Cloudy headlights before Calgary's dark winter commutes

Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 1. From then until spring, a lot of Calgary drivers leave for work and come home in the dark, whether that is Deerfoot, Stoney Trail, Highway 2 up to Airdrie or the run in from Cochrane, Chestermere or Okotoks.

That makes headlights do most of their work over the next five months, right when the roads are wet, slushy and covered in brine. If your lenses have gone yellow or hazy over the summer, this is the stretch where you will notice it most.

Most modern headlight lenses are polycarbonate plastic with a thin factory UV coating on top. Sun, road grit, salt and automatic car washes wear that coating down over time. Once the bare plastic is exposed, it oxidizes and starts to yellow.

Calgary is hard on lenses from both sides of the calendar. Summers bring strong sun at altitude, and winters bring gravel, sand and salt spray thrown up by the traffic ahead. Vehicles parked outside year-round usually show it first.

A cloudy lens scatters light instead of throwing it down the road, so the beam looks dimmer and less defined even with good bulbs.

Toothpaste, bug spray and quick wipe-on kits can make a lens look better for a few weeks, but they do not remove the damaged layer or replace the UV protection, so the haze comes back.

Our process wet sands the lens in four stages to take off the oxidized plastic, machine polishes it back to clear, then applies a UV-resistant ceramic coating so the bare polycarbonate is protected again. The work takes about 45 minutes and is done on-site at your home or workplace from one of our self-contained vans.

If your fog lights have the same haze, they can be done at the same visit.

Restoration needs a clean, dry lens and reasonable working conditions. It is easier to book now, before the deep cold settles in, than in the middle of January.

A freshly coated lens also goes into winter protected. Brine and grit will still hit it, but they are hitting a coating instead of bare plastic that is already breaking down.

Headlight restoration can be booked on its own or added to any detailing package. If you were already planning to get the car cleaned up and sealed before winter, adding it to the same visit saves a second appointment.

Between visits, rinse salt off the front of the vehicle when you can, use a soft wash mitt rather than a stiff brush on the lenses, and skip harsh degreasers on the plastic. That helps the coating last.