Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea

pman626 said:
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.

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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As I said - I was not able to use spray :buffing:

and yes, it took me like a 30 min to tape newspapers around each headlight - isn't easy for angle lights
but, mix spar with minerals and apply it took me may be 5 - 10 min and I got way more control over what I do this way. While spray has to be faster, but not for me.
 
I tried spraying, it just takes too much time and the over-spray risk is too much. Once you get the wipe method down it goes quick. I am doing them for car dealers and they have said as long as they have been in the business they have never seen these look better. One dealer called his Granddaughter and had her bring in her Volkswagen for me to do. He liked it that much.
 
Clearviewtn said:
I tried spraying, it just takes too much time and the over-spray risk is too much. Once you get the wipe method down it goes quick. I am doing them for car dealers and they have said as long as they have been in the business they have never seen these look better. One dealer called his Granddaughter and had her bring in her Volkswagen for me to do. He liked it that much.
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Gotta love responces like that :)...how much per pair are you doing them for?
 
Clearviewtn said:
I'm getting $25 per pair but doing 4-6 at a time. This is a part-time business for me, I still have my full time job I go to at 3pm
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Is this strictly for the dealerships? How long does it take you for 1 pair? For $25/pair, you'd be a fool to pass that up, IMHO.
 
g35_coupe said:
Is this strictly for the dealerships? How long does it take you for 1 pair? For $25/pair, you'd be a fool to pass that up, IMHO.
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Wow yeah $25 a pair is cheap for all the steps needed...i go for $50/pair but for a dealership id probably do $40 if i was getting 4-6 at a time...but hey sounds like your getting a lot of business and doing a great job so cant complain about that:dblthumb2:
 
feslope said:
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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you could probably use the same rag method. you would need to thin it with water.
I dunno how durable that would be though.


the spray method allows me to spray on a thicker coat with no streaks or anything.

it literally took me less than 1 minute to finish spraying a headlight.

it's the taping that takes more time.


mikek753 said:
it took me like a 30 min to tape newspapers around each headlight - isn't easy for angle lights.
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30 minutes is way too slow. the tape doesn't have to be exact.

it only took me 5 minutes to tape around each light, and that's because i was using packaging tape and cutting them in half. If i used regular masking tape, it would've been faster..
and my lights are huge and curvy.

1hz3mq.jpg
 
It doesn't take that long to tape around the lights. Besides, on a car like the Camry in the photo, you don't have to mask the hood, only open it, put a big rag or some paper in there and close the hood, then wrap around the hood edge! Takes about 15 seconds, and half the masking is done.
 
In Knoxville Tennessee $20-$25 per set is actually a good rate to get from dealerships because there were some fools around here doing them for $10 but they did no masking and left the dealers with overspray and compound to remove, basically had to re-detail the cars. I am very careful and cover them as if I were going to spray anyway because of the wetsanding sling and compound. Most of the big dealerships have a guy on the lot doing paint touch up and refinishing headlights, but the smaller 30 cars or less dealers are my main target right now.

Retail I get $40

Just did a trade with a sign shop. They lettered up my truck and I did the headlights on their work van. That's one way to save money! :xyxthumbs:
 
Clearviewtn said:
In Knoxville Tennessee $20-$25 per set is actually a good rate to get from dealerships because there were some fools around here doing them for $10 but they did no masking and left the dealers with overspray and compound to remove, basically had to re-detail the cars. I am very careful and cover them as if I were going to spray anyway because of the wetsanding sling and compound. Most of the big dealerships have a guy on the lot doing paint touch up and refinishing headlights, but the smaller 30 cars or less dealers are my main target right now.

Retail I get $40

Just did a trade with a sign shop. They lettered up my truck and I did the headlights on their work van. That's one way to save money! :xyxthumbs:
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Nice...gotta love bartering. I should probably hit up the smaller car dealerships around me for headlights as well...did you print up some pictures to show them or did you just give them a pitch?
 
I too was wondering about pitching my restorations at some smaller dealerships. How would or have some of you guys gone about it?
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
Nice...gotta love bartering. I should probably hit up the smaller car dealerships around me for headlights as well...did you print up some pictures to show them or did you just give them a pitch?
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I actually have a photo album. I did friends and family first. If i think the guy is really on the fence I offer to do his worst pair for "cost" ($10) That is the kicker cause the difference is so stunning I always get an order to do the nicer cars on the lot.

One thing that has helped a lot is I had an old sheet that I "cut to fit" the engine compartment and cover the grill area with a cut out of the lights (imagine a fat "T") and sewed magnets in all the corners so it basically covers everything and with the magnets the breeze won't blow it onto the wet plastic. With this the set up is just minutes and no chance of wetsanding sling making a mess. I can be in and out in 20 minutes with stunning results.
 
Clearviewtn said:
I actually have a photo album. I did friends and family first. If i think the guy is really on the fence I offer to do his worst pair for "cost" ($10) That is the kicker cause the difference is so stunning I always get an order to do the nicer cars on the lot.

One thing that has helped a lot is I had an old sheet that I "cut to fit" the engine compartment and cover the grill area with a cut out of the lights (imagine a fat "T") and sewed magnets in all the corners so it basically covers everything and with the magnets the breeze won't blow it onto the wet plastic. With this the set up is just minutes and no chance of wetsanding sling making a mess. I can be in and out in 20 minutes with stunning results.
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very smart idea...anything to make a job faster is good in my book:props: ...Id like to see it if you do pictures of your next job. I know i need to get a little photo album together too pretty soon...I had one but it got put into storage when I moved a year ago lol...oh well...just need more jobs!
 
g35_coupe said:
I am.
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I thought you said you were but i didnt want to search thru this whole thing again to find the post lol. Thats good cause thats what i bought at wal-mart last night along with some mineral spirits...the can i had had dried up i guess...or someone spilled it :nomore:...ill be keeping this bottle somewhere with the rest of my stuff and not where anyone can screw with it lol.
 
Looks good, but it is well known that urethane yellows over time.
 
Well to me all you have to know is that the 'correct' sealant that was put on the headlights by their manufacturers ALSO yellows over time....so whats the big deal...nothing is forever especially with these guys....so if we can make some $ giving someone a good service for about 1/10 the price they would pay to have a new set of lights put it...i say its good for us and its good for the customers:props:
 
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