Having different types of headlamps or headlights, there is corresponding care that needs to be done to maintain the headlamps. There are people who would want to have professional care or help for the maintenance on all the parts of their car and there are people who would prefer to do it themselves.
There are companies that offer headlight restoration service for vehicle owners. There are different types of headlights for different kinds of vehicles.
Problems with headlight lenses
Headlight lenses are actually the plastic that covers the bulb on the headlamp or headlight. This is usually made of polycarbonate. The lens can be pitted because of the abrasion from elements on the road like pebbles and sand. In time it can also crack because of the weather situations eventually allowing water to come into the lamp. Plastic lenses can get cloudy and can have yellow rings because of the oxidation of the painted on lens hard coat. The sun’s UV rays and the head bulbs are the culprit that makes the lens cloudy. When this happens, there are headlight restoration service companies that can make your headlights roadworthy again in no time.
Different bulbs
In the early days, headlamps or headlights used acetylene oil to have the headlights working. It is also manually lit by the driver.They used acetylene because it is resistant to wind. Then the incandescent bulb was introduced. It has a yellowish colour. It is effective in producing heat, but not so efficient in producing enough light to be projected and aid the driver at night or in dark places. The incandescent bulb is now being replaced by halogen bulb. Halogen lamps need less energy, but is able to project the light that a driver needs to see the road at night. There are also the High intensity discharge lamps. These kinds of lamps are using electric arc rather than the filament. High intensity discharge lamps are smaller than the halogen lamps, but if the bulb is bigger the range of light will be robust and will give a brighter and clearer light pattern. High intensity discharge lamps can also be called xenon headlamps because the bulb contains xenon and this is the one that burns and sends light to the bulb. Xenon can actually shorten the run in of the lamp and that starts when the engine of car starts. The direction where the lamp is focused would be the direction of the beam of light. It is always important that the direction of the lamp is corrected to give more light to the path where the driver is driving.