Over time, your headlights can become caked with dirt and grime, even if you wash your car on a regular basis. If you have an older vehicle, you can make your headlights look great again by following the automotive repair steps below.  

Clean Your Headlights

The first thing you need to do is use a basic cleaning solution to clean your headlights and remove all the surface dirt from your headlights. You can clean them using a glass cleaner or just some soap and water. Be sure to dry them off before moving on to the next step. 

Tape Around Your Headlights

Next, you need to take painter's tape and tape around the outer edge of  your headlights where the body panel of your vehicle comes in contact with the lights. You will be using various products and tools on your headlights during this process; taping off the area will protect your vehicle's paint job from becoming compromised.

Sand Your Headlights

Now you need to sand your headlights. The headlight restoration kit you purchased should come with a few different strengths of sandpaper as well as a spray bottle filled with a lubricant to use for this process.

First, spray your headlights with the lubricant. Then, use the lowest strength sandpaper in your kit and sand side-to-side with it. Make sure that you keep the sandpaper on the headlight and do not sand the paint job around the headlight. Keep the surface of the headlight wet as you work.

Next, move onto the next stronger sandpaper in the kit, and switch your sanding motion so that you are going up-and-down with it instead of side-to-side. Spray the headlight when needed with the lubricant and make sure it stays wet. 

Continue until you have worked through all the levels of sandpaper included in your kit. 

Once you are done, dry off the headlights using a detailing cloth.

Polish Your Headlights

Once the sanding is complete you need to polish, or buff, your headlights. Your kit should include a polisher paste or liquid that you can apply to an applicator pad. Go back and forth over the headlights with the applicator pad. 

This will help clear away the wet-sanded glaze from your vehicle's headlights. As you work, you should see the clarity of the headlights change as you work.

After the headlights are looking clear and you have polished the entire headlight area, dry the headlights off with a detailing cloth. 

Seal Your Headlights

Finally, you can seal the headlights using the sealant that came with your kit. Pour it onto an applicator pad or paper towel, and rub it into the headlights, covering the entire surface. The sealant will need to dry for a couple of hours; your kit should tell you exactly how long it needs to dry. 

Once the sealant is dry, remove the tape from around your headlights and enjoy how bright and clean your headlights are now.