Polishing headlights can be expensive for the driver!

Plastic headlights have been used in the automotive industry for over 30 years. The advantages are obvious: a headlight made of plastic does not become brittle or prone to breakage so quickly if a stone falls. And it is lighter and more visually appealing to design than lights made of glass. The reflectors of the headlights are designed by the manufacturer in such a way that the car owner no longer needs scatter glass.

Plastic headlights - for 30 years

But headlights made of plastic also have disadvantages. The surface can dull and yellow over time. Worse, it can scratch. This considerably limits the safety for drivers in the dark. Because such lights have a significantly lower luminosity. You can obstruct or even dazzle other road users through incorrect light scattering. What can you do about it? Simply edit the headlights with one set to solve the problem? It's not that easy! The range of such sets is rich and tempting, but it is by no means allowed. And continuous work, it only works in the rarest of cases!

Headlights can turn yellow and dull

The headlights are a type-approved car component. Before a headlight is approved, all lighting properties are checked. The relevant building guidelines clearly state what the headlight surface should withstand. The cover of today's headlights is made of polycarbonate. It is covered with a thin anti-scratch layer that is transparent. It should protect against yellowing and UV rays. But that depends on the design and the pricing. Dust and salt or hail and sand, even unsuitable cleaning agents, have a negative effect on this protective layer. The headlights become brittle or dull over time. Yellowing can also occur over time. Here, car owners often turn into hardworking craftsmen and try to iron out the shortage. With more or less success.

Preparing headlights yourself is prohibited

The standard sets for reprocessing the headlights consist of wet sandpaper, a plastic polish or a special paint. The car owner grinds off the protective layer mentioned. So he changed the car headlights “structurally”. If he then paints the headlights with clear lacquer afterwards, that corresponds to a particularly strong change. But this is also the case without a clear coat. All this work is according to the current legislation . Such changes to the headlights result in the vehicle losing its approval. So the risk is not worth it for anyone and nobody should therefore accept it. If there are problems with the headlights, only a new headlight will help. You may be able to get a used headlight if it's still worth it. Because buying and installing a headlight set in the workshop can quickly cost a few hundred euros. Incidentally, if the main inspection reveals that the headlights have been polished, you will not receive a new sticker from the inspector. This is why voices have been loud for years that the automotive industry should significantly improve the durability of car headlights and their plastic covers. In addition, one could offer better repair methods or inexpensive replacement headlights. But this is where the automotive industry is challenged.

Of course that had not been the case.

tuningblog.eu has a lot of other articles on the subject of auto & tuning in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. But also planned changes in the law, violations in road traffic, current regulations in the field of STVO or on the subject inspection we would like to inform you regularly. Everything you can find in the category "Test sites, laws, offenses, information". Following an excerpt of the last information:

"Tuningblog.eu" - we keep you up to date on the subject of car tuning and car styling with our tuning magazine and we present you the latest tuned vehicles from all over the world every day. It's best to subscribe to ours Feed and will automatically be informed as soon as there is something new about this post, and of course also to all other contributions.