Tender Rubbing Care

Auto Detailing Newsletter

Table of Contents

Night Driving

By Jim Pyatt

Why is night driving so dangerous? One obvious answer is darkness. Ninety percent of a driver's reaction depends on vision, and vision is severely limited at night. Depth perception, color recognition, and peripheral vision are compromised after sundown.

Did you know that traffic death rates are three times greater at night than during the day, according to the National Safety Council? Yet many of us are unaware of night-driving hazards or don't know effective ways to deal with them. Driving at night is more of a challenge than many people think. It's also more dangerous.

Your night vision can be reduced by as much as 90% by dirty dull headlights.

An average of 9 out of every 10 cars on the road today has dirty or yellowed headlights that greatly reduce vision and need to be replaced, cleaned, and/or repaired.

--AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

This is usually caused by sun or UV damage and a mixture of acid rain or road debris and dirt. The sun breaks down and dries out plastic. It turns headlights cloudy and yellow, and it only takes 2 to 3 years for this deterioration to happen on plastic headlight lenses even less in the desert. Road debris and dirt will basically sandblast the lenses. All these conditions are considered severe weathering, and will break down and ruin your headlights; it is just a matter of time. It's like cancer: once it starts to show, it will get worse and worse unless you treat it. It will affect your nighttime visibility and this has been proven to cause accidents.

Headlight replacement was the only option available until recently. You had to replace the cloudy headlights with expensive replacements at your car dealer who would charge $300 and more, and that didn't include installation

Technological advances and extensive research have made products available to clean, restore, and even repair worn headlights. Even cracked, leaking headlights can be repaired.

Fortunately, you can take several effective measures to minimize these after-dark dangers by repairing your cars lenses and following a few guidelines while you drive.

The National Safety Council recommends the following:

• ·        Prepare your car for night driving. Clean headlights, taillights, signal lights and windows (inside and out) once a week, more often if necessary.
• ·        Have your headlights properly aimed. Misaimed headlights blind other drivers and reduce your ability to see the road.
• ·        Avoid smoking when you drive. Smoke's nicotine and carbon monoxide hamper night vision.
• ·        If there is any doubt, turn your headlights on. Lights will not help you see better in early twilight, but they'll make it easier for other drivers to see you. Being seen is as important as seeing.
• ·        Reduce your speed and increase the distance between you and the next car ahead of you. It is more difficult to judge other vehicles' speeds and distances at night.
• ·        Don't overdrive your headlights. You should be able to stop inside the illuminated area. If you're not, you are creating a blind crash area in front of your vehicle.
• ·        When following another vehicle, keep your headlights on low beams so you don't blind the driver ahead of you.
• ·        If an oncoming vehicle doesn't lower beams from high to low, avoid glare by watching the right edge of the road and using it as a steering guide. Make sure you lower your beams, so you won't cause that driver to have an accident.
• ·        Make frequent stops for light snacks and exercise. If you're too tired to drive, stop and get some rest.
• ·        If you have car trouble, pull off the road as far as possible. Warn approaching traffic at once by setting up reflecting triangles near your vehicle and 300 feet behind it. Turn on flashers and the dome light. Stay off the roadway and get passengers away from the area.
• ·        Observe night-driving safety as soon as the sun goes down. Twilight is one of the most difficult times to drive, because your eyes are constantly changing to adapt to the growing darkness.
  

Headlight Restoration

By Jim Pyatt

Plastic headlight lenses are standard on every car made today. Some have polymers and protective UV coatings, but they all have "similar" problems. The need for headlight restoration arises due to varied factors. Weather elements like the sun's detrimental UV rays, acid rain, winds, and snow can cause havoc with the car's lighting mechanism, leading to cracks in the headlights. The plastic headlight lenses that are much in use tend to oxidize and acquire a yellow tinge after serving for only a few years.

It used to be that the only options were to keep the lenses or have them replaced at your local dealership. There is now another alternative: restore them to new condition. A headlight cleaner, repair, and restoration kit is now available for around $10.00 from Micro-Surface Finishing Products. It is much less expensive than the dealer-replacement lenses available today.

In any case, a dirty headlight with a mottled appearance mars your car's looks and doesn't promise too well for your safety. If your headlight is just dirty or water has seeped inside it, then you do not need to drag your car all the way to the repair garage. You can do this car-headlight-repair job on your own.

For some problems like cracks or holes, there's nothing like plastic resin to fix them. And since the resin is transparent, no one will notice the difference. Evidently, with the headlight-repair kit at your disposal, the odd car headlight repair job that crops up won't seem a Herculean task.

OK, now we understand the importance of good lighting when driving at night. Lens restoration may sound like a major task but it's really not with the correct product if you follow a few simple directions.

Diagnosis: Water inside Headlight Lenses

Treatment

If there is water or condensation inside, it must first be removed. This is accomplished by using a small drill bit and drilling a small hole in the bottom of the headlight assembly. It is easiest to remove the lens first and make sure the hole goes all the way into the headlight chamber. Drain all water and then place the headlight assembly next to your air conditioning ducts in your house or a dehumidifier to remove all moisture. Reseal with silicone seal (at all automotive stores; glues will crack and leak). It's also a good idea to check the whole seal that attaches the outer globe to the headlight assembly. Reseal if necessary. Then reinstall.

If you have a large crack, or a hole from a rock or such, there is plastic resin which will seal the lens and increase its integrity. Plastic resin will also maintain a clear and safe appearance so it can pass inspection. Plastic resins can be found at your local hardware store.

Diagnosis: Cloudy, Yellow, and Worn Headlight Lenses

Treatment Headlight Restoration

I performed this headlight repair on a customer's car. I also tested using it on a taillight lens from an old Porsche. Each kit comes with 3" x 4" Soft Touch Pads, 1 ounce Bottle Micro-Gloss, and 2 cotton flannel wipes.

• ·        Crazing: A series of very fine lines, stars, or haze when viewed at an angle in bright light. Crazing is below the surface and usually cannot be felt with the fingernail and requires aggressive sanding to remove. Begin with the 120 pad.
• ·       Deep Scratches: Easily felt with the fingertip. Begin with the 220 pad.
• ·       Minor Scratches: Readily detected with fingernail. Begin with the 1500 pad. If the scratch is not easily removed, use the 400 pad, followed by the 1500 pad.
• ·       Hairline Scratches and Light Scuffs: Light scratches and hazing Begin with the 2400 or 3600 pad.

Step A: Damage Removal

1. Determine your starting point. The Soft Touch Pads can be used wet or dry; I found I got the best results when they were used wet. This will also help keep the surface cool, and the pads free of abraded particles. Clean, fresh water is an excellent lubricant and coolant. Water should be sprayed or misted onto the pad's surface during use. A drop or two of mild car-wash soap can be added to water for lubrication if needed.

2. Do not sand in a circular pattern. Sand, using even firm pressure; always work in a vertical motion over the entire lens; after 3 to 5 minutes, check your progress. Sand until the damaged layer has been totally removed. This damage-removal step is critical! If it is incomplete, the final results will not be satisfactory. If it seems the damage is not being removed at an acceptable rate, you may want to go to a coarser pad. In the case of crazing, the time needed to remove the damage will be longer. Since more material will be removed to eliminate damage, you may want to alternate with vertical and horizontal straight-line motion. Once the damage has been removed, end with a vertical sanding pattern.

3. Clean the surface by spraying with water, or blowing with air.

4. Proceed to the next finer Soft Touch Pad. Spray again with water and start sanding at a 90º angle from the previous step. Continue sanding until the previous sanding pattern has been completely removed. It will be necessary to dry the surface completely to determine that the previous pattern has been removed. The use of 100% cotton flannel is recommended. Avoid synthetics and paper towels, as these both tend to cause scratches in plastic.

5. When you have finished with the 12000 Soft Touch Pad, and are satisfied with the surface appearance, clean the surface thoroughly.

Step B: Restore Surface

1. Once the surface has been sufficiently cleaned, flush with water. Using one of the flannel cloths included in this kit, wipe the lens. Dampen the flannel with water and apply a dime-size drop of Micro-Gloss to the flannel. Rub briskly over a square foot area. Work in a straight-line pattern. Use firm pressure for 1 to 2 minutes, until Micro-Gloss has almost disappeared. Water may be added to extend working time. Continue in 1-foot areas, overlapping slightly until the entire surface has been worked. Rinse the surface with water and wipe clean. Dry with the second flannel cloth.

Note: Keep the flannel clean, and you can use it many times. Rinsing is needed to remove dirt and abrasive particles that are trapped in the flannel. Rinse and dry the Micro-Mesh Soft Touch Pads and store for reuse in the future. Keep the Micro-Gloss from freezing temperatures.

Clean lenses on a regular basis with Micro-Gloss to keep them looking like new.

Product Review:

Metal Polishing Balls

Mothers PowerBall

Last summer, Mothers introduced the first foam-polishing tool designed to revitalize billet, diamond plate, polished aluminum, stainless steel, plastic lenses, and convertible-top plastic windows, when used with Mothers PowerMetal Polish.The company offers this product in two sizes: full and mini.

I tested the Mothers ball with the PowerMetal Polish as the instructions suggest. First, I tested the full-size ball. I found this product to be very difficult to control. The ball is made from foam. The problem I had was that the foam would grab and bounce, making it very difficult to control. At times, when it kept grabbing, I had no control. I tried it on diamond plate as advertised. The plating chewed up the foam as if it was going through a shredder, leaving little pieces of foam all over my work. I had to go back over my work to clean up these pieces. I found that the mini ball worked much better; the foam was compressed tightly, thus creating a more durable product. I still found that even the mini ball grabbed and bounced, but I was able to control it better because of the shaft that runs from the drill to the ball head. This shaft has a sleeve that lets you hold for better control. It fits into hard-to-reach, tedious polishing areas and makes them easier than polishing by hand.

 Flitz Buff 'n Polish Ball  

This past November, while attending Sema, I came across the Flitz polish and the Flitz Buff 'n Polish Ball. Initially I was skeptical, based on my experience with Mothers PowerBall. But the thought of reducing the effort to accomplish this task whispered to me, "Let's give it a try!" Flitz currently offers this ball in two sizes: the Orange Ball will fit into most areas, while the Blue Ball is oversize and works great on large surfaces like diamond plate.

I must say that I've always been a Mothers Polish guy, but I decided to give the Flitz polish a try in combination with their polishing ball. Flitz claims that the ball will work with both their liquid and their paste polish. The paste has the highest concentration of cleaning power; it also provides longer-lasting protection. The liquid is not as concentrated as the paste, but it gave me comparable results. The protection didn't seem to last as long as that provided by the paste. However, it lasted as long as Mothers liquid. The liquid was easier to work with, because of its spreadability.

Joke of the month

Night & Day 

"Can't replied the farmer.  "At night I haul water for the hole."