Chris Watts

Unlike many entrepreneurs, Chris Watts’ biggest challenge is not financial.

As he launches a business restoring car headlights, the biggest hurdle Mr. Watts faces is informing consumers about the service he offers.

Headlight Renew Doctor promises to take cloudy, yellowed car headlights and, using a technique he developed, “renew” them for a fraction of the cost it would take to replace them.

Mr. Watts launched the company two months ago and is trying to overcome the challenges by taking his business to people who would benefit most from it, like used car dealers. He has been working with places such as Easy Auto Credit in East Ridge, restoring the headlights on vehicles for sale.

He has taken advantage of advertising on the Internet with a Web site that launches next week. He has posted a clip of himself demonstrating his headlight renewal method on the video-sharing Web site YouTube.com.

That type of advertising is one of the best ways for Mr. Watts to reach his potential customers, said Kevin Maxfield, director of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Chattanooga State Technical Community College.

“If it’s a new type of service, you have the added challenge of educating the public about your service and why they need your service,” he said. “The education part is the part he’ll have to overcome.”

The headlight renewal technique Mr. Watts developed involves sanding the plastic that encases a headlight, removing the cloudy layer. Mr. Watts, who has worked in the auto painting and body work business for 20 years, said he has found a type of urethane spray that works especially well to coat the sanded light cover.

The charge to have Headlight Renew Doctor’s mobile service ranges from $59.99 to $99.99 depending on the car. He said his technique can save people from having to replace a headlight, which can cost from around $100 to more than $500 for some older cars.

Since Mr. Watts already has been working in the auto detailing business, his initial investment in the business was very low, but he predicts he will spend several thousand dollars over the next six months to get the word out.

“The cost is low to do this,” he said. “I am hoping by the end of this year to have $75,000 to $100,000 in sales.”

Various methods of headlight restoration have been around for several years, said Terry Hall, who manages the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store on Cummings Highway. His store has carried a do-it-yourself kit for $15.99 for a year.

“(Cloudy headlights are) a big problem for some people,” he said. “It’s very popular and there has been a lot of demand for it.”

The renewal products in the past have featured an abrasive substance that is polished over the headlight covering similar to the wax that is applied to a car, Mr. Watts said. He said his technique, which uses sanding and a urethane spray finish, differs from others on the market.

“My only apprehension is that people ... have purchased the abrasive system over the past three or four years, and I usually have to explain this new process,” he said.

Mr. Watts now is working on packaging a kit for his own product, complete with spray and sandpaper, and has pitched it to the merchandising department at O’Reilly’s. He predicts he would price his Headlight Renew Doctor kits at $24.95 if O’Reilly decides to carry it.

That process of taking on a supplier could take some time, but there has been significant demand for headlight renewal products, said Jill Jones, who works with the merchandising department for O’Reilly’s at the company’s corporate offices in Springfield, Mo.

On the Web

headlightrenewdoctor.com