Since 2006, Protouch Car Care has provided professional vehicle headlight restoration services in Cape Town.
Headlight Restoration Services
Welcome to our headlight restoration page. Here’s a quick link guide for what you may want to know:
Table of Contents
- What We Can’t Restore
- Our Headlight Restoration Services
- Faded Headlights
- Deep Damage: Scratches, Pitting, Surface Crazing
- Ceramic Coatings for Headlights#ceramichead
- PPF (Paint Protection Film) for Headlights
- The Headlight Restoration Process
What We Can’t Restore
- Internal headlight issues (condensation, moisture, delaminating chrome)
- Broken or cracked headlights (not roadworthy)
- Crazing (small cracks within the plastic)
- Glass headlights
- Bulb replacements (see an auto-electrician)
Our Headlight Restoration Services
We improve your safety and car’s appearance by restoring headlights through sanding, polishing, and UV protection.
Key Points:
- Severity of damage affects restoration time and cost
- Booking required for all services
- In-person inspection needed for accurate quotes
- We can work on both headlights simultaneously if staff available
Faded Headlights
Most common headlight issue is fading caused by oxidation from the sun.
This is also referred to as yellowing, milkiness or haziness
Service Details:
- Price: R500 – R1500 for both headlights
- Time: 30 minutes – 1.5 hours
Before and After Examples
Click to see more examples
Deep Damage: Scratches, Pitting, Surface Crazing
Deeper damage like Scratches, Pitting, and Surface level Crazing requires more time and effort to restore.
- Service Details:
- Price: R1500 – R3000
- Time: 1.5 hours – full day
Example:
Mercedes S-Class Severely chipped and pitted headlights restored for R2000 (replacement cost: R120,000)
Click to see more examples
Mercedes S-Class
Shown here is a Mercedes S-Class with severely chipped and pitted headlights that we did in 2020. Replacing these headlights at the time cost a whopping R120,000! Our charge at the time was R2000 which the clients paid with a smile.
Before
After
BMW E90 320D
BEFORE
AFTER
Ceramic Coatings for Headlights
Please note that we include a 1-year ceramic sealant in every restoration. A sealant is very different to a coating, which is more durable.
Benefits:
- Protects against UV rays
- Lasts 2+ years with proper care
- Price: From R500 per pair
Paint Protection Film (PPF) for Headlights
PPF is the most superior protection. It’s150-200 microns thick (vs 2 microns for ceramic coating). It will protect your lights from UV fading, scratches, pitting and stone chips
Benefits:
- Protects against stone chips and most scratches
- Price: From R2000 per pair depending on vehicle.
- Note: Not ideal for heavily domed spotlights
Example:
BMW Headlights being wrapped with PPF
The Headlight Restoration Process
The best process we’ve found in all our doing headlight restoration is to resurface the headlight by sanding through the faded (oxidised by the sun’s UV rays) or damaged (scratched or pitted) plastic of the headlight lens, and then polish it until is optically clear. The deeper the damage the more we need sand away until the damage is not visible.
Step #1
Before starting restoration we tape up around the headlight to prevent possible damage to the surrounding paint. We also make sure its thoroughly clean.
Step #2
This is done by hand or machine until we get below the damage. So the deeper it is the more we need to sand away.
Step #3
PLEASE NOTE:
- Headlight restoration cannot repair or resolve any issues on the inside of the light, repair cracks or damage lights, or seal or cause condensation issues.
- We do not remove headlights from the car, if that is required, it would need to be brought to us loose as we do not remove them.