Why You Should Stop Using Clear Coat Paint To 'Restore' Your Cloudy Headlights

In modern vehicles, headlights seem to only be getting brighter, allowing drivers greater visibility as they navigate roads at night. However, for many, it's not uncommon for this increased brightness to be hampered by condensation and cloudiness within the headlights themselves. There are all kinds of products on the market pitched as the solution to this issue, though many still opt for other remedies to solve the issue. One such widespread solution is to use clear coat paint, but in reality, this method of restoration isn't one you should be using.

As explained by Scotty Kilmer on YouTube, using clear coat paint on headlights can result in more issues down the line. Not only does the clear coat only last so long — roughly a year or so — but constant polishing and respraying can wear down the plastic of the headlight. Before you know it, you have to contend with cracks and scratches, requiring the costly replacement of one or both of your headlights. The Headlight Restoration Pro on YouTube demonstrates that the removal of products like 2K clear coat paint from headlights is incredibly difficult and damaging, as it's not meant to be used for headlight restoration.

So, what should one use to clean up foggy headlights? There are a few solid solutions out there that are much more efficient than clear-coat paint.

Moving away from the clear coat paint method, there are several ways to go about clearing up hazy headlights. First and foremost is to buy a restoration kit, which generally isn't too costly and is rather effective. In Scotty Kilmer's video, he cleans his headlights using products under the Meguiar's brand, such as the headlight cleaner and coating. The likes of Cerakote and Turtle Wax offer headlight cleaning kits as well, so there are many options out there to choose from based on your needs and budget. It's worth checking out customer reviews to see how effective they are compared to one another. 

Alternatively, there are other ways of cleaning headlights that simply involve household supplies. One such route you can take is cleaning your headlights with a combination of vinegar and baking soda. All you need is any kind of baking soda, distilled white vinegar, soap, and water, and your headlights will look as good as new in a few swipes. You can also combine baking soda and fresh lemon to clean headlights up, or you can get rid of cloudiness with WD-40 and a dry towel. Wet sanding is one of the best methods to make your headlights look like new, requiring little more than water, cleaning supplies, and sandpaper to get the job done. Much like with the cleaning kits, it's best to research these methods to see which would work best for your vehicle.

Cloudy headlights can be a major pain and may seem like a hassle to take care of. Evidently, there's no shortage of ways aside from with clear coat paint to go about fixing them.