Headlight correction

Calendyr

Calendyr

New member
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
3,996
Reaction score
0
Did anyone listen to Larry's podcast about headlight restoration today?

Want to know what you think.

Here is how I feel about what he said:

First off, he explains his process and I don't know if I am crazy but he seems to go through way too many steps. He sands with 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 and then 3000 grit before doing compound followed by polish and finally a sealant... GEEZ!

Any of you guys do it with so many steps?

Also I don't think a sealant is enough once you have removed the factory UV coating. Granted if headlights are opaque and yellow, that protection is dead but once you reveal clear plastic, I feel a very strong UV protection is needed and that a dedicated Headlight coating is the best option. I do not know which one is best, I think that Opti-Lens is the better choice but maybe I am wrong and other products are better.

So, the question is, what is your process and do you think doing all those extra steps improve the results?
 
Calendyr said:
Did anyone listen to Larry's podcast about headlight restoration today?

Want to know what you think.

Here is how I feel about what he said:

First off, he explains his process and I don't know if I am crazy but he seems to go through way too many steps. He sands with 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 and then 3000 grit before doing compound followed by polish and finally a sealant... GEEZ!

Any of you guys do it with so many steps?

Also I don't think a sealant is enough once you have removed the factory UV coating. Granted if headlights are opaque and yellow, that protection is dead but once you reveal clear plastic, I feel a very strong UV protection is needed and that a dedicated Headlight coating is the best option. I do not know which one is best, I think that Opti-Lens is the better choice but maybe I am wrong and other products are better.

So, the question is, what is your process and do you think doing all those extra steps improve the results?
Click to expand...

I've had success with just 1500, 2000, 3000 and a good finishing compound like Megs UC. I did most of the correction with the 1000, then the next two sanding steps were just to remove the scratches from the previous grit.
 
I did my with 1000,1500,2000,3000.

I am going do my setup like Critical Detail's video.

I have the 3" backing plate for my PC. Just waiting for next month to place my order.

Plus I have someone asking me to do their headlights, so we'll see might be sooner.
 
For me it depends in the condition of the headlights. Very bad I use 320, 500, 800, 1500, 3000, polish, and sealant. In others, I start on 800 or 1500. For protection I now only use Opti Lens. You can use a sealant, only if your going to maintain it with other applications of sealant like you do with the paint.
 
How many headlights uses do you get with opti lens? Per se

Because I might be getting some if the headlight correction that I might do, goes through
 
I do 2000 grit, 2500 then 3000 grit then polish out. Always looks great then two coats of CQuartz ceramic sealant, not had a problem and my lights look like new.
 
you can do it with 1000 [sometimes 800 depending on starting level of deterioriation] then go to 1500.... then can use a 3" MF cutting pad with a compound then finish with foam and a mild polish...

saves time and VERY effective

i prefer to finish with opti coat not opti lens
 
hernandez.art13 said:
I did my with 1000,1500,2000,3000.

I am going do my setup like Critical Detail's video.

I have the 3" backing plate for my PC. Just waiting for next month to place my order.

Plus I have someone asking me to do their headlights, so we'll see might be sooner.
Click to expand...

Can you post a link to that video?
 
Christopher.Brown said:
you can do it with 1000 [sometimes 800 depending on starting level of deterioriation] then go to 1500.... then can use a 3" MF cutting pad with a compound then finish with foam and a mild polish...

saves time and VERY effective

i prefer to finish with opti coat not opti lens
Click to expand...

Very interesting! So 3" mf has enough cut with a compound to remove 1500 grit scratches! That's surprising to me... maybe because it's plastic it's easier to correct?

Also why do you prefer opti-coat? The way I understand it Opti-lens is a product very similar to opti-coat but with increased UV protection. So is it a matter of looks?
 
Meguiar's Mf polishing pad and M100 was strong enough to remove 1500.

But that was on a Rupes 21
 
Calendyr said:
Very interesting! So 3" mf has enough cut with a compound to remove 1500 grit scratches! That's surprising to me... maybe because it's plastic it's easier to correct?

Also why do you prefer opti-coat? The way I understand it Opti-lens is a product very similar to opti-coat but with increased UV protection. So is it a matter of looks?
Click to expand...


the size of the Mf doesn't matter.. this is on a da.... the megs pads are aggressive and will remove and finish down on paint and headlights..

as far as preferring Opti coat... I have it on hand... I don't see the point of buying another product for the same application... I wax and keep a layer of wax in top of my coatings anyway.. so I have up to triple protection on many vehicles :props:
 
Christopher.Brown said:
you can do it with 1000 [sometimes 800 depending on starting level of deterioriation] then go to 1500.... then can use a 3" MF cutting pad with a compound then finish with foam and a mild polish...

saves time and VERY effective

i prefer to finish with opti coat not opti lens
Click to expand...

Why do you like using Opti-Coat instead of Opti-Lens for coating headlights. Opti-Coat works better than your average sealant and prior to the release of Opti-Lens it was my go to headlight coating. Restored headlights start to fade after a year or so when using Opti-Coat. Keep in mind the headlights still look many times better than they did before the restoration was performed.

I have only been using Opti-Lens for roughly six months so I can't compare its long term durability to Opti-Coat at this point.

Calendyr said:
Can you post a link to that video?
Click to expand...

Here is the video that Art was talking about.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACu1yRyjzOU]Car Detailing: Headlight Restoration - Honda Civic, GoPro Hero3 - YouTube[/video]
 
CriticalDetails said:
Restored headlights start to fade after a year or so when using Opti-Coat.
Click to expand...

I was actually getting yellowing in a little less than that with one layer of OC 2.0. I just recently did my test subject with two layers of Opti-Lens...I'll report back in the spring.
 
CriticalDetails said:
I have only been using Opti-Lens for roughly six months so I can't compare its long term durability to Opti-Coat at this point.
Click to expand...

@critical ill admit you may be correct here.. :props:. i definitely respect yor opinion and i may switch...I haven't researched it enough to claim which is better difinitively .. but as i said before i constantly have opti coat on hand and i also use other protection on top.. so when i maintain the vehicle i make it a point of emphasis to keep up..

@Art.. for a headlight you dont need much.. ive never counted but 6-8 drops shoukd be plenty to flash it... wipe.. go to the other.. then come back and add 6 more drops for the second layer
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I was actually getting yellowing in a little less than that with one layer of OC 2.0. I just recently did my test subject with two layers of Opti-Lens...I'll report back in the spring.
Click to expand...

I look forward to seeing your results from the Opti-Lens test. I have Opti-Lens on my personal vehicle which is kept in the garage and on my brother's vehicle which is parked outside. Both vehicles had the headlights coated with Opti-Lens within a week or two of each other.
 
CriticalDetails said:
I look forward to seeing your results from the Opti-Lens test. I have Opti-Lens on my personal vehicle which is kept in the garage and on my brother's vehicle which is parked outside. Both vehicles had the headlights coated with Opti-Lens within a week or two of each other.
Click to expand...

Did you find the Opti-Lens to apply differently than OC 2.0? I think I actually started a thread about this but didn't get much feedback. I found the Opti-Lens to take much longer to flash.
 
It all depends on how bad the headlights are. Just like polishing paint, sometimes you simply have to get really aggressive to get the correction you need. Pretty common for many of the nasty jobs to start at 320 or even lower at times...heck, I recently saw someone say they had to resort to 80 grit to fix a set of trashed headlights....not something you want to reach for off that bat, but he fixed what others had failed to do. Just like polishing paint, you need to refine your work properly as you go an not make too large of jumps in aggressiveness.


I'm still a bit of a skeptic on the Opti-Lens and only time will tell if it has adequate UV inhibitors in it to replace the protection the factory UV clear had. Personally, I feel if you have to remove the factory UV coating than a dedicated headlight UV coating should be used.
 
Christopher.Brown said:
@critical ill admit you may be correct here.. :props:. i definitely respect yor opinion and i may switch...I haven't researched it enough to claim which is better difinitively .. but as i said before i constantly have opti coat on hand and i also use other protection on top.. so when i maintain the vehicle i make it a point of emphasis to keep up..

@Art.. for a headlight you dont need much.. ive never counted but 6-8 drops shoukd be plenty to flash it... wipe.. go to the other.. then come back and add 6 more drops for the second layer
Click to expand...

Topping the Opti-Coat may help increase the durability and UV protection. Sometimes I will get a customer who just wants a headlight restoration and I need to make sure that the results will last with no maintenance. I haven't been using Opti-Lens for long enough time period to compare the durability between the two coatings. I will have a better idea on the durability of Opti-Lens come spring time once the coating has been subjected its first Vermont winter. I know that Opti-Coat can last through multiple winters and I am curious to see how Opti-Lens holds up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top