Secrets of experienced car mechanics on how to remove yellow tint from car headlights with your own hands

Yellowed headlights significantly degrade the appearance of the vehicle. Owners of budget and luxury cars face this problem.

You can remove unattractive plaque yourself, without contacting service centers.

Read the article about how to remove yellowness from headlights and what means you can use to do this.

Safe ways to remove yellow plaque

You can get rid of the yellow coating on the headlights using improvised means. Regular toothpaste and soda come to the rescue. GOI paste also has a good effect, but to apply it you will need to purchase a grinding machine.

Toothpaste

You can give your headlights their original appearance using toothpaste. Use it as follows:

• dust and other contaminants are removed from the headlights;
• a small amount of paste is applied to a soft toothbrush and smeared in a circular motion over the yellowed surface;
• wash off the paste with water;
• Rub the surface of the headlight with a microfiber cloth.

The paste is a budget-friendly and effective solution for removing yellowness from headlights, but you need to work with it carefully. It is important to choose a soft brush that will not damage their protective film and will not leave scratches.

How to clean with soda?

You can whiten yellowed headlights using baking soda. How to use it:

1. Clean the headlights from dust using a clean cloth.
2. Wash them with soapy water.If they are heavily soiled, leave it on the surface for 15 minutes, then rinse with clean water and wipe with a towel.
3. Dissolve a tablespoon of baking soda in a separate container and add vinegar in an amount of ? teaspoon.
4. While the reaction is taking place, the composition is applied to the headlights. This is convenient to do with a sponge.
5. Wipe the headlight with a clean, damp cloth. If the result is unsatisfactory, the procedure is repeated several times.
6. The remaining soda is removed with a towel and the treated surface is wiped dry.

Polishing mastic and paste GOI

Polishing mastic and paste GOI (State Optical Institute) – These are products that contain chromium oxide.. It is this substance that provides the necessary effect of eliminating yellowness.

Using them manually is difficult and time-consuming; it is preferable to use a sanding machine with a flannel attachment, since felt is used for car body care. Manual work will only allow you to cope with dullness, but not remove yellowness.

Mode of application:

• first you need to wash the glass with water and shampoo or liquid soap, then degrease it with alcohol or glass cleaner;
• dry the headlights until the moisture has completely evaporated;
• mix one spoon of GOI paste with 1 drop of machine oil;
• apply the composition to the polishing wheel, treat the entire surface;
• you need to move the machine according to the principle of overlapping stripes - you must control the force of pressure on the device, movements should be light and smooth;
• During work, the paste must be removed with a clean napkin to evaluate the result. When it is satisfactory, work is stopped.

Although 3-valent chromium oxide, which is part of the GOI paste, is not harmful to humans, when working with it you need to wear safety glasses and a mask, since the dust released can cause irritation of the mucous membranes.

GOI paste has several varieties. Composition No. 2 is suitable for processing headlights. It is thin and not rough, so it allows you to achieve the optimal effect.

Polishing mastic is used by analogy with GOI paste. If you need to restore the transparency of glass with slight yellowness and minor damage, then you should choose polishes with a matting effect.

Grinding

You can get rid of yellowness using a special tool - a grinding machine. The procedure is as follows:

1. Go over the surface with a solvent to degrease it.
2. The elements surrounding the headlight are covered with masking tape. This is necessary in order not to damage the paint during work.
3. Put an attachment with the finest sandpaper on the sanding machine and run it over the entire surface until it becomes perfectly smooth. Periodically, the nozzle must be moistened with water to prevent it from overheating.
4. Then polishing paste is applied to the surface of the headlight and a foam pad is passed over it. The procedure is carried out until the headlights become perfectly smooth, the yellowness has completely disappeared from them and the original shine appears.

Prevention of occurrence

Regular care of your headlights will prevent them from yellowing. Basic preventive measures:

1. Application of anti-gravel film. It is durable and transparent, completely invisible on the surface of plexiglass.At the same time, the film protects the headlights from minor scratches and chips into which dust gets clogged.
2. Perform preventative cleaning of headlights at least once a month. There is no need to use expensive or potent compounds for this.

   It is enough to wash them with soapy water or glass cleaner.

3. Timely removal of dirt. Do not leave road dust or other contaminants on the surface of the headlights.
4. Use only safe, non-aggressive compounds for car care.

The most complete and useful information about methods and means of removing yellow spots and yellowness from various surfaces and products is presented in this section.

Video on the topic of the article

The video will show you how to restore yellowed and cloudy headlights:

Conclusion

Yellowed headlights are not a problem if you know how to clean them. To solve this problem, there is no need to buy expensive formulations, since improvised means in the form of soda or toothpaste have a good effect. If you have a grinding machine, the process of cleaning plexiglass will go much faster.