-old woman who bought a 2001 Toyota Celica GT last summer just because 🙂 The headlights were in bad shape, so I went looking for a fix, and that’s when I found you. I tried your method, and it worked beyond my wildest expectations. My baby’s headlights look brand new thanks to you! Thanks, again.
I used the Mothers polish yesterday on my Rav4 and Silverado. Worked absolutely amazing and left the headlights looking new and super smooth, no need to put on anything else. You don’t need to use a lot either, just a little dab will be fine. Use clean rags. Thanks for the tip, saved me time and money.
One thing I would add is applying a UV protectant such as “303 Aerospace/Marine UV Protectant” right afterwards after cleaning off the residue, since it’s actually UV rays that make plastic headlights yellow and fog up so badly. It’s just a pump spray-on liquid that applies in seconds and will help keep it from fogging/dulling out again so quickly.
It works! I ordered a small pot of Mothers on eBay in the UK and just polished my 2000 Toyota Yaris headlights. Amazing results and I’m super pleased. Thanks for the tip as every year my car fails the MOT and I have to pay the garage to polish the headlights to get it through. It only took me ten minutes with a rag and microfiber cloth with no tools. I highly recommend. Steve in Midhurst, UK
Sometimes, the YT algorithm gets it right. This article appeared on my recommended feed, and I tried it immediately. I recognized the polish right away since that is what I use for the aluminum wheels on my pickup. It did a great job on my wife’s Ford Fusion! I grabbed a microfiber towel and the polish, and I couldn’t believe how well this works. Thanks a lot for the info!!
I came across this post a few days ago and the guys at auto zone told me it couldn’t be done but as a single mother I was determined to save money and prove them wrong! I have a 2012 GMC Acadia SLT and the headlights were in such bad shape it was making it almost impossible to see without the brights being ran at night. So I bought the $6 can from my local Walmart and a microfiber towel and started applying small coats doing a little at a time. I took my time and kind of being a perfectionist it only took a few hours. They look brand new! I’m not longer a skeptic in believing I have to rely on the word of technician to get my vehicle repaired. Thank you for your article!
I did this on my 16 year old Nissan Xterra and it worked. I used 3 applications of the Mother’s polish and it made a noticeable difference. To help protect against further degradation I then applied 2 coats of Meguier’s Keep Clear Headlight Coating, which is supposed to protect against UV for up to a year. We’ll see. Thanks for posting this article.
I do the same thing with my headlamps when they start looking dull and clouded, and they will look great at first, but will revert back to the original state unless you also coat them with a UV protectant after you’re done. This is a light grit polish so if you happen to get some on the paint it wont harm it. Mothers products are all great products aside from this application, but this is just another reason to love them.
Any method you use to clean up the plastic around headlights should be followed by the application of a UV protectant. The lens clouds up and turns yellow because the stock UV protectant layer has worn out, and UV rays have caused the plastic to cloud. You can remove the outer layer and they look fine. But, without reapplying a UV protectant, they will quickly cloud up again.
My daughter has a 2008 Honda cvr has head light issues like this she had cleaned them before but with little success. I was getting ready tp buy her a new set of head lights for about $180.00 then I stumble onto this page, went to home depot and got some of this stuff for less then $8.00 and the difference is truly amazing. I did the process about the same speed that was used in the article and got the same results.
I did this to one of my headlights and used the sand method on the other. Although both looked good at the time and the mothers aluminium polish was much easier, it started yellowing again after about 6-7 months whilst the sand method remained clear (non yellow). I used headlight sealant on both after I polished them.
You can also do it with toothpaste. The only recommendation I have on top of that is to make sure that you go over the surface with a very good car wax or they will Cloud right back up again. Make sure the car wax you use has a good UV protectant in it. My favorite one to use is Nu Finish in the orange bottle. And stop saying that it’s an old car and you don’t care about it! I have an old Camry also with 438 thousand miles on her. Those are some of the best most bulletproof cars on the road.
The kits that require sanding aren’t all that difficult, & they use rubbing compound on top of that, so there’s just about the same amount of rubbing the surface. I’ve tried your way & the sanding method, the WD40 method, & a couple others. The sanding method with rubbing compound has the best final appearance. But here’s something more important. If you don’t recoat the headlight, your effort will be in vain in 9 months or so. There’s a special anti-UV clear plastic coating you spray on that’s the key to a long-term repair. I did that to my car’s headlights 2 years ago & they still look brand new.
It just baffles me that people can see anything at night time when driving with headlights so yellow. I did my neighbours with some car compound and sealed with car polish/wax and she couldn’t believe the difference at night time when driving. My method is still going strong on her car 2yrs later without touching them. You can basically use any method to take the yellow off but make sure you add some kind of sealant or spray them with a UV clear lacquer.
So… I think I commented on this already. This stuff works. It certainly made a difference, but I want to head and followed up with the Sylvania kit just today. If you have the stuff… Don’t be afraid to try to clean up a lot of haze. But the Sylvania kits pretty good. Headlights look brand new. And certainly increased the throw of the headlights. Even though it seems like I have to adjust the level of one of them.
This stuff is great! I have been using this method for a couple years. I do use a cone polishing wheel attached too my drill, which will take this up a notch, leaving the lenses crystal clear. Follow up with a coating of 303 UV Protectant and you’ll get a good year out of it. This method is so easy and cheap, if you have to do a repeat application, it’s still worth it.
I previously had used a headlight cleaner from Meguiar’s and it took a lot of rubbing. Even then, the results were less than desirable. I already had some of this for my custom wheels so why not try it. The results are fantastic and takes a lot less buffing! Thanks for sharing your discovery. Mother’s should put this in a different container and market it a headlight cleaner!
My headlights were in the same condition. I got a tub of this Mother’s polish and did the hand polish thing like he did here. It did work, but not quite as well, and definitely not in a couple of minutes. Eventually, they fogged back up, so I did it again. This time, though, I picked up a conical buffing wheel and chucked it into my drill and went at it. Worked a lot better (more so on the first side than the second), but again, it took a lot longer, even with the mechanical assist; about 90 minutes for both sides. Long story short, yes, you can restore headlight covers with Mother’s Mag & Aluminum Polish.
Great article! This truly works. I used to use the expensive restoration kits that used to take at least an hour using a drill to polish in several stages. This process is much cheaper and faster, done by hand, and I could not tell the difference between the expensive kit and this. After doing this, i wiped down the lights with 303 Protectant to provide some UV protection. I did the process twice and each time, it took out crud. I figure doing this every two or three car wash will keep the headlights clear, as it’s very easy and fast to do. Thanks to this article!
That looks impressive and I’m sure the polish is polishing the surface, but the polish may contain petroleum distillates which could fill in the rough surface of the headlight lens and make it appear perfectly clear. I would like to see a follow-up where you polish a faded lens, then afterwards wash several times with dawn dishwashing liquid and water to remove any possible petroleum distillates. Then dry and see if the surface still looks good.
This will probably won’t stop the headlights from oxidizing again in a few months, but it’s so simple, fast and cheap that I wouldn’t mind doing it 2-3 times a year to keep the headlights looking shiny. Beats the heck out of the alternative methods, which are much more time consuming and often need tools that most people don’t have. Thanks for this useful tip!
I’ve not thought to use a wheel mag cleaner like Mother’s. I imagine that it cuts better into the lifted yellowing layer of the headlights better. I had used a bottle Turtlewax One Step Colorback on my 2010 GMC 1500. It had made a world of difference. Best part was that I’ve had this bottle for years, so it’s already been paid for.
You guys this shit works. I have a 2000 Honda I was going to buy new headlights for because they were yellower than the damn sun. Went and bought this for 7$ and on the first try I legit have new headlights. Fucking incredible. I appreciate this guy showing this because I had no idea you could use it on headlights. Bless his soul. 🙌🏻🪴
I watched your article yesterday 14/02/22! I have a 1997 Ford F-350 all original and yes the lenses were as yellow as a daisy! I went head and purchased the Mothers product that you showed and couldn’t believe the results! I took it an extra step by applying it three times, circular, side to side, forty five each way and buffed them ! I even did the rear tail lights and was so happy with the results! Thank you 🙏 so much ! I’ve past your article on to several friends and family! Cheers 👍🇨🇦
I just did this on my paid-off 2000 Windstar van. WOW. You are right-on. The lights never looked so good. I do a lot of nite driving and this will help immensely. I already told five other people. Simple, easy, and it works. Thanks for taking the time to post this. Even after nearly a year, it is still helping people. Good job.
Living in CA the strong sun and heat destroys plastic headlights after several years. I tried this on my 2008 Lexus headlights and did two passes with it. BIG improvement! Not totally clear as mine were etched and yellowed badly but amazingly better. Went to wet sanding with 2000 grit sandpaper and another pass and they are good as new. To make it last a long time (years) apply a few coats of clear coat (automotive with UV protection).
This article provides an option for a quick sale, and you can use any sort of automotive cut & polish compound, either by hand or with a slow lambswool / foam polishing pad on a proper (electric mains) pro buffer, or a smaller polishing pad using a cordless drill. If you want this to last though, you need to get ALL the old UV coating off the surface, back to a sound surface. This is where sandpaper rubbing all the old coating off, starting coarse, work down through 5 or 6 grades of paper down to a fine grade, then applying new UV protective coating has to happen. You can spray the headlights with a 2K clearcoat (it has good UV resistance too, about 95%), basically the topcoat for vehicle ‘clear over base’ paint, but it’s easier and just as good to use a similar UV liquid like they do in the headlight factory, applied by hand / microfibre cloth. This all takes around 1.5 to 2 hrs to complete, and really is a pro job, worth paying a fair price to get as new looking headlights, that will last as long as factory . . . about 6 – 10 years, depending on outside factors like general location UV strength, driving a lot at night (heat from beams), driven a lot on highway (fine dust sandblasting the coating). Cheap option like this article to sell, if you have no conscience about the new buyer having the problem in a few months time.
This method and the mag and aluminum polish works very well. I used it on my 2000 Dodge. I am lazy, hey the truth I’d the truth! I used my battery powered drill and the Mothers mini ball to do it and the results were amazing. Just rinse the ball afterward, let it dry and use when you need it again. Good article and demonstration. No hoopla, no snake oil or fantastic claims. You let the results do the talking.
Worth the investment of $6 for a 5 oz tub at Walmart. It doesn’t require much product for a couple of headlights. The headlights on my 2013 Dodge Avenger were in pretty bad shape. The rest of the car still looks almost new but the headlights were an eyesore. I applied the process twice on each, making a huge difference!
Tried this today on a 1999 Chevy Astro headlight and it didn’t work. Followed up with the normal way of sanding in small increments from 600 to 3000. Then I did the procedure from the article. Lens is still not clear. Possibly lenses from the Astro are a different synthetic material than more modern cars.
I got some of this polish today and the lenses look way better, but still could use another round or 2, as there’s still a bit of oxidation.I think also I lightly scratched the lenses from trying to do the sandpaper route previously. Hopefully, someone could still go back and buff those scratches out, and then these would really be tight!
that works very well, but it needs to be anti-UV-coated so it doesn’t happen again in 6 months. That’s what happened when I had a pro detailer do it. He must have used cheap coating. I used Meguiar’s G17804 Keep Clear Headlight Coating and it is still clear after 6 months, supposed to be good for a year. 2 stage clear coat should work well too, maybe better
its a very fine abrasive. toothpaste will also work depending on how bad the headlights are. he also said he would have to do it again and get more off. sometimes, no matter what you use the headlight won’t clean, its because the etching is on the inside caused by the heat of the lamps. this problem means to cure it is to buy new assemblies. don’t go buy just this article, watch many more, some will tell you about the inside.
I literally just did this to my car and it worked😮😱😁‼️ While wiping off if you see dull spots you have to keep applying layers until they’re gone either with elbow 💪🏾grease or a buffer on a low setting as it’s clearly visible seeing the yellow tint rub off. I followed up with Nu Finish also for extra added shine.
I use the pink stuff it’s cheaper environmentally friendly from DIY or Supermarket stores on tarnished headlights & many other items stainless draining boards WC sinks & no need to use amazon prime account prime is always late on delivery & only free for a short time & want you to have a D/D to pay them then after ……eBay far better anyway lol
In the old days a car could go through a wall and the only damage was to the wall, today the cars and trucks are made of plastic and some cheep metal, and should you get in an accident that vehicle is totaled, and yet now we have to buy extra products just to keep the headlights clear cause they too are plastic. But finally these vehicles there prices are through the roof $25,000,$60,000 . You can tell our American companies have sold us out to foriegn country fir cheap crap.
why YES it will make them 85 to 90 % better and its easy to do … do it for around 6 to 8 minutes … clean it off and then spray them with 2 or 3 coats of Rust Oleum clear spray paint . Don’t worry about getting the Mothers on the car paint because it will clean it up the paint nicely like a Clay Bar
I tried this on my really bad and clouded headlights, it did a good job but mine are too far gone, there’s like this grime on the passenger side that just will not come off (I re-applied it 3 times.) But, it does look a lot better than it did before. Can’t wait to try it out tonight. Just make sure you remove any excess that gets on the paint and glass right away. EDIT: Drove at night, and BIG difference. You never realize how badly the buildup on the lenses affects your lights until you clean them.
Literally saw this article last night and tried it today on my 2008 MKX headlights and it works! I wiped the lenses with a wet magic eraser first like another comment said until I felt they were clean enough. Then I dried the lens with a towel and then applied the polish with a dry towel and the difference is dramatic. Its not perfect but it saved me $600+ replacing the entire headlights. Mine were oxidized and yellow to the point of barely being able to see through it. I would say they are 75-80% improved. Im very happy and excited to see how they perform at night. Thank you for this article!
I own a motorcycle and my truck has nickel w/chrome. I use “Mothers” polish but a felt disc. I bought this at $1.89 a jar of the same size but 4 years ago. Now it’s $6.25 and crazy. I cheaper at home box stores. Scratches in glass like wiper, felt polishing pad (3.5″ rotolock) was $1.90 each but use cerium oxide mixed with water to peanut butter thickness and keep heat down moving, but removes a visible light scratch. Cheaper than windshield! DK, ASE Master, retired.
I tried this on my sisters 2007 Subaru Impreza headlight covers. Those headlights were too far gone. It did practically nothing .. I even tried jewelers rouge, which is what jewelers put on a buffing wheel to polish jewelry… some thing that might work is flame polishing. I’ve worked with Lexan, plexiglass materials. The curve edge of those materials gets completely scratched when you cut it on a table saw.. to make that kerf edge look like glass, we applied our light pressure of hydrogen flame to the edge. In literally seconds, it melted and cooled into a perfect clear glass like edge. That is how we would finish off display cases instead of spending hours, buffing them with polishing compound/jewelers rouge, we simply flame polished the edge, which takes literally about 10 seconds to polish a foot-long piece on the edge, and it truly looks like glass. you must use hydrogen only because any other gas will turn the plastic dark if not black. Hydrogen is pure, and does not leave deposits…
I tried it on my daughter’s 2012 Mazda and at first, I thought “this is a joke” while applying it. But I noticed that as I wiped it off, the yellow tint decreased and the lens became much clearer. This DOES seem to work. I wonder what ingredient in the polish is responsible for dissolving the dead plastic micro cracks. It’s something that could be optimized and enhanced into a product specific to this task.
I decided to try the polish on my HL and I did just as the vid showed and that crap would NOT come off the headlight. It was still wet ( did not dry ) but it was like glue and it was a mess. Needless to say it made it far worse NOT better and even after working to get it off it still had a film on it. Had to use another product to get it off and use another product to make the Headlight clear So, not my idea of a product I will ever use on a plastic headlight ever again. ( Why it happened I have no idea Polish was new and fresh) and was applied easy enough just would not rub off as the article showed
What I do is wet sand them starting with 320 or 400 with sandpaper then I move up to 600 or 800 grit sandpaper then I rub olive oil on them they come out magnificent and they last forever because olive oil is holy and Holiness lasts forever but the correct way to do it is wet sanded like I said and spray clear coat or buff them out with 3m compound and 3M polish but the most cheapest and easiest way is to just rub olive oil on them
Glad I found this article, one of the more informative of the household method for cleaning headlights. I was about to go on and do the whole 300-3,000 grit sanding and then polishing process but decided I’ll probably start out with baking soda and vinegar. I’ve also been wondering if bar keeper’s friend would work too since it’s a strong acid, might have to spot check that though as it could be too much. I have a feeling my 22 year old car is gonna need a complete sanding and polish, but again your article reminded me I should try the baking soda thing first.
Bakinsofà lemons juice or çitria id products say onthem towels spray bottle baking soda water some can use this histle this summer.i just change for baking soda and distilled water and buff oxided headlights forncash totally leagal hustle try it chard much lower than store brands srestorationkot😮😅sure..great article straight to the pointpeople appreciated that very much