Clear lenses, brighter light
Headlight Restoration
Yellowed, cloudy headlights are oxidised plastic, not dirty glass, so washing them does nothing. The oxidised layer has to come off and the lens has to be protected again, which is what this service does — in your driveway, on both headlights, for $100.
- Price
- $100 flat for both headlights. No upcharge, however bad they are.
- Time on site
- About 45 minutes for a pair.
Or call (248) 795-0096
What we actually do
- 01
Mask and check
The paint around each lens gets taped off before anything touches it. Then the housing itself gets a look: a cracked lens, or moisture sitting inside the housing, changes the answer, and that is better known before the sanding starts than halfway through it.
- 02
Wet sand off the oxidation
Three grits, wet, in order: 800 to take the oxidised layer off, then 1500, then 3000 — each pass removing the scratches the one before it left.
- 03
Polish back to clear
Machine polished from there. The 3000-grit finish is even but still hazy; the polish is the step that brings the lens back to clear.
- 04
Seal against UV
A ceramic UV coating goes on last and cures for about an hour. The headlights should not get wet for the rest of that day — no hose, no car wash. The coating is what keeps the lens from oxidising straight back again, so it is left alone to set.
Included
- Both headlights, however different their condition
- Mobile — done where the car is parked
- Wet sanded through 800, 1500 and 3000 grit, then machine polished
- Ceramic UV coating over both lenses, cured on site
Not this service
- Fog lights and tail lights. This is headlights only.
- Moisture inside the housing. Water sealed in behind the lens is not something sanding the outside of it fixes — that one is a replacement.
- Bulbs, wiring and housings. What gets restored is the lens surface.
- A cracked lens. Same answer as moisture in the housing: that is a replacement, not a restoration.
Before and after
Questions we get
- How long does it last?
- A couple of years on the ceramic coating. It is a coating on plastic that sits out in the sun, so it is not permanent — when the yellowing starts coming back, the lenses get done again.
- When is it not worth restoring?
- If there is moisture inside the housing, I will tell you to replace the headlight instead of restoring it. Sanding and coating the outside does nothing about water sealed in behind the lens, and it will keep fogging up from the inside.
- Do you need anything from me?
- Access to a power outlet, and that is it. No water is needed for headlights, and the car does not have to be in a garage — it gets done where it is parked.
Where we do it
Headlight Restoration is mobile: it happens where the car is parked, anywhere in Waterford Township, Clarkston, Lake Orion, Bloomfield Hills, White Lake, Commerce Township, Milford and Highland.