Protective film for headlights: what and how

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Any motorist knows well that while driving, various pebbles can fly from under the wheels of the vehicle in front. They can also cause a broken or damaged headlight. To reduce the risk of such consequences, you can increase the distance between cars. But this is not always possible. Another thing is to try to protect them. And for this there is a special film for headlights.

What is this

Film for headlights is a protective coating for vehicle lighting fixtures. It helps prevent not only scratches and chips, but also glass breakage. Outwardly, it looks like household adhesive tape, with which every person is perfectly familiar. The difference is that the film is much thicker and does not stretch.

Composition

The headlight protection film is made of polyurethane, which is a polymer material. It has excellent strength and wear resistance characteristics. But, unfortunately, it has a significant drawback - a narrow range of operating temperatures. Thematerial can only be used within about -20 to +80 degrees Celsius.

Efficiency

Film for headlights perfectly protects against chips and scratches that can occur as a result of hitting a small stone. And this is already an important factor, because on many car models it will not be possible to replace only the glass, but you will have to buy the entire kit as an assembly. With more significant impacts, the headlight will, of course, break. But at the same time, the film will not allow the glass to crumble.

Flaws

Unfortunately, headlight film has a very serious downside. It weakens the light output. So, a protective coating with a thickness of only 0.5 mm reduces light transmission by 2%, while 1 mm reduces light transmission by 4%. But these figures look significantly better than conventional plastic, which will reduce light output by 15%. For position lights and dipped beam, such losses will not be critical. Visibility while driving such a decrease in performance will not hurt. Things are quite different with the distant light. It should illuminate the path for a distance of 300 meters. By reducing the light output by only 2%, the distance will be reduced to 250 meters.

How to glue the film on the headlights

It is most convenient to carry out this operation on dismantled vehicle lighting fixtures. But removing the headlights is often difficult because additional labor-intensive work may be required. For example, dismantling the bumper. Then the cost of time and effort to complete the entire work will increase significantly. Therefore, the application of a protective coating can behold and on the installed headlights.

First you need to complete the workpiece. To do this, the film must be applied to the headlight and cut out the required piece with scissors. Can be made with a small margin.

Before pasting the headlights, they should be thoroughly cleaned and washed. If this is not done, then dirt will remain under the film, which can not only spoil the appearance, but also nullify all the work. After that, the entire surface to be glued should be degreased.

Next, the headlight should be moistened with soapy water, separate the film from the substrate and attach it to the glass. After that, it should be rolled out with a squeegee. That's it.