Three quick checks before you book
Before you spend anything, look at the lenses yourself in daylight:
- Is the haze outside or inside? Rub a finger on the lens. Rough and chalky means surface oxidation, which is what we restore. Fog inside the housing means a leak.
- Is it yellow, white or cracked? Yellow and white are oxidation. Cracks and deep pits from stones are not fixed by polishing.
- Are the two sides different? If one is clear and the other cloudy, the clear one has probably been replaced. We restore the old one to match.
If you are not sure, send photos with the quote form and we will say what we see.
Why older cars suffer most
Hamilton has a lot of vehicles that are well past their first decade. After that long outdoors, the factory clear coat on the plastic lens has usually given up. The plastic beneath turns yellow, hazy and rough, and the light scatters inside it. Our guide on why headlights turn yellow goes through the process.
It is common on a car that is mostly parked outside on the street, in a lot, or beside the lake, where sun and weather get at the lens every day. Garage cars last longer, but not forever.
If you are buying or selling a car, hazy lenses are one of the first things a careful buyer notices on a night test drive, and they are quicker to put right than most visible flaws.
Dark roads, steep hills
Anyone who drives the Mountain access roads at night, or along the escarpment edges and down into the valleys, relies on a clean beam to read the curve ahead. A cloudy lens throws the light low and wide instead of down the road. In rain or snow, glare off the haze gets worse, and oncoming drivers see a smeared glow.
The fix does not change the bulb or the angle of the housing. It makes the lens clear again so the beam it was designed to produce reaches the road.
The process and price
We mask the paint, sand the lens through progressively finer grits to remove the oxidised layer, machine polish it until it is clear, then apply a UV protective layer. Both headlights are done together so they match. Read more on the headlight restoration service page.
Headlight restoration is quoted with your vehicle. We do not list a flat figure because condition, lens size and access vary. It is often added to a detail on the same visit, especially before selling, as the guide to detailing before selling explains.
Expect the visit to take real time, since sanding has to be even or the lens ends up patchy. We confirm timing when we quote, and we check the result with you in daylight at the end.
Booking in Hamilton
We serve the lower city, the Mountain and the surrounding areas, bringing water, power and lighting. Restoration is handled on a driveway, in a lot or in a garage. Visit the Hamilton car detailing page for coverage. Rain means a free reschedule or a covered spot, and you can pay by card, e-transfer or cash.