Prolong new headlight life

So guys I just picked up a 16 Accord Coupe Touring last weekend for a great deal. Love it. Headlights and the automatic highbeams are awesome! I was wondering if there is some kind of wax, or other chemical, or film that can be applied to the headlight to prolong its life. Each headlight on this car cost nearly 1 grand, so I would like to do all I can to make them last as long as possible lol! Would a regular application of high quality UV blocking car wax help prevent the lens from oxidizing so quickly?

Not really, no. Companies have been making tall claims for their car wax/polish/"sealer" for as long as such products have existed, and people have been swallowing those claims for that same length of time less maybe five minutes.

The good news is that the lenses on your lamps are not likely to age very badly or very quickly. Honda tends to specify high-grade lenses and hardcoats, and (this is the big part) the lenses run a whole lot cooler than halogen or HID headlamp lenses, which slows UV attack way down.

Thanks for the info man. Glad to know Honda is using high grade lens

Just a thought, but if you have to park it in the sunlight, how about making some covers to keep the sun's UV from helping advance the deterioration. Maybe some canvas, or nylon covers shaped to cover the clear lens, with a large tab sticking up so that whenever you get in the rig, you will instantly see you forgot to remove them before driving.

Just a thought.

Wax them regularly
DO NOT wipe clean when covered in dirt and road grime unless absolutely necessary.
Wash clean with a pressure washer whenever possible.

A pressure washer!? No, there's no good reason (nor any kind of benefit) to washing your headlamps with a pressure washer. Maybe that was supposed to be a joke, but if so I don't get it.

Waxing them will not help anything.

Sadden said:

Wash clean with a pressure washer whenever possible.

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A pressure washer can do more damage to the lens than a soft, soapy cloth. It can deflect the plastic sufficiently for it or its coating to start crazing, or may actually cut into the coating itself.
A very soft, soapy cloth and running (but not a jet of) water.

Similarly, waxing can cause lens deflection and has an abrasion risk all its own.

Park away from and or out of the sun as much as possible. I have been doing this for years and never had any UV breakdown/clouding issues with it on any of my cars.

I disagree.

Wiping them clean, no matter how soft the cloth is runs the risk of road debris/grime scratching the plastic. Doesnt happen with a pressure washer. Most car washes and home use pressure washers lack the pressure and GPM to deflect the plastic on a headlamp.

I run industrial sized pressure washers with industrial sized pressures for industrial tank and vessel cleaning. Stuff that can remove fingers and toes in the wrong hands. And I have thousands of hours behind a wash gun. You cannot hurt a headlamp with a home use one unless you are being incredibly irresponsible.

Wax is designed to help protect paint from UV damage. I fail to see how when applied to a clean headlamp it wouldnt have any positive effects on lens life. Unless you are using a cleaner/wax/polish/thing that contains abrasives which is not what i recommended.

I should add that I also live in Northern Alberta. Where this is the norm



There is no way I would ever wipe that down by hand. I can guarantee it will scratch the heck out of your lenses. If you live somewhere where you only need to wash your vehicle every few months then maybe wiping them down is a better option. but if your headlamps get even remotely dirty do not wipe them down without first rinsing as much road grime off as you can.

Power washers available to the general public probably won't harm hardcoat or a lens in basically sound condition, but that much water at those kinds of pressures can easily create other problems -- like water ingress into the lamp or its vent systems.

When you're wiping a headlamp lens, you're not wiping the plastic. The plastic is sealed off from reach by the hardcoat, which is extremely hard. Yes, it can be scratched, but it takes quite some effort. This stuff about "no matter how soft the cloth runs the risk of scratching the plastic" just isn't accurate unless we're talking about dry-wiping a severely dirty headlamp. Wash with soapy water and a soft-bristle scrub brush and/or reasonable cloth, and there is no concern.

Wax is designed to help protect paint from UV damage. I fail to see how when applied to a clean headlamp it wouldnt have any positive effects on lens life

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(emphasis added to highlight that this isn't advice based on facts, it's just a guess/assumption you're making)

This is one of those situations... where moderation is all that's needed.

Avoid the sun of possible. But it's a car, so don't be silly about that.
Don't try to wipe off the lenses if there's a heavy coat of grime on there; all you'll be doing is turning the abrasiveness of the grime against the lens.
Don't use a pressure washer when a garden hose will do. You need to remove the grime, not blast it into the lens and everywhere else.
Don't wax it; car wax (read the label) is not designed for plastic or glass.

Just be reasonable, keep it clean (garden hose and hand wash is ideal), and you'll be fine.

When you're wiping a headlamp lens, you're not wiping the plastic. The plastic is sealed off from reach by the hardcoat, which is extremely hard. Yes, it can be scratched, but it takes quite some effort. This stuff about "no matter how soft the cloth runs the risk of scratching the plastic" just isn't accurate unless we're talking about dry-wiping a severely dirty headlamp. Wash with soapy water and a soft-bristle scrub brush and/or reasonable cloth, and there is no concern.

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I watched a truck driver destroy a brand new set of Peterbilt headlamps in 6 months. Frequent wiping with microfiber and soapy water.
Mine which just turned one year old look brand new. And I wash them with the industrial pressure washer almost daily. Wax every couple weeks.

(emphasis added to highlight that this isn't advice based on facts, it's just a guess/assumption you're making)

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Its based on years of fleet management accross hundreds of headlamps. If you have access too a study that looks at wiping vs washing headlamps as a long term cleaning method feel free to share. But the statistics I have based on fleet maintenance say the pressure washer wins out, hands down.

Most of our tank truck guys use microfibre for the front glass/headlamps. Which we find to be very hard on them. Whereas the combo units wash their headlamps off their own pressure washers and theirs last almost indefinitely. I dont have data on brushes, as i dont know of anyone using a brush on a regular basis.

Power washers available to the general public probably won't harm hardcoat or a lens in basically sound condition, but that much water at those kinds of pressures can easily create other problems -- like water ingress into the lamp or its vent systems.

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No more or less than you would be washing the rest of the vehicle with a pressure washer. Wash the engine bay and expect some condensation. OEM headlamps with intact venting systems will clear up in a day or two with use.

I think it should be obvious that you want to avoid jamming the tip of the washgun right against lenses and seams. No different than anything else. You wouldnt jam the tip into your toes either.

If you reaaaaaaaaaaaaally want to use a cloth as opposed to a pressure washer carry a spray bottle with soapy water and spray the headlamps off excessively before wiping (remember dishsoap removes any waxes you use). But if the headlamps are dirty odds are the rest of the vehicle could use a bath too, and you arent wiping your paint down with a spray bottle and a chunk of microfiber.

Man, sometimes I'm glad my car isn't fancy. That picture posted above, with the super duty headlights? Yeah that coating means you have almost no light on my 00 Camry low beams (and my lenses are still very clear).

When my lights get like that, I pull over and use the window washer to wipe and squeegee them. I'd rather have light while driving than preserve my headlight lenses!

I suppose it's different if you have a new car, and are worried about replacement cost. But what do you guys do if you're driving and your lenses are 50%+ opaque from road spray? Just hope for the best? Perhaps you live in a more well lit area? It gets to the point in my car sometimes that it looks like my lights are off compared to other cars (when clean they're as good as any- especially high beams, with a pair of 9005 and a pair of 9006 altogether)

Either method will work.

A pressure washer works fine, however not everybody has one and they're not always practical. I have one and in my situation it's a hassle to setup and use during the winter months due to the freezing temperatures. Even during warmer weather, it's not worth the effort unless I'm washing the entire vehicle. Your mileage may vary.

At-least once a week, I clean my headlamps with nothing more than Scott's shop towels and Windex. If they're really nasty, I spray them down alot and very-gently drag a cloth along them for the first few passes. The key is to keep the headlights wet and not press into them. I've yet to notice any degradation of my headlamps due to me hand-washing them.

If we could prolong our headlamp life as much as we can prolong this argument, we'd never see hazy headlamps again.

This has gone on long enough.