This post is sponsored by Black+Decker through Linqia.com. This post includes affiliate links which help support Autumn All Along.
Every time we wash our car, we notice that our headlights always still look… really foggy. With all of the traveling we are doing, we thought we should do something about that before all of our family sees Devin’s car. We decided to use our 20V MAX* Lithium Drill/Driver to spruce up our headlights up! We found that it was easier than we thought it would be and it was great to get a nice car wash to finish everything off afterwords; however, it was totally 100+ degrees the day we did this and I don’t think humans are made for weather that hot… .
SUPPLIES
- 20V MAX* Lithium Drill/Driver
- Automobile masking tape
- Polishing compound
- Polishing buffing pad + drill adapter
- Microfiber towels
- Water
CLEAN THE HEADLIGHT
Take a wet microfiber towel and wipe down the headlight.
APPLY THE AUTOMATIC MASKING TAPE
Apply automotive masking tape around the headlight as to protect the car paint when you are using the drill. It is very easy to get tape on the headlight instead of the actual car so be careful!
APPLY THE POLISH TO THE HEADLIGHT
Take a dry microfiber towel and dip it in the polishing compound. Apply the polish from the towel onto the light while rubbing in circles.
ADD WATER TO THE BUFFING PAD
Add water to the buffing pad prior using it on the headlight. Having a dry buffing pad can cause the headlight to warp due to heat from the friction (we speak from trial and error).
USE THE DRILL TO BUFF THE HEADLIGHT
Use the drill to buff the headlight on a low setting. Be careful to only use the center of the buff pad from the drill as turning the buff pad on the side while drilling with cause ruts in the headlight. If the climate or weather is very dry, you can apply more water to the buff pad before continuing to use the drill.
WIPE THE HEADLIGHT WITH A DRY CLOTH
After the compound polish isn’t as visible on the headlight, take a dry microfiber towel and wipe off the headlight to see if it has the desired effect.
REPEAT STEPS 3-6 UNTIL DESIRED EFFECT IS ACHIEVED
Since Devin’s headlight is from 2008 and hasn’t been detailed since then, we ended up repeating these steps 5 steps for desired effect.
REMOVE THE MASKING TAPE AND WASH YOUR CAR
As you can tell, the polishing compound made quite a mess. We definitely recommend getting a car wash after this project 😉 .
Overall, we were impressed with our 20V MAX* Lithium Drill/Driver and I loved how our headlights looked after our DIY headlight restoration! We charged it before the night before our project and the battery never died. The power from the drill remained consistent and I thought it was a perfect size for small projects like this because it wasn’t too heavy. I’m excited to use my drill again for more projects around the house!