DIY headlight chip repair

In detail: DIY repair of headlight chips from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

The traffic police inspector wins a "lemon" in the lottery. They ask him:
- How will you spend your money?
- I will buy a crossroads and will work for the soul!

Service "Headlight glass repair" focused on the repair of damaged glass headlights and foglights. The headlights are made of tempered glass. The impact of a stone, as a rule, leads to a through hole, and a large piece of glass breaks off from the inside. Through holes depressurize the headlamp, and besides the fact that the headlamp begins to "sweat", dirt and moisture gets there. The accumulation of dirt and dampness over time will cause the reflector to "cloud" and to peel off the glossy reflective coating, and the headlight will lose brightness.

Headlight glass repair differs from the repair of windshields, primarily by the polymer used, and also purely technologically, since the headlight must be removed in order to carry out repairs on the inner surface of the glass.

On the repaired glass, the tightness is restored and there is no need to replace the headlight unit. On most cars, when it becomes necessary to replace the headlamp glass, you have to purchase the entire headlamp unit, since the glasses that can be replaced are produced for single models.

Today, shock-resistant plastic is installed on the headlights of almost all cars, damage to which is extremely rare. Over time, the outer surface of plastic headlights turns yellow and becomes dull. This defect is removed by polishing.

Impact-resistant, transparent film with a thickness of 0.5 - 1 mm, when glued, repeats the contours of the glass, dampens the impact of an oncoming stone. There were cases when, even when hitting an obstacle, the film kept the glass intact. The film glued to the fog lamp eliminates the effect of "thermal shock", that is, a very heated glass of a small area does not burst when it hits the water.

Video (click to play).

Below is the technology for repairing headlamp glass.

Quite often, damaged optics are difficult to find on the market. You can make an individual request. However, this does not guarantee that it will be implemented. Therefore, it will be very useful to know how to repair car headlights yourself. Before proceeding with this procedure, it is necessary to find out what material the damaged optics are made of. Consider what modern headlights are.

Image - DIY headlight chip repair

Glass headlights... The most high-quality and efficient specialists are considered to be optics made of glass. It looks beautiful, stylish, transmits light perfectly, is used longer and does not grow cloudy. At the same time, such headlights, in comparison with other analogs, are more fragile, highly susceptible to scratches and cracks. A special film is used to protect the glass. It provides reliable protection against small stones and can be wiped clean without scratching the glass. However, the coating reduces the throughput of the optics by 4-5%, but this can be neglected in order to save money on replacing damaged glass.

Polycarbonate optics is cheaper and more practical. The material is highly resistant to mechanical damage, detergents and temperature extremes. However, there are significant disadvantages:

  • cloudiness due to ultraviolet rays;
  • poor resistance to the effects of various alkalis, acids and other corrosive liquids;
  • relatively short service life.

Acrylic headlights, better known as plexiglass optics. Acrylic, in comparison with polycarbonate, is of higher quality and quickly takes on almost any shape when heated.In this case, after solidification, the degree of transparency decreases by 6-8%. This optics does not grow cloudy, but is more prone to cracking with significant temperature fluctuations.

You will need the following tools to repair your headlights:

  • hair dryer-soldering iron;
  • milling machine;
  • compressor;
  • injector;
  • drill;
  • UV lamp;
  • pliers;
  • tweezers;
  • files;
  • hacksaw for metal;
  • sandpaper, circles, or other abrasive material;
  • Sander;
  • vernier caliper, ruler, pencil;
  • plasticine;
  • heat-resistant vacuum bag;
  • napkins, protective equipment (gloves, glasses).

Image - DIY headlight chip repair

Depending on what the damaged optics was made of, we prepare the appropriate material. The best option is shards of previously repaired headlights. If there are none, we prepare a similar plastic. Remember that polycarbonate and acrylic should not be interchanged. If they are welded to each other, then the connection will be fragile. Such optics will not last long, just a few days.

In addition, you will need plexiglass, solvent, scotch tape and special molecular glue. It can be replaced with dichloroethane. To restore the main headlights, it is necessary to prepare plexiglass with a thickness of about 6.0 mm, for sidelights (foglights) or rear lights, a thickness of 4.0-5.0 mm is sufficient.

The body and headlamp are repaired with a hair dryer in the following sequence:

  • We lay out the fragments in the right order. If some parts are lost or cannot be restored, use spare parts from previously repaired optics.
  • We heat each piece one by one with a hairdryer and attach it to its place.
  • We weld the resulting seams on both sides to ensure strength.
  • The irregularities resulting from welding are first removed with a file, and then with sandpaper.
  • After that, we carefully grind and polish the restored optics using a felt disc.

Broken pieces of headlights can be glued together using special glue. The repair procedure is similar to the above sequence. If you do not have the necessary parts, you can make them yourself from plexiglass. All seams must be treated with hardener on both sides without fail.

Sometimes the glued headlights may not match the shape of the cap. In this case, a fit is made using a technical hair dryer.

In case of damage to glass optics and the impossibility of replacing with a new one, you can make a similar headlight from plexiglass:

  • Preparing the template. We put the destroyed optics in parts, replace the lost elements with ordinary plasticine. Then we make a plaster matrix.
  • We cut a workpiece of the required size from plexiglass.
  • On tracing paper we draw a template for the internal drawing of the glass with a caliper.
  • Using a milling machine on a plexiglass workpiece, we reproduce the optics pattern with maximum accuracy.
  • After that we put plexiglass on a gypsum matrix and pack it in a heat-resistant vacuum bag.
  • We heat the resulting package until the plexiglass is completely softened and, with the help of a compressor, give it the shape of a gypsum matrix.

It should be noted that this procedure is rather complicated and time consuming. It is difficult to cope with it without the necessary skills and special equipment. Therefore, it is easier to resort to the services of specialists.

The rear lights are repaired in a similar manner. First, the parts of the destroyed optics are laid out on the table. Then, in the required sequence, glue the existing elements with glue.

As a rule, some parts after an accident will be lost or destroyed without the possibility of recovery. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare spare parts from a similar flashlight. First, we prepare a template for the missing element and cut out a piece of the desired shape with the utmost precision. We glue it and prepare the next element in the same way. After bonding, all seams must be carefully sanded and polished.

Visual video on the restoration of rear optics

Headlight cracks are repaired using an adhesive:

  • We drill the edges of the cracks.
  • We wash and dry the surface.
  • Install the injector just above the crack and apply the glue.
  • After filling the crack with glue, remove the injector and control the absence of air bubbles in the polymer composition.
  • To make the glue harden faster, you can dry it with an ultraviolet lamp.
  • After the adhesive has completely dried, we remove the irregularities with a file, and then we grind and polish the lantern.

After filling the cracks, it is recommended to treat the joints with hardener.

We wash the headlight first, then dry it thoroughly. First, rough grinding is performed in several stages with a gradual increase in the grain size of the wheel. It is not recommended to press strongly to avoid overheating of the plastic. The time of one procedure should not exceed 3-4 minutes.

After rough sanding, we proceed to polishing. For this, wipes and polish are used. A small amount of the mixture is applied to a napkin and the surface is manually polished for 6-8 minutes. You can handle plastic headlights using a grinder. In this case, use low speed and avoid overheating of the surface.

It is recommended to polish the optics every 2 years, as well as after repairs and when cracks or chips appear. This procedure takes about 20-30 minutes and is not difficult.