CarPro DLux coated plastics - What happens after two years?

[Rsurfer]

I've never been extremely anal when applying CQuartz DLX any time I ever used it. In fact most times I've been pretty heavy with the applications.

Like for instance when I treated the really ugly lookng finned Windshield Wiper Cowl on my Truck which is murder to detail and make look nice.

I "dribbled" the product onto the cowl, and spread with a 1/2" wide Artist's Brush. I way over applied the product, but again no peeling, cracking, blotching, zero since.

Same when I treated the set of brand new 16" Cheapo Wheels I then bought for my truck last Summer. Coming back to the Midwest, I knew 22's with street tires would be a bad choice, so back to the 16's with BFG All Terrain TA/s 275/70-16".

Again, wasn't too anal with quantities, but what I have found with DLX, and how I've applied it a number of times, I apply with the MF Suede MF Sheets, then don't touch period! That DLX can start getting grabby quite quickly, and to overly touch and monkey with the application you can get streaking and smearing.

View attachment 62196

New shoes for my ride. Motegi Racing 20's with machined finish aluminum lip Coated with Dlux:View attachment 62204

 

[itsgn]

I see it as a major factor. For 1, the factory coating on headlights is far superior than any commonly found coating that we see for sale. 1-2 yrs. doesn’t cut it. Most factory headlights can easily go 4-5yrs. without any care before they show signs of any hazing. Try going 4-5 yrs. with 1 of these popular coatings, I don’t think so.

Factory coating definitely might last even longer. However, with a car, where you went as far as not only to apply an extra DLux coating, but even to polish it off and re-apply it again in two years (because that's what we're talking about here), will most likely not go for years without a new polish and re-application in the future anyway. So, re-polishing and re-coating the headlight at least every second year will become part of its normal lifecycle. That's why it won't be a factor whether the coating protecting it will last 10+ or only 2 years - because even the latter one will suffice till the next polish, with which you will strip the coating anyway, even if it would have been capable of lasting several more years.

On the other side, a ceramic coating will definitely protect the headlight better during those two years. Why? Because we're applying these coatings primarily as a sacrificial layer, that should take the beating instead of the actual material behind it. So, it will be the coating that will degrade, and keep the headlight's actual material more in-tact. And also because these coatings generally give us more shine. We get more shine, because they reflect more of the incoming light, which in turn means they allow less light to reach down into the material they're protecting. And less light means less heat and less UV - the primary reasons for damage and degradation in the plastic materials over time.

That's why I'm saying that a coating is most likely better for a headlight, even if you have to polish it off afterwards, and possibly also dispose some - marginal amount - of the original material with that. Because in the end you will still be left with a more in-tact headlight, than if you'd have just relied on its factory coat.

And I shouldn’t have to be a complete expert on headlight coatings in order to have found the 1 coating that truly works better than the rest when the factory coating is already on there and I didn’t have to find, buy, or apply it. Tedious act of applying a professional grade coating onto headlights.. Who wants to do all that?

It's not like you - personally or even generally - HAVE to do that, or anyone here would even suggest that you SHOULD do that. I merely explained the rationale behind why coating a headlight and coating some other, textured trim are not the same thing, and why they generally should not be subject of the same worries and caution. And why it would make sense to coat the headlight anyway, even if you decide not to coat your other plastic trims. But if you do not agree with any of the points made, or just don't want to put up with the hassle, you're free to ignore anything and everything I said.

A friend of mine who knows how to take care of his vehicle like we do owns a 2002 BMW and thanks to him periodically applying sealant on his headlights since day 1, his headlights still look brand new. I’ve never heard of anyone report of a headlights restoration that lasted 16yrs. The point is the factory coating is unmatched in quality and durability.

Yeah, but is it the coating that you want to protect, or the actual headlight? And would you want to protect the original coating even at the price of it fading or just generally not looking as good most of the time, as it could with an extra coat? Btw. if you would, that's also fine. But others might have different priorities.

Not to mention, some of these headlights are expensive as hell. $1,800 dollars each headlight on some BMW’s . $1,200+ for Corvette lights.. If that’s what they cost you best believe I want to preserve them like new. Not lose the factory coating for some 1-2yr stuff.

That's the exact reason why you want to put the extra protection coat on it, if you care about preserving their looks. Even if that extra coating would only last a few years, or less.

 

[itsgn]

As far s removal, I have used Optimum Hyper Polish on plastic trim as it does not stain trim. It seemed to remove whatever was left when I tested this out.

I will try that when I get the chance. But even if it would work as advertised, if compounding after 2 years would be my only remedy, I would still be wary to coat parts like windshield cowls, because they're so intricate in their structures, that its practically impossible - for simple mechanical reasons - to polish them with a machine. Other plastic parts, with more flat structure and less curves and crevices could probably work just fine.

 

[Eldorado2k]

@itsgn. We seem to agree with the general idea of things, but our experiences have formed our strong opinions with mine going 1 way, and yours going the other.

For example, I use a completely different trim coating which doesn’t behave like the ones mentioned in this thread do in their worst case scenario. The coating I use also lasts over a year, but it will never have a negative reaction such as flaking away or being impossible to remove no matter what you try. It simply re applies and is easy as can be. No fuss, which is why I’m not really overly cautious about coating trim. I just go ahead and do it.

On the other hand, my experiences in regards to headlight coating has been sort of the opposite, [or at least a mixed bag] where I have used headlight coating that I couldn’t simply polish off no matter how many times I tried. Once the coating hit its time limit of about 9-12months it looked like crap and I couldn’t fix it by polishing/compounding.

This is what it ended up looking like. [they looked worse in person]

Only until I aggressively sanded it off to the bone and started over from scratch was I able to restore these headlights once again.

So from my experience, there’s a possibility this could happen again. And if it were to happen while simply trying to protect headlights that are still in brand new condition it would degrade them and they’d never be like new again [because I’d have to aggressively sand them] Which if I hadn’t messed around and coated them in the 1st place, I never would’ve had a problem.

So we’re basically being cautious about the possibility of an adverse reaction, but on different surfaces. [mine being the headlights, yours being the trim]

It’s all good.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Your points are taken wisely, thank you!

But, wouldn't one think, that some such coating like GT C4, DLX, or others would act as a sacrificial protective coat, just like a wax or sealant, or coating acts upon a painted surface? That in the end and as years pass you'll still come out the winner with better overall protection? Or no?

Who was this comment directed towards?