Acrylic headlights
How do they age? What makes, them fade? What makes them yellow. The acrylic headlight is a synthetic creation with a infinite life span in a controlled environment but when exposed to the variations of the elements its life time usefulness becomes finite.
Along with the elements is the human contact. Together they can be a positive or negative force.


What hurts headlights most?
Physical contact,
Road debris is a major factor, this includes liquid and solids.
Chips and scratches caused by this manor are unlikely to effect the headlights ability to project light.


What causes the headlight to cloud?
There are several factors that will cause a headlight to cloud, the most common is liquid road debris in the form of automotive fluids, gas or oils.
Your headlight is resistant to stains but not impervious to it. Stains may not be clearly visible initially but over time they will darken and build. These stains create a surface that allows solid debris to embed in and build up on and this will have a negative effect on the headlights ability to project light ahead.


The next common cause is oxidation on the surface of the lens. This effect aided by the interaction of electricity passing through the lens and the effect that current has on the oxygen molecules in the water.
It creates a natural magnetic effect that draws oxygen molecules to cling to the surface of the lens.
molecules build up very slowly and are thicken by liquid road debris and made yellow by the suns ultra violet rays.
This oxidation has a molecular grip to the surface of the lens that brings about the third cause a lens will cloud up and that is human intervention, In the form of abrasive cleaning kits designed to scrap away at the oxidation until it is removed. This will compromise the headlights ability to project light ahead.

There is a degree of recovery to the problems outlined above however there is one problem that has defied a solution, it is UV damage,
For most UV damage is associated with oxidation but they are very different in cause and effect.

UV damage is visual and it is caused by light.
for that reason some manufactures of headlights infuse UV protection in the lens while others create a protective layer or UV layer.
This protection is critical because without it the lens would loose its clarity and begin to turn yellow, it is a molecular change like tanning that is irreversible. This decreases the brilliance of the light projected forward.


You can remove stains and oxidation.
The most effective least damaging way is without the use of abrasives.
Remember, it is physical contact that is the lead causes of most damage, It can remove the protective UV layer and leave the lens exposed to the yellowing Ultra Violet rays of the sun. It can also cause physical damage to the surface that will make the usefulness of the lens deteriorate faster


You can protect your lens from stains and oxidation with a protective barrier.
Many recommend wax but wax has two issues, one extended contact time and imposed friction due to buffing. and second wax will build up heat up, create a surface that will embed road debris, turn yellow and have to be removed.


The best thing you can do to keep your headlights looking new is protect them with an Acrylic paint conditioner (APC), it provides a micro meter barrier against oxidation and liquid road debris.
It requires the least amount of physical contact.
It is routinely applied once every 60 days and never has to be buffed on or taken off, it will not yellow or create a surface capable of embedding solid objects.
Whether you decide to go with the APC option or something else
keep the thought "non abrasive" in your thoughts when deciding on a method to keep your headlights clarity.


You are in effect fighting nature and the only thing you can truly hope for is a stand off.
If you use abrasives you are working against yourself.