Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea

GP49 said:
the alcohol had marred the nice, clear spar urethane finish, and was, in fact, softening it. Fortunately, applying more of the alcohol with a paper towel softened the coating and made it relatively easy to remove, down to the bare plastic. This accident gave me an opportunity to see the condition of that plastic surface after several months' protection by the Minwax Spar Urethane. It looked as good as new. !
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interesting.

so denatured alcohol makes this clear coat reversible without having to sand it off.

I'll have to keep that in mind.

it will make reapplication much easier when the urethane wears away in 2 years.


Helljumper09 said:
While the spay on version may be cheaper and faster, the smothness and gloss from the towel applied version can't be beat. .
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the gloss is the same.

however, as with most sprays, unless you wet sand it, there will be some orange peel.

but with the wipe on method, some people get streaking and have to start over.

It's all in the technique though. on some parts of the cd case I sprayed, the orange peel was hardly noticeable under reflection.

the orange peel has to do with the speed the paint hits the surface. If i hold the spray farther away, there might be minimal orange peel.

tomorrow, i'm gonna try spraying urethane, and then spraying paint thinner on top immediately afterwards to see if the orange peel will level itself out.
 
Can anyone give me some tips in marketing this service on a shoestring? I have some cheap fliers made up to hand out at gas stations and shopping centers, I'd hate to resort to roadside signs.
 
pman626 said:
Interesting. So denatured alcohol makes this clear coat reversible without having to sand it off.

I'll have to keep that in mind. It will make reapplication much easier when the urethane wears away in 2 years.
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It sure would. I had feared that I'd have to sand it all off but the denatured alcohol mixed with elbow grease worked just fine. It took a few applications and a final one to remove a slight, patchy leftover "haze", then I polished the headlight again with Plast-X, just in case, even though from appearances it didn't need it.

Note: "denatured alcohol" products differ in their composition. The brand I mentioned is "ethyl alcohol denatured with methyl alcohol." I don't know whether it's the ethyl alcohol or methyl alcohol that is the "active" ingredient. Other brands may differ. I have seen some that include toluene and other solvents, which may damage the headlight itself. Beware!

The anti-freeze preparations sold for use with windshield cleaning solutions in the wintertime are usually methanol-based. If it's the methanol that softens the clearcoat, then don't put it into the headlight washer on your fancy-schmantzy Mercedes that you've treated with the Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane!
 
The urethane aerosol method is more tedious because you have to go back and wet sand the orange peel with 800-2000 grit, and then polish.
But in the end, you'll still have a nice smooth finish.


My local Home Depot only has the water based urethane, so I had to buy the aerosol.


if you're gonna make a business out of this, the wipe on method is definitely more cost effective
 
Possibly...I am not sure...the VOC content of the non-aerosol version is too high in certain areas due to air pollution regulations?

If you have the aerosol, can you spray it to saturate a blue paper towel and spread it that way?
 
hi all,

I tried Spar spray ($8 can) and it didn't work out for me :buffing:
I used 90% alcohol to remove what I got
than used Mineral Spirits and spray to the plastic cap Spar to get it mixed
than applied by hand blue towel as OP prescribed - that worked :props:
the next day went to Lowes to get 32oz Spar Urethane ($15) and mixed 1:1 and applied again after about 20 hours on top of prev layer
.
I hope it will add extra protection. My car in garage has waited for another 20 hours.
I used high beam for 20 min - but my battery run out !!! so - I'll need jump start my car later.
Also I covered just in case by news paper headlight - it isn't touching headlights!!! to protect from dust to let it dry.
I'll post my pics later.

p.s. I'm new to this forum Im the MAN
 
mikek753 said:
hi all,

I tried Spar spray ($8 can) and it didn't work out for me :buffing:
I used 90% alcohol to remove what I got
than used Mineral Spirits and spray to the plastic cap Spar to get it mixed
than applied by hand blue towel as OP prescribed - that worked :props:
the next day went to Lowes to get 32oz Spar Urethane ($15) and mixed 1:1 and applied again after about 20 hours on top of prev layer
.
I hope it will add extra protection. My car in garage has waited for another 20 hours.
I used high beam for 20 min - but my battery run out !!! so - I'll need jump start my car later.
Also I covered just in case by news paper headlight - it isn't touching headlights!!! to protect from dust to let it dry.
I'll post my pics later.

p.s. I'm new to this forum Im the MAN
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lol suppose to have the car runnin when the headlights are on man! Thats what the altinator is for :props: Glad your headlights came out good thou
 
pman626 said:
My local Home Depot only has the water based urethane, so I had to buy the aerosol.
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Has anyone tried the water based spar urethane? The water based version has no tint, is crystal clear and VOC free.
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
lol suppose to have the car runnin when the headlights are on man! Thats what the altinator is for :props: Glad your headlights came out good thou
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Yes, I forgot to check for lights :nomore:
and I can't run car in my parking garage for long - too much gas smell ... that gets into home.

This is after 2 layers of Spar and the next day after 40 ml freeway at 70+ mph
looks way better than before
those are original headlights CR-V 2000 / 10 years old car
will see for how long it'll be like this

Feed back please
 
Looks great man!

mikek753 said:
Yes, I forgot to check for lights :nomore:
and I can't run car in my parking garage for long - too much gas smell ... that gets into home.

This is after 2 layers of Spar and the next day after 40 ml freeway at 70+ mph
looks way better than before
those are original headlights CR-V 2000 / 10 years old car
will see for how long it'll be like this

Feed back please
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feslope said:
Has anyone tried the water based spar urethane? The water based version has no tint, is crystal clear and VOC free.
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according to the can, the water based one is not recommended to be used on floors. so i assumed it was less durable than the oil based, and bought the oil based aerosol instead.


the tint is really negligible. it's clear enough
 
pman626 said:
according to the can, the water based one is not recommended to be used on floors. so i assumed it was less durable than the oil based, and bought the oil based aerosol instead.


the tint is really negligible. it's clear enough
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did you use spray on headlights already? :Picture:
Do you need Minerals in that case? I think you can't use Minerals.
I was not successful with spray - was very ugly in my case.
 
I finally got the technique down and the wipe on version works better than spray! :props:
I picked up a dealership and an 8 vehicle order today. They had someone else do it before and his over spray caused them to have to re-detail the cars after he finished. I came in and wowed them with the gloss of the wipe on and no over spray.
Big thank you to Hot Rod.:dblthumb2:
 
Clearviewtn said:
I finally got the technique down and the wipe on version works better than spray! :props:
I picked up a dealership and an 8 vehicle order today. They had someone else do it before and his over spray caused them to have to re-detail the cars after he finished. I came in and wowed them with the gloss of the wipe on and no over spray.
Big thank you to Hot Rod.:dblthumb2:
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Awesome man thats very cool. How much are you getting per pair?
 
Once you're done and putting up your supplies and throwing away all of your trash, you may be tempted to dump any used lacquer thinner into your plastic cup that has your leftover spar urethane mix. This will make a perfect 360 degree cut along side of your cup and the whole bottom will fall down splashing everywhere. Don't ask me how I know.

:laughing:
 
mikek753 said:
did you use spray on headlights already? :Picture:
Do you need Minerals in that case? I think you can't use Minerals.
I was not successful with spray - was very ugly in my case.
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yes. i sprayed the headlights already. it turned out good. no mineral spirits required.

the trick to spraying is to not move the can too fast, or else it will not turn out clear.

you should hold the spray ~5 inches away from the light, and only move about 9 inches/second side to side.
take a ruler out and practice to see how fast that is.
if you move at that speed, then it lays on clear, and there's no orange peel.


there will be some overspray- the spray mist does travel, so you'll need to lay some newspaper all around the hood and fenders, but not too close to the headlights. You don't want the newspaper ink splattered onto your headlights.


The spray method involves too much prep work. I'm beginning to think that the water based can of spar would work just as well. Just use a paint brush to slap on a thick coat, then sand the layer smooth.
 
pman626 said:
The spray method involves too much prep work. I'm beginning to think that the water based can of spar would work just as well. Just use a paint brush to slap on a thick coat, then sand the layer smooth.
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This would be fine if you have the time for it to completely dry. However, you do run the risk of accidentally sanding too much in one area (like the highest part of a convex shaped headlight). If you're doing it for a customer, this may not be efficient. The Scott rag is the tried and true method (you'll likely get proficient after numerous tries). I really don't think we're going to come out with a "new and improved wheel".
 
pman626 said:
I'm beginning to think that the water based can of spar would work just as well. Just use a paint brush to slap on a thick coat, then sand the layer smooth.
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I'm a little confused here. Why not apply it like the solvent based version? Is there a reason why the water based version won't go on thin and smooth?
 
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