Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea

Thanks light-bright, man you have an awesome setup there!, I'm glad business is doing good. In your opinion which set are the harderst to do?.
 
kaimanson said:
Thanks light-bright, man you have an awesome setup there!, I'm glad business is doing good. In your opinion which set are the harderst to do?.
Click to expand...

Sometimes, I get surprised by how easy or hard a particular vehicle is, but as a general rule, I find Toyota cars & trucks, Nissan cars, Honda, Mitsubishi, to be the easier ones. Hyundai is usually easy, but I have had a few with a "fog" that seems to be permanently embedded in the plastic. As for sheer difficulty I find, Dodge trucks, GM trucks, then down to Dodge and GM cars, next would be BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes vehicles, but some seem to go just fine, while others are more difficult.

I also find, that the more of the lens that shows damage, the better off you are. I think my single hardest one to date was this Dodge Ram...

Facebook

As you will see, most of the lenses were quite clear, but the tops were in bad shape.

Thanks
Rich
 
My nightmare vehicles have always been Audi. If just the top of the lens is going but the rest of the coating is intact - but then again I've never done any Dodge or GM trucks.



Some of my easier jobs have been VWs.


I see the interior cracking that was pictured earlier all the time as well - the lights look fantastic but then when inspected further with the lights on the micro cracking is visible - still a HUGE improvement in looks and safety.


In the summer I had difficulty at times with the leveling, even mixing 50/50. Right now I'm mixing 70/30 and having no problems.
 
Always Learning said:
My nightmare vehicles have always been Audi. If just the top of the lens is going but the rest of the coating is intact - but then again I've never done any Dodge or GM trucks.



Some of my easier jobs have been VWs.


I see the interior cracking that was pictured earlier all the time as well - the lights look fantastic but then when inspected further with the lights on the micro cracking is visible - still a HUGE improvement in looks and safety.


In the summer I had difficulty at times with the leveling, even mixing 50/50. Right now I'm mixing 70/30 and having no problems.
Click to expand...


Some are nightmare lenses because of their shape and some because the original coating is very difficult to remove.
Nissan, for example are generally pretty easy, except the Quest because of its shape. The dodge Ram with the double bumps are kinda hard because of their shape too although....I've done so many of them, I feel like specializing in them..lol. Anything Chevy(especially trucks and some other GM cars) seem real hard to remove the original coating unless you use 220 grit......but then its hard to get all of those deep sanding marks out. The Honda, Acura, VW, Toyota, Infinity, Hyundia, Kia and Mercedes seem easy and they usually look great when done. I wish I could do those all day long!! The BMW aren't too bad except their lenses have a dark background. They come out looking great too but because of the dark appearance...they don't "pop" like the chrome lenses do. I don't care for the newer Ford or Dodge trucks with those HUGE lenses. It takes a while to sand!
I find too that the ones that originally wear off the quickest from the factory seem to be the ones that also don't last as long after restoring(which makes sense I guess).
 
Guys! Tomorrow i am gonna do a Porsche Boxster 2008 headlight restoration! It's kinda rare to see this type of vehicle here in my town, and in Mexico in general. I am a little excited!!

I am wondering if any of you has tried doing 2 coats of spar/ms mix. Any advice on that? This client i am gonna work for tomorrow, seems a little strict with quality and i don't wanna risk the headlights turning bad in less than 6 months (i offer a 6-months warranty).

I've done many headlight restorations, but this one is one of the most important ones.

Thanks for your help!
 
GalKonz said:
Guys! Tomorrow i am gonna do a Porsche Boxster 2008 headlight restoration! It's kinda rare to see this type of vehicle here in my town, and in Mexico in general. I am a little excited!!

I am wondering if any of you has tried doing 2 coats of spar/ms mix. Any advice on that? This client i am gonna work for tomorrow, seems a little strict with quality and i don't wanna risk the headlights turning bad in less than 6 months (i offer a 6-months warranty).

I've done many headlight restorations, but this one is one of the most important ones.

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

I'm glad your excited about the Porsche and not scared....lol
I've heard of a few people doing two coats with success but you have to make certain that the first coat is dry before attempting a second coat...otherwise you end up just smearing the first coat due to the MS in the second mixture. I personally wouldn't worry with a second coat. Just do one good first coat with a 70/30 mix. The thing I'd worry about is just making certain you do a great tape job. You don't want to sand off any paint on that car!!!
 
Part-timer said:
I'm glad your excited about the Porsche and not scared....lol
I've heard of a few people doing two coats with success but you have to make certain that the first coat is dry before attempting a second coat...otherwise you end up just smearing the first coat due to the MS in the second mixture. I personally wouldn't worry with a second coat. Just do one good first coat with a 70/30 mix. The thing I'd worry about is just making certain you do a great tape job. You don't want to sand off any paint on that car!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Part-timer. My client decided to move the date for the restoration 'till Sunday. So i have a little more time to prepare myself a little more.

I'll do a test using a 70/30 mix (my daily-beaten driver already needs a restoration). I normally do 50/50, or around 60/50, depending on weather, and situation.

I always try to spend a lot of quality in my tape job, some cars are easy, others not. More time and quality spent on tape job, the faster you are gaining profit. The biggest PITA i've done are small-round headlights, like the late-90s Acura Integra, or some Jaguars. My tape job seems to always give up in the middle of sanding process.

I use a Blue 3m tape, i'll try looking for a stronger-adhesive tape. Last time i went to Home Depot i saw a 3m Orange tape, stronger.

I got a question: How can i achieve a clearer restoration? Spar/ms mix is great, and is pretty clear. Because when i've done crash-repaired vehicles, with only 1 headlight in bad condition and the other one new, the restored one with spar/ms always seems inferior in cristal-clear terms.

EDIT: I have to add that, my process is: Excelent tape job, Wetsanding headlights from 400, 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000 (always use a soap/water mix in a spray bottle), Dry headlights, Clean with IPA, Freshly mix spar/ms, Apply using blue towel trick, and love the shiny new surface.

Thanks
 
It costs more, but I only use the 3m green automotive tape. I get it at Autozone usually. The blue tape is horrible when wet. I like to use the 2" width because I try and tuck it in the gaps around the headlights. I have little to no issues with tape not holding.

As for a clearer job...
I go to 3000 trizact and a quick buff with rubbing compound before cleaning with OMS, then I apply the spar. I have done some stopping after the 3000 and I can see a difference. For those of you who think it won't hold up, keep in mind that not only have I done my headlights a year and a half ago, I have done some about 2 years ago that still look great. All the units I have restored, I have only provided 1 warranty service and that was more of a customer sat due to their paint touch-up person masking on my freshly done lights before they fully cured.
 
light-bright said:
It costs more, but I only use the 3m green automotive tape. I get it at Autozone usually. The blue tape is horrible when wet. I like to use the 2" width because I try and tuck it in the gaps around the headlights. I have little to no issues with tape not holding.

As for a clearer job...
I go to 3000 trizact and a quick buff with rubbing compound before cleaning with OMS, then I apply the spar. I have done some stopping after the 3000 and I can see a difference. For those of you who think it won't hold up, keep in mind that not only have I done my headlights a year and a half ago, I have done some about 2 years ago that still look great. All the units I have restored, I have only provided 1 warranty service and that was more of a customer sat due to their paint touch-up person masking on my freshly done lights before they fully cured.
Click to expand...

I'll look for the 3M green tape because, blue one really sucks wet. That is true! Biggest problems are with circle-shaped headlights. Thanks for the Tip.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find 2500+grit sanding papers. Trizac would be imposible as that is something even more special. So i am stuck at 2000 grit sandpaper, that's my last step. I don't buff, or polish. Even though i have a 3m rubbing compound always in my working materials :P

Do you buff with a drill and an attachment? Or do you hand buff?

It's weird... Longest it seems for me that spar holds is 1 year.
 
I know you can get 3000trizact sheets at Autozone. You would have to do it by hand but it will get a little clearer. If you go to a body and paint supply shop they should have all kinds of stuff. I buff with the drill but I really just give it a kinda slow one-over. I don't buff and buff for perfection. I also got my pads from the body supply store here. I do not go to a polish step. As some have mentioned there is some concern for adhesion.

I have heard people say they only go to 1500 grit and then spar but to me it's juat not clear. Also someone on here mentioned that they notice the 1500grit finish looks much worse as the spar fails.
 
GalKonz said:
Thanks, Part-timer. My client decided to move the date for the restoration 'till Sunday. So i have a little more time to prepare myself a little more.

I'll do a test using a 70/30 mix (my daily-beaten driver already needs a restoration). I normally do 50/50, or around 60/50, depending on weather, and situation.

I always try to spend a lot of quality in my tape job, some cars are easy, others not. More time and quality spent on tape job, the faster you are gaining profit. The biggest PITA i've done are small-round headlights, like the late-90s Acura Integra, or some Jaguars. My tape job seems to always give up in the middle of sanding process.

I use a Blue 3m tape, i'll try looking for a stronger-adhesive tape. Last time i went to Home Depot i saw a 3m Orange tape, stronger.

I got a question: How can i achieve a clearer restoration? Spar/ms mix is great, and is pretty clear. Because when i've done crash-repaired vehicles, with only 1 headlight in bad condition and the other one new, the restored one with spar/ms always seems inferior in cristal-clear terms.

EDIT: I have to add that, my process is: Excelent tape job, Wetsanding headlights from 400, 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000 (always use a soap/water mix in a spray bottle), Dry headlights, Clean with IPA, Freshly mix spar/ms, Apply using blue towel trick, and love the shiny new surface.

Thanks
Click to expand...

It sounds like you are doing everything right. I would add using compound after your 2000 sanding.
I have also restored only one lens and I feel that the restored one NEVER looks quite as good as the NEW lens.(just my opinion) I don't like it when they only want one lens restored. I will tell them that the new one normally will look slightly better than the restored lens and ask if they'd like me to do the job or not. That way there are no unrealistic expectations of the results and hopefully the customer will be happy. I would much rather let them know up front and avoid problems later. You know what they say, "If people are happy with your service, they will tell a few other people". "If they are unhappy with your services, they will tell EVERYONE they know"!!
 
I find that most of my single light jobs look just fine. Now I go to 3000trizact then 3m compound, clean, then clear. I don't recall any of them being noticeably different from the "new" one.

Sent from my BRAIN using psychic powers to AG Online
 
light-bright said:
I find that most of my single light jobs look just fine. Now I go to 3000trizact then 3m compound, clean, then clear. I don't recall any of them being noticeably different from the "new" one.

Sent from my BRAIN using psychic powers to AG Online
Click to expand...

Doesn't the 3000 grit sandpaper = to compound? In other words if you don't use compound 3000 grit does the job as compound. Feed back please
 
No there is a clear difference from the 3000 and the compound. No pun intended.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AG Online
 
kaimanson said:
Doesn't the 3000 grit sandpaper = to compound? In other words if you don't use compound 3000 grit does the job as compound. Feed back please
Click to expand...
no way. 3k sanded lights will look way dull and clouded compared to a compounded lens. compound...if it's a good one...should almost finish up like a polish. i've used OPT hyper spray compound with an orange pad on lights prior to a polish step and when i was done the compound step it looked about as good as new...BEFORE even polishing.
 
kaimanson said:
Doesn't the 3000 grit sandpaper = to compound? In other words if you don't use compound 3000 grit does the job as compound. Feed back please
Click to expand...


Everyone has a preferred method. My advice is to try many different methods and judge what works best for you. I use 400(if needed) then 800, then 1500 and compound, clean with MS and use the Spar(60/40 mix). Mine come out looking brand new nd I have no complaints from my two used car dealers(and personal customers).
I've tried several other methods and products in the last 3 years. I like this best for what I do and who I do it for........but everyone doesn't do what I do and who I do it for. As I said, I suggest you try several options. It's always good to try and learn new things.:props:
 
builthatch said:
no way. 3k sanded lights will look way dull and clouded compared to a compounded lens. compound...if it's a good one...should almost finish up like a polish. i've used OPT hyper spray compound with an orange pad on lights prior to a polish step and when i was done the compound step it looked about as good as new...BEFORE even polishing.
Click to expand...

No there is a clear difference from the 3000 and the compound. No pun intended.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification guys! :)
 
Just came across this thread as I research a project I am getting ready for. I have bought a used set of VW mark v r32/gli/Gti bi xenon headlight housings. Among other things, they have a fairly deep scratch (keyed) on one of the housings, and light scratches on both from normal wear.

I am going to try and repair and restore using the info contained in this thread. As the housings are removed from the car, I am going to apply the minwax product via spray can. I'll try and post up some pics.
 
DSCN1215.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top