Tip of the day?

[#1]

Giving our ageing Fiesta a clean out this morning and noticed again with dismay how the headlights have become covered in fine scratches - not surprising after having to endure those headwinds for over a 100,000 miles not to mention the occasional auto car wash.

So what to do (for those who do not already know)

A quick search on t'internet told me that a little scouring with........ toothpaste would do the job, and it did!

Now for those oncoming drivers on main beam!   

[#2]

Toothpaste is just metal polish with a minty flavour...

[#3]

But seriously, metal polish itself would be to abrasive? 

[#4]

Nope, I use Peek metal polish on plastics fairly often, and it brings up a nice shine to them without causing any damage...

Like the toothpaste, metal polishes contain fine silica powders mixed into a suspension fluid, and will only remove surface oxidation and fine scratches with only a small amount of the base metal taken with it, the same goes for plastics so you're not damaging them...

[#5]

Another tip.

With the weather being as it is but yet the car wants a wash and brush-up...send the mississ out to do it while you stay indoors doing the important stuff that women can't get their heads round, like making a hot drink or changing the batteries in the remote. (ooerr, I hope she's not looking).  

[#6]

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@Minivanman wrote:

Giving our ageing Fiesta a clean out this morning and noticed again with dismay how the headlights have become covered in fine scratches ...

A quick search on t'internet told me that a little scouring with........ toothpaste would do the job, and it did!

---

Never tried it myself but I did read years ago that toothpaste was good for polishing fine scratches out of windscreens.

[#7]

Anyone tried Brasso?

[#8]

Nearly failed my mot due to not cleaning the lights.

Being lazy I got one of those drill attachments....backing pad from wilco along with a soft pad that fitted it, put the drill on the slowest speed plus toothpaste and job done in minutes.

[#9]

Tip of the day ?

Have a look in my garage.....that's a permanent tip, even I can't find the stuff I want

[#10]

Remember when headlight lenses were made of glass? Glass had two states, clean & clear or broken & clear, unlike today's plastic offerings that fade away like forgotten comedians...

[#11]

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@gleneagles wrote:

Nearly failed my mot due to not cleaning the lights.

Being lazy I got one of those drill attachments....backing pad from wilco along with a soft pad that fitted it, put the drill on the slowest speed plus toothpaste and job done in minutes.

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And now your lights are in mint condition! 

[#12]

And whitened too...

[#13]

Paste Polishing No 5 is brilliant stuff.

Originally developed for the GPO for use on bakelite phones and manual switchboard plugs.

[#14]

If you don't parting with a couple of quid, off to your local car parts shop for a tube of K2 Lamp Doctor, which is in essence an ultra fine T-Cut, great for getting rid of that pale brown patina that afflicts modern headlight units. Did my neighbours the other day, he had assumed the "coating" was on the inside. Look like new now.

At Amazon .https://www.amazon.co.uk/K2-Headlight-Restorer-Cleaner-Restoration/dp/B01HEH2TF0

[#15]

@petlew

From your Amazon link, did you read the first of the customer questions and answers?

Question:

Can I use this on plastic headlights

Answer:

Yes you can works well...but.....so does toothpaste just mix toothpaste with a small amount of warm water put on cloth and rub over headlamps for a good five mins then use pledge to polish off ,,,,works the same at fraction of cost 

So it's back to the toothpaste then, although that Lamp Doctor looks to be a good price.