Father’s Day Project; Help Dad See Clearly With Headlight Resto

As Father’s Day is fast approaching, we at Diesel Army figured we would take a minute to highlight an easy and rewarding project that the kids can certainly help Dad with. Regardless of how old the kids are or their sex, restoring the headlights on Dad’s vehicle can be pretty simple.

Here is the before photos. The right side headlight isn't that bad but click on right image to really see how bad the left side is.

Most car guys are embarrassed to drive around in a vehicle that looks bad. Headlights are so easy to restore, but a lot of us just put it off because we are too busy or just cannot seem to get around to it. This is certainly the case for us with our up and coming project truck; a 2006 Dodge 2500 Mega Cab.

The late 3rd generation Dodges are extremely susceptible to sunlight damage because of their design. On our project truck, the right side (passenger’s side) headlight wasn’t too bad, but the left side (driver’s side) was horrible. Given the difference between the two lights, we assume that the truck was under partial shade during the day and only the left side received full sunlight.

There are a number of headlight restoration kits on the market; Rain-X, Mothers, Meguiar’s, 3M, and Turtle Wax to just name a few. When we went to our local auto parts store they were carrying Mothers and Mequiar’s. We opted for the Mothers kit because it was for heavily damaged headlights like the ones on our truck. (There are light, medium and heavy duty kits in just about all of the major brands. So, make sure you pick the right level for your restoration.)

Use enough tape to protect the paint and chrome. We ended us using multiple strips under the light to ensure that we didn’t scuff anything. It doesn’t have to be perfect. So, let the kids help and have fun with it.

The first step in the process is to make sure that you tape off the body panels and surrounding area. This will help prevent damage.

For our application, we anticipated the right side only needed to be polished out. So, we installed the provided ball and added the recommended amount of polish. After a couple of minutes, we realized that the damage to the top of the light needed some sanding.

(Top) Using the polish is fairly harmless. Letting the kids help you with this or letting them do it on their own will give them a great sense of accomplishment.

This is the first step that caution should be used on how much involvement this kids have in the project. Sanding the headlights should be done evenly and only enough to remove the gouges. While you are sanding, it is recommended that you stop periodically and check your progress. Use a towel and dust the light off. Once the lens shows no sign of scuffing or gauging, it is time to step up to the next finer grit sandpaper.

For us, we had no issues with the right side headlight (the light we started with), but found that our left headlight was so bad, that we needed more sandpaper than what was provided in the kit. So, if dad has headlights that are pretty bad, you may want to swing by the store and get some 800 and 1500 grit sandpaper.

If you have younger children, you may want to do these couple of steps without their help.

Once the 1500 grit sandpaper is on and you have evenly sanded the headlight, you will once again need to clean off the light. First use a lightly damp towel to get the majority of dust off, then come back with a dry towel and get the remaining dust as well as dry the headlight.

The 3,000 grit sandpaper is pretty mild. Letting the kids help again at this point should be OK. Just make sure they are paying attention.

By now, the lights should be looking pretty good. The final prepping step before polishing is to go over the lens again but with the 3,000 grit sanding pad. At this stage, we started letting our kid help. Just ensure that the sanding is even and they aren’t staying in one area too much. The sanding does generate heat that the lens is absorbing.

Once finished with the 3,000 grit sanding, the lens should look pretty good. There will be a light haze but for the most part, the glass should look clear with no gouges or scratches. If you see gouges or scratches, repeat the earlier steps because polishing won’t remove the gouges.

After ensuring that all of the dust and debris is out of the lens, use the ball again and polish the light clear.

This is a really simple and easy thing that the kids can do for or with dad. Most kits range in the $10 to $40 range. So, you won’t break the bank doing this and it can be a family affair that he will appreciate it.

Not quite factory new, but they look 1000 times better!

About the author

Chad Westfall

With diesel running through his veins from childhood, Chad has more than a decade of experience in the automotive industry. From editorial work to wrenching, there isn’t much he hasn't conquered head-on. When he’s not writing and shooting trucks and tech, you’ll find him in the shop working on turning the ideas floating around in his head into reality.
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