Wonder solution WD-40 seems to get used for almost everything these days, from cleaning the rust off nuclear missiles to de-greasing squeaky door hinges. It can also be used to clear chewing gum from surfaces and even helps free tree sap from your body panels, but can it also stop your headlamps from fogging up as they age? Kind of, yes.
There are a lot of urban myths about the best way to rejuvenate your old foggy headlamps, including turning to things like toothpaste thanks to its abrasive nature and shaving foam. While we’ve previously pointed out the dangers of turning to bug spray to de-fog your headlights, we’ve not looked into the effectiveness of WD-40 at cleaning your headlights before.
It’s a pretty simple cleaning task to do, and is one that WD-40 itself even recommends using. As per the miracle material’s website:
Wipe the headlights for surface-level dust and muck with a damp cloth
Spray a generous layer of WD-40 over the headlights and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. While you wait, the specially engineered solution will expertly get under the buildup and muck, making your next step easier.
Take a soft, clean loofah and scrub the headlights gently. Next, just wipe the headlights with a clean cloth, and you’re done.
Other methods of cleaning headlamps using WD-40 call for it to be sprayed onto a soft cloth and then gently massaged into the transparent parts. Whichever method you chose to use, they’re both doing the same thing, and that’s cleaning away dirt and grime from the lights, which is a good thing.
The added benefit of WD-40 over traditional cleaning liquids is that its oil-based nature means that it can also give your lights a new shiny finish that makes them appear good as new. This is because the oil fills any microscopic scratches on the surface of your headlights and any signs of oxidation, reducing their appearance.
Sadly, this is just a temporary fix for foggy headlamps. That’s because the oily nature of WD-40 can trap dirt and grime of its own, muddying up your headlights once again. Additionally, because WD-40 is a liquid, it will eventually wash off the surface of your headlamps revealing all the scratches and imperfections once again, adds Men’s Journal.
What’s more, the foggy look that headlights get as they age is often due to UV damage caused by the sun. Preventing further fogging can only be done by adding a new UV protection barrier to your headlights, which isn’t something that WD-40 can do.
For a quick fix, using WD-40 is cheap, easy and I can almost guarantee that we’ve all got everything needed for the task right now. If you’re looking to permanently clean up your lights, then you’re probably better turning to a professional cleaning kit, which might include sandpaper and polishing compounds to smooth out the surface, and UV sealer to give everything a professional, long-lasting finish.
Whatever you do, though, do not use insect repellent to clean your dirty headlamps.