Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea

Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
You caught my attention saying you can take them apart and clean the inside...any chance of some step by step pics or a video on how you do that? I thought they were sealed (or at least some were)..?
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I thought the same thing. How exactly do you do that? It must be tough to re seal them properly if you break the factory seal.
 
TL type S said:
Kris,

I am doing them for $85 a pair all day long on Acura and Honda.

Nate
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Yeah I know a lot of people charge more for it. But I find it so much easier to call people and say it only costs 50 or 60 bucks. I rarely get a no from the customer. Typically they are there for a package in the $165-$295 range anyways. So when I call, and they approve...I'm adding a cool $60 for an additional 20 minutes of work. I'm fine with that.

Of course an extra $85 would be better. But I also think that would turn more people off, than on. So for me, it's just a good affordable thing for my customers to get done in addition to their package.

Plus, I don't know if it's just around me or what. But, inspection stations are failing a lot of people because of headlight lenses. Which is great for me, ha. With me pretty much being the only local place advertising the service...I make a pretty good killing on headlights alone. The good thing is...I rarely do JUST a headlight restore. There's always more. :dblthumb2:
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
You caught my attention saying you can take them apart and clean the inside...any chance of some step by step pics or a video on how you do that? I thought they were sealed (or at least some were)..?
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Most or if not all headlights can be opened up. I dont have a step by step on it sorry. I do water/condensation removal as well. Ive been doing this for the past 8 years now and havnt damaged anyones lenses. At times it can be difficult, but I do have a lot of patience....you need it or this type of thing isnt for you...trust me. Sealing them back up is not hard either, just gotta make sure you use the right sealant. Ill try to post up pictures. Im new to the site with uploading pictures but give me some time and ill see what i can upload. Thanks
 
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accordxracer said:
Most or if not all headlights can be opened up. I dont have a step by step on it sorry. I do water/condensation removal as well. Ive been doing this for the past 8 years now and havnt damaged anyones lenses. At times it can be difficult, but I do have a lot of patience....you need it or this type of thing isnt for you...trust me. Sealing them back up is not hard either, just gotta make sure you use the right sealant. Ill try to post up pictures. Im new to the site with uploading pictures but give me some time and ill see what i can upload. Thanks
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Cool i'd love to see. What are your marketing methods and what do you charge (for just exterior and for exterior and inside the light).
 
Kristopher1129 said:
Yeah I know a lot of people charge more for it. But I find it so much easier to call people and say it only costs 50 or 60 bucks. I rarely get a no from the customer. Typically they are there for a package in the $165-$295 range anyways. So when I call, and they approve...I'm adding a cool $60 for an additional 20 minutes of work. I'm fine with that.

Of course an extra $85 would be better. But I also think that would turn more people off, than on. So for me, it's just a good affordable thing for my customers to get done in addition to their package.

Plus, I don't know if it's just around me or what. But, inspection stations are failing a lot of people because of headlight lenses. Which is great for me, ha. With me pretty much being the only local place advertising the service...I make a pretty good killing on headlights alone. The good thing is...I rarely do JUST a headlight restore. There's always more. :dblthumb2:
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Thats good to know.It sounds better that you have it as an add on to other jobs already going on,so yes that makes it better for you at 60.

I tape up the entire front of the car and get on it but it takes me about an hour total.I release the car back once the lights have cured and all looks new again.I warranty to correction also and will do twice for no additional charge in 12 months if it yellows again.I spend the extra time making sure they are perfect as you can get without buying a new set of lights.

All my clients are older professionals and really count on seeing and being seen if you know what I mean.

I have a Marshall county sheriff as a client and he tells me that soon tickets will be given out for cloudy lenses and I was like do what? You are kidding me.He said he was serious.

Go figure,good for restoration business anyway!
 
TL type S said:
Thats good to know.It sounds better that you have it as an add on to other jobs already going on,so yes that makes it better for you at 60.

I tape up the entire front of the car and get on it but it takes me about an hour total.I release the car back once the lights have cured and all looks new again.I warranty to correction also and will do twice for no additional charge in 12 months if it yellows again.I spend the extra time making sure they are perfect as you can get without buying a new set of lights.

All my clients are older professionals and really count on seeing and being seen if you know what I mean.

I have a Marshall county sheriff as a client and he tells me that soon tickets will be given out for cloudy lenses and I was like do what? You are kidding me.He said he was serious.

Go figure,good for restoration business anyway!
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Hell yeah, tell him to start ticketing ASAP!! lol

But yeah, I also tape off around the headlight. I get them looking brand new. I've done it so many times that I know what to expect, and already know a good starting point. When I say 20-30 minutes...it's not cause I'm half assing it. I definitely make them look new. It's just never really taken me a long time. And yes...like you, I let them cure a bit before letting the customer pick up the vehicle. Otherwise they'd probably put their hands on it without realizing it's not cured yet, ha.

There's actually a lot of work to doing a headlight restore. But once you find what grits, pads, and products, work for you...I find it to be fairly quick. :dblthumb2:
 
I have opened headlights before to install "Halo" type lighting as seen as BMW's.

Believe it or not, the standard process from the light manufacturer is to place the headlight assembly in the oven at 150 degrees for 15 minutes. This loosens up the sealant between the body and lens enough to allow separation with slight prying. Once you complete, you can either heat back up and press together or what I prefer is to use 3M adhesive re-seal.

Disclaimer:

I am by no means recommending that anyone try this process. I am just letting everyone know the process I received from a manufacturer and used with success. Use at your own discretion.
 
wildjyoung said:
I have opened headlights before to install "Halo" type lighting as seen as BMW's.

Believe it or not, the standard process from the light manufacturer is to place the headlight assembly in the oven at 150 degrees for 15 minutes. This loosens up the sealant between the body and lens enough to allow separation with slight prying. Once you complete, you can either heat back up and press together or what I prefer is to use 3M adhesive re-seal.

Disclaimer:

I am by no means recommending that anyone try this process. I am just letting everyone know the process I received from a manufacturer and used with success. Use at your own discretion.
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To the junk yard! Im the MAN

I'd still like to get some pricing on what you guys charge to do the inside of lights...has to be a bit of a lengthy process...
 
Great idea to practice with a junk yard headlight!

I did not like the idea of 150 degrees, so I started with 100 for 5 minutes and kept increasing the time until the seal releases.

Like anything, I would start with the least aggressive time/temp that will work.

Hummer H2 headlights are the hardest to open that I have seen yet.
 
wildjyoung said:
Great idea to practice with a junk yard headlight!

I did not like the idea of 150 degrees, so I started with 100 for 5 minutes and kept increasing the time until the seal releases.

Like anything, I would start with the least aggressive time/temp that will work.

Hummer H2 headlights are the hardest to open that I have seen yet.
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Any pricing guides?
 
Kristopher1129 said:
Hell yeah, tell him to start ticketing ASAP!! lol

But yeah, I also tape off around the headlight. I get them looking brand new. I've done it so many times that I know what to expect, and already know a good starting point. When I say 20-30 minutes...it's not cause I'm half assing it. I definitely make them look new. It's just never really taken me a long time. And yes...like you, I let them cure a bit before letting the customer pick up the vehicle. Otherwise they'd probably put their hands on it without realizing it's not cured yet, ha.

There's actually a lot of work to doing a headlight restore. But once you find what grits, pads, and products, work for you...I find it to be fairly quick. :dblthumb2:
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You are a pro compared to me.I am just starting to use the 3M pro kit with the CP polisher and sander.Got it for 320.00.

I am only on my 5th set of lights and its looking good.I have 3 customers lined up a day for the coming week.At 85 a pop and then there is the SL600 I am leaving for last.Its $200 per side for the Mercedes.I am also finding that the more you charge the better the customer feels.They think if you do not charge much then your work must not be to good.

I would never think you are half arsing it bro.I read what you post and I dont know you, but I trust that your word is solid and I would not even think twice about taking advice from you.

I am happy to be among all you good people.
 
TL type S said:
You are a pro compared to me.I am just starting to use the 3M pro kit with the CP polisher and sander.Got it for 320.00.

I am only on my 5th set of lights and its looking good.I have 3 customers lined up a day for the coming week.At 85 a pop and then there is the SL600 I am leaving for last.Its $200 per side for the Mercedes.I am also finding that the more you charge the better the customer feels.They think if you do not charge much then your work must not be to good.

I would never think you are half arsing it bro.I read what you post and I dont know you, but I trust that your word is solid and I would not even think twice about taking advice from you.

I am happy to be among all you good people.
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Thanks man! I really have no idea how many I've actually done. I'm pretty sure I've far surpassed 100 of them. I didn't start offering the service till about 2 years ago. The first year I didn't call people and let them know they need it and I didn't do many. Last year I made those calls, and what a difference that made. I rarely got someone who said no. I was surprised at that for some reason.

I was probably doing on average at least one restore a day. There were days where I'd talk 3 customers into getting it, and ended up adding $150 to my day. Love days like that!!! lol
 
All this talk is making me think about pushing it a bit more now myself :). I kinda half way mention it but it would be nice to bring in some extra cash for some easy work. I might go on and buy the 3M kit...looks pretty good and then i can do it with my drill i just bought and be able to work without worry of needing electricity.

So what grit sand paper do you usually do...the 3M i saw uses 600/800 and then straight to 3000. I was also wondering where you buy replacement discs.
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
All this talk is making me think about pushing it a bit more now myself :). I kinda half way mention it but it would be nice to bring in some extra cash for some easy work. I might go on and buy the 3M kit...looks pretty good and then i can do it with my drill i just bought and be able to work without worry of needing electricity.

So what grit sand paper do you usually do...the 3M i saw uses 600/800 and then straight to 3000. I was also wondering where you buy replacement discs.
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I guarantee you if you call up your customers, and just suggest it...you will be shocked at how many people say yes. It may be common knowledge to us...but most people have no clue what a headlight restore is, or that it's even possible for that matter. I get that response a lot! People really have no clue, ha.

They are always happy you brought it up at least. :dblthumb2:
 
Kristopher1129 said:
I guarantee you if you call up your customers, and just suggest it...you will be shocked at how many people say yes. It may be common knowledge to us...but most people have no clue what a headlight restore is, or that it's even possible for that matter. I get that response a lot! People really have no clue, ha.

They are always happy you brought it up at least. :dblthumb2:
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Thanks Kris...i'll start doing that....I'm at $50 a pair..which i think is fair..we'll see how it works out. I think imma go bug my banker cause when i opened my business account he said he'd help bring some business my way...hasnt happened yet..sooooo we'll need to have a talk. Even if he just gets me a used car dealership and i go do their headlights..that could be some serious money...even if i give em 20% off and do it for $40 a pair...if they give me 5+ at one time...thats fine by me :).

So what system do you use?
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
Thanks Kris...i'll start doing that....I'm at $50 a pair..which i think is fair..we'll see how it works out. I think imma go bug my banker cause when i opened my business account he said he'd help bring some business my way...hasnt happened yet..sooooo we'll need to have a talk. Even if he just gets me a used car dealership and i go do their headlights..that could be some serious money...even if i give em 20% off and do it for $40 a pair...if they give me 5+ at one time...thats fine by me :).

So what system do you use?
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Well I sort of put together my own system I guess. I use the Hookit II discs on an air drill. Dry sand with 500, and 800 (if necessary). Wet sand with 1000, and 3000. Compound, polish, and apply the urethane.
 
Kristopher1129 said:
Well I sort of put together my own system I guess. I use the Hookit II discs on an air drill. Dry sand with 500, and 800 (if necessary). Wet sand with 1000, and 3000. Compound, polish, and apply the urethane.
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You can do all that in 30 minutes huh? pretty sweet. We keep goin back n fourth on this thread and your van thread haha. I 'liked' your page on FB by the way. I'll add you as a friend too if you want, might be easier to exchange experiences/ideas thru there rather than on 2 threads on here...i dont know what email or name you're under though.
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
You can do all that in 30 minutes huh? pretty sweet. We keep goin back n fourth on this thread and your van thread haha. I 'liked' your page on FB by the way. I'll add you as a friend too if you want, might be easier to exchange experiences/ideas thru there rather than on 2 threads on here...i dont know what email or name you're under though.
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You can message me through the facebook page if you want. I check it all the time. But I'm on this more. There's always PM messages.
 
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