A warrant of fitness check looks at your car's safety, and a surprising amount of that comes down to visibility. Cloudy headlights, a grimy windscreen and worn wipers all affect how well you can see and be seen, so a proper detail before your WOF appointment is worth doing alongside the mechanical checks.
Start With Headlights
Faded, yellowed headlight lenses cut down how much light actually reaches the road, which matters for a safety inspection as much as it does for your own visibility at night. If your lenses have gone cloudy, our headlight restoration guide walks through restoring them at home with the Cerakote Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit, no power tools required.
Clean the Glass Properly
A windscreen covered in road film, bug residue or a hazy build up of old wiper fluid makes it harder to see clearly, especially with low sun or oncoming headlights. Give the glass a proper clean inside and out with a high GSM microfibre towel, and check your wiper blades are still clearing water evenly without streaking or skipping.
Check Your Number Plates and Mirrors
Dirty or faded number plates and mirrors are an easy thing to overlook. A quick wipe down with a general purpose cleaner takes a couple of minutes and makes sure nothing obviously grimy catches the inspector's eye before they even start.
Give Tyres a Proper Look
While you are down at wheel level for tyre tread, it is a good time to clean brake dust and grime off the wheels themselves with a Wheel Barrel Brush, and finish with a coat of Wheel Sealant so grime does not bond as easily before your next wash. Once the tyres themselves are clean, a coat of Tire Dressing brings back a deep black finish and makes cracking or perishing rubber easier to spot at a glance.
A Simple Pre-WOF Checklist
- Restore cloudy headlights so they are putting out full light
- Clean the windscreen and all glass inside and out
- Check wiper blades are clearing water evenly
- Wipe down number plates and mirrors
- Clean wheels and check tyres are easy to inspect, finishing with a tyre dressing
None of this replaces the mechanical side of a warrant check, but a car that looks and sees clearly makes for a smoother appointment, and you get a cleaner car out of it either way.
Where to Get What You Need
Shineworks stocks everything above, ready to ship across New Zealand and to Australia. Shop the Headlight Restoration Kit, or browse the full Cerakote range and DIY Detail range to get your car ready.