First review for me. I know now there is Opti-Lens, which has stronger UV blockers than Opti-coat pro. When I get my hands on some I will add it to this durability test.
I live in Hawaii.. Headlights and plastics stand no chance to the level 10 UV index's and salt air that we endure on a daily basis. I've been using the Spar method for headlights and overall am 7/10 happy with that method versus a polish and seal/maintain method. Out here, even if you wax regularly after a restore, your headlights will re-oxidize in under a month.
SO I decided to put the spar to the test. And while I was at it, i had some Opti-Pro i decided to put side by side. The test subject is a headlight i purchased off craiglist from a tacoma. The headlight wasn't too bad, probably the top 1/2 of the light was completely yellowed out while the bottom half was starting to die. I just realized I never took pics of the headlight before I sanded it, but it doesn't matter since I sanded off whatever coating was on there. My process was #600 then #2000. Yes i know, I should have done #1500 but I ran out... I just had to do a little more sanding with 2000.
Heres the lense after Sanding & IPA Wipe:
OK So first, I wanted to see if OC would fill sanding marks like the Spar does, SO I taped a line down the middle and applied the Spar/MS to the left side, and OC Pro on the right. The OC Pro went on real nice and clear and it looked like it was going to fill, however after a minute or two went by, it hazed up and looked like crap. So now I had to wait several hours for the spar to dry enough for me to tape it, then polish off the OC Pro & polish the sanding marks off the lens and the re-apply the OC Pro.
Here's the Spar/MS on left & OC pro right directly over sanded lens:
So as you can see from the last 2 pictures, the OC DID change how the lense looks versus where it was sanded, however did not do good as a filler. SO I Taped off the Spar/MS Side after it dried, and polished out the right side of the lense using D300, then 2 IPA wipes followed by OC Pro.
Final Thoughts before it gets thrown up on my shed roof to get pounded by UV rays & Rain & Salt:
I am truly amazed how nice and clear the OC Pro side is compared to the Spar/MS side. It really looks brand spanking new where you can tell the SPar isn't 100% optically clear. Also, even tho the spar levels out nicely, there is still a leftover waviness where you can see that it was applied by hand. The OC side looks super clean and clear. Although you can tell it is a used lens, this has got to be the best looking lens restore I've done IMO! Here's pictures side by side:
AAAAND, an added long term durability test BONUS, I had a brand new mud flap I decided to put Spar/MS on, and OC Pro as well. I would have put C4 but I had none left. I wanted to see how Spar would do on black exterior trim on the long term as well. Left is Spar/MS, middle is bare, right is OC Pro
And here is their not so final resting place, on top of my shed which gets sun morning till sunset and rain almost every night.
I'll update in 3 months.
Thoughts?
I live in Hawaii.. Headlights and plastics stand no chance to the level 10 UV index's and salt air that we endure on a daily basis. I've been using the Spar method for headlights and overall am 7/10 happy with that method versus a polish and seal/maintain method. Out here, even if you wax regularly after a restore, your headlights will re-oxidize in under a month.
SO I decided to put the spar to the test. And while I was at it, i had some Opti-Pro i decided to put side by side. The test subject is a headlight i purchased off craiglist from a tacoma. The headlight wasn't too bad, probably the top 1/2 of the light was completely yellowed out while the bottom half was starting to die. I just realized I never took pics of the headlight before I sanded it, but it doesn't matter since I sanded off whatever coating was on there. My process was #600 then #2000. Yes i know, I should have done #1500 but I ran out... I just had to do a little more sanding with 2000.
Heres the lense after Sanding & IPA Wipe:
OK So first, I wanted to see if OC would fill sanding marks like the Spar does, SO I taped a line down the middle and applied the Spar/MS to the left side, and OC Pro on the right. The OC Pro went on real nice and clear and it looked like it was going to fill, however after a minute or two went by, it hazed up and looked like crap. So now I had to wait several hours for the spar to dry enough for me to tape it, then polish off the OC Pro & polish the sanding marks off the lens and the re-apply the OC Pro.
Here's the Spar/MS on left & OC pro right directly over sanded lens:
So as you can see from the last 2 pictures, the OC DID change how the lense looks versus where it was sanded, however did not do good as a filler. SO I Taped off the Spar/MS Side after it dried, and polished out the right side of the lense using D300, then 2 IPA wipes followed by OC Pro.
Final Thoughts before it gets thrown up on my shed roof to get pounded by UV rays & Rain & Salt:
I am truly amazed how nice and clear the OC Pro side is compared to the Spar/MS side. It really looks brand spanking new where you can tell the SPar isn't 100% optically clear. Also, even tho the spar levels out nicely, there is still a leftover waviness where you can see that it was applied by hand. The OC side looks super clean and clear. Although you can tell it is a used lens, this has got to be the best looking lens restore I've done IMO! Here's pictures side by side:
AAAAND, an added long term durability test BONUS, I had a brand new mud flap I decided to put Spar/MS on, and OC Pro as well. I would have put C4 but I had none left. I wanted to see how Spar would do on black exterior trim on the long term as well. Left is Spar/MS, middle is bare, right is OC Pro
And here is their not so final resting place, on top of my shed which gets sun morning till sunset and rain almost every night.
I'll update in 3 months.
Thoughts?
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