Cloudy and Faded Headlights

"More than a cosmetic issue", clouded lenses can pose a serious threat to safety, compromising night vision and reducing the effectiveness of your headlights by up to 80 percent, based on our measurements.

Headlights with an aged, cloudy, or hazy look are becoming increasingly common on vehicles that are 7+ years old. Just take look around a retail car park and you will spot this is an ever-increasing issue.

Repairing Oxidised, Hazy Headlights

There really are only two options; replacement or restoration. Replacement can be a very expensive alternative, while restoration can return headlights to like-new condition.

With a quality restoration process, the results can:last several years;

• cost significantly less than replacement;
• and keep them out of our landfills.

What Causes Headlights To Fade

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the primary culprit in the headlight aging process, compounded by other environmental factors. The problem tends to be most serious in warmer, sunny climates, but we've seen plenty of evidence of it in northern regions.

How Faded, Hazy Headlights Affect Safety

Remember, the headlights on a car are actually a safety feature.

When driving in the dark or conditions of reduced visibility, we need to be able to see potential obstacles. And we need to see them clearly, as far ahead of us as is needed to allow us to safely avoid them.

Unlike domestic house lighting, car headlights are designed to focus and aim the beam of light to illuminate what is directly in the path of the vehicle. This is similar to how spotlights work.

But... imagine for a moment how poorly a spotlight would work if covered with a lampshade. This is because the lampshade acts to diffuse the beam of light so it appears softer and doesn’t seem to reach as far. That is effectively what happens when the headlights are faded and hazy, the beam of light is diffused.

Headlight Clarity and the MOT

Since 2016, depending on how severe the deterioration is, faded headlights could (and often do) fail the updated Headlamp Aim Test part of the MOT.

MOT Testers will use a device called a Beam Setter to measure the beam pattern is correct.

If you would like to know more information or arrange a Technician to visit you please call our head office on : 01634 735 600 or visit our website : www.glaswelduk.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, I hope you have found it informative and useful ....Kind regards John Anderson