Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea

OK, likely everyone has moved on from this thread so I'll just post to keep myself amused :) Finished sanding over the weekend and used mag plastic polish with da. Came out ok, but still a little hazy. I figured the spar would fill all that in. I am using the spray. Saturday was nice weather so figured I'd get a first coat. First one came out ok but noticed a few slight drip marks. Have some paint thinner/rag handy for just this kind of thing. Quickly put some thinner on rag and wiped off spar. Then noticed something odd.

It seemed that the paint thinner was causing the plastic to distort/melt. Aghh! Nothing terrible but not cool either. Did other headlight and it came out better. Set out to dry. After a few hours looked it over and didn't like the way it was coming out either so spent the night re-sanding both. This time I finished using swirl remover/da and that did much better job at getting the headlights clear. Fortunately the spots where the thinner melted the headlight is way up on the top edge which when installed is covered by the hood anyway.

Now the headlights are sanded and polished, and ready for coating, again. I went and bought some mineral spirits from HD. I assumed thinner and MS were same thing but apparently not.

I talked to a body repair guy whose doing some work on my car and asked him if they might be able to apply clear coat. He said that clear would melt the plastic and it would come out all cloudy and ruin the headlight.

I may spray a small amount of spar and add ms (1:1) and try the wipe method. Or I will retry just spraying and if it doesn't come out good just let it dry and sand/polish it.

At least all of the scratches are out of the covers :) I'll post a pic tonight (pre-coating).
 
Thanks everyone for all of the insight. I am trying to figure out one specific thing: What do you use on Impalas to get the old coating off. I have gone as low as 220 and it still hardly dents it. Then when I move up to 500 then 800 then 1500 then 3000 it never looks as clear because of the 220. I thought about going to 110 but I'm afraid that it will be dull looking even after I finish.

Any ideas or things that have worked for you for the Impala, Monte Carlo, GM lights?

Thanks.
 
There is no sense in moving to finer sandpaper until you are certain that you have done a complete job with removing the existing scratches and UV coating. After I am done sanding I spray down the surface with water and wipe. As the water dries you should see no signs of the old uv coating. The old coating will show up as shadows or slightly patchy areas. All of that needs to be removed before moving on to the next finer sand paper. You can go as low as necessary. The only drawback with having to go with that coarse of paper is that you need to do more sanding to remove the scratches left behind. Good luck.
 
barkeater said:
OK, likely everyone has moved on from this thread so I'll just post to keep myself amused :) Finished sanding over the weekend and used mag plastic polish with da. Came out ok, but still a little hazy. I figured the spar would fill all that in. I am using the spray. Saturday was nice weather so figured I'd get a first coat. First one came out ok but noticed a few slight drip marks. Have some paint thinner/rag handy for just this kind of thing. Quickly put some thinner on rag and wiped off spar. Then noticed something odd.

It seemed that the paint thinner was causing the plastic to distort/melt. Aghh!
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I haven't moved on!!! :props:

What kind of car? Would help those who may be working on one, to know of its headlights' susceptibility to paint thinner.
 
I did a 2007 Audi A6 this week - it had me cursing. The lights weren't that deteriorated so it was a brutal job.

Using Girots 3" I started with 400. It wasn't touching it. I went to 320 which worked better but was using a lot of disc's. I worried that I'd run out of 320 before the old coating was off. I've never gone more aggressive than 320 nor did I have anything to fall back on.

I added more pressure than I've ever used on the DA and started getting results.

After all this I was very careful to do a proper job of removing the scratches I made using 400 / 600 / 1000 / 1500 / 3000 and a 2:1 wipe of spar:ms

They turned out amazing but the job took about twice as long as most others. Good luck!
 
GP49 said:
I haven't moved on!!! :props:

What kind of car? Would help those who may be working on one, to know of its headlights' susceptibility to paint thinner.
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Never apply anything especially chemicals to plastics unless you KNOW it wont hurt. If you do a search online there is a list somewhere of the hundreds of things known to damage polycarbonate headlights or plastics in general.


To the guy that did damage the lights....
I am glad it was minimal and you could clear that up. Here is what I suggest. Go to walmart or where ever. Get scott "clean up towels" clean the headlight with OMS. Fold the blue towel to a small 1x2 ish size. Get the esge wet with your choice of 50/50 or 60/40 mix of spar and OMS. Then working top to bottom wipe it across the lens. Do not go back and forth. Slightly overlap as you work your way down. It will look great. If ever yiu mess up. You have 2 options. Use OMS or rubbing alc to clean while wet or let dry and buff off. Do not use chemicals.
 
But the reason why I asked: paint thinner, at least in the USA, IS mineral spirits, which generally does not attach the plastic of which headlights are made. That's why I asked him what kind of car was involved.

Or perhaps a particular brand of paint thinner has something else in it, such as toluene or MEK, which can damage polycarbonate.
 
GP49 said:
But the reason why I asked: paint thinner, at least in the USA, IS mineral spirits, which generally does not attach the plastic of which headlights are made. That's why I asked him what kind of car was involved.

Or perhaps a particular brand of paint thinner has something else in it, such as toluene or MEK, which can damage polycarbonate.
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The biggest problem that I hear was the "Using the SPRAY Spar". I've never heard anyone have good luck using the spar spray on headlights. I always use it in the can!!! Mix it 60/40 with Mineral spirits. Very quickly coat the whole lens and then wipe it horizontally to finish it out. Then let gravity smooth it out for you.
 
GP49 said:
But the reason why I asked: paint thinner, at least in the USA, IS mineral spirits, which generally does not attach the plastic of which headlights are made. That's why I asked him what kind of car was involved.

Or perhaps a particular brand of paint thinner has something else in it, such as toluene or MEK, which can damage polycarbonate.
Click to expand...

Paint thinner is mineral spirits...if you're talking house paint. If you're talking car paint, it's acetone, MEK, toluene, etc.
 
GP49 said:
I haven't moved on!!! :props:

What kind of car? Would help those who may be working on one, to know of its headlights' susceptibility to paint thinner.
Click to expand...

I have a 2010 VW Jetta S, but the headlights are from a Jetta GLI as the S only got the regular halogen reflectors. The GLI are bixenon (i.e., HIDs).

Yeah, I am going to do the wipe method when I get a chance. The reason I tried spray is that a few others on here did spray and indicated that it came out ok. I think the wipe method there is much better control of the application, and I plan on doing a couple of coats, allowing ample time for the first to dry.
 
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Greetings all. I'm brand new to the forum and have spent the last few nights reading this entire thread. Wow. I've been slowly building my process since about June/July 2012 by doing restorations for friends and family, with great results so far. I use 3" 3M discs, 500/800/1200/1500/2000/Trizact (not all used every job), and then machine polish with fine polishes and Hex pads.
Before I launch a mobile HL restoration business and start charging customers, I really want to make sure I can provide a long-lasting protectant with at least a one-year, preferably two+ year guarantee. I currently use Jet Seal 109 as a sealant/protectant and have seen no real degradation on lights I did 9 months ago. There is no discussion on it's application: wipe on and then wipe off 20 minutes later. Still, I'm not sure how long it will hold up (supposed to be reapplied every 6 months), so that's why I'm here.
My assessment of the 111 page thread is most everyone is using the spar/ms method, and it appears quite finicky IMO, otherwise there wouldn't be 111 pages discussing how to apply it. I've done my own googling and have found quite a few other "professional" products not mentioned at all, or hardly at all. Has anyone tried the Solaray spray coating with UV curing, or the Glasweld Gclear UV coating/curing? The Glasweld Gclear system has a high initial cost for the curing light, but it's supposed to fully cure in only a few minutes. Seems like it will produce a long-lasting UV hard coat, much like what I would expect from a "professional" service. I also haven't seen any updates from anyone on the new Opti-Lens Permanent Headlight Coating? Sorry for the long post, I saved my post until I read the entire thread. I have my process down for restoring headlights, just want to steer the topic back to the best products/systems for long-lasting protection.
Thanks to all who have made this a great thread!
-Marty
 
The reason there isn't much feedback yet on Opti-Lens is because it just came out. It's going to be the easiest/most goof-proof to apply, but the prep is going to be more than the spar or the "real" headlight coatings, because you have to polish the lens to clear before coating.

If I was going to start a restoration business and wanted to give a warranty, I'd want to use one of the "real" UV-cured products that is just like the factory coating. We're really not going to know what the deal is with Opti-Lens for a couple more years; although there was supposed to be an Opti-Lens Pro, I'd be willing to be that product will give the UV-cured coatings a run for their money.

PS I think the Opti-Lens is going to be a great product, I just wouldn't bet my business on it until there is a little more real-world data.
 
EMCHeadlights said:
Greetings all. I'm brand new to the forum and have spent the last few nights reading this entire thread. Wow. I've been slowly building my process since about June/July 2012 by doing restorations for friends and family, with great results so far. I use 3" 3M discs, 500/800/1200/1500/2000/Trizact (not all used every job), and then machine polish with fine polishes and Hex pads.
Before I launch a mobile HL restoration business and start charging customers, I really want to make sure I can provide a long-lasting protectant with at least a one-year, preferably two+ year guarantee. I currently use Jet Seal 109 as a sealant/protectant and have seen no real degradation on lights I did 9 months ago. There is no discussion on it's application: wipe on and then wipe off 20 minutes later. Still, I'm not sure how long it will hold up (supposed to be reapplied every 6 months), so that's why I'm here.
My assessment of the 111 page thread is most everyone is using the spar/ms method, and it appears quite finicky IMO, otherwise there wouldn't be 111 pages discussing how to apply it. I've done my own googling and have found quite a few other "professional" products not mentioned at all, or hardly at all. Has anyone tried the Solaray spray coating with UV curing, or the Glasweld Gclear UV coating/curing? The Glasweld Gclear system has a high initial cost for the curing light, but it's supposed to fully cure in only a few minutes. Seems like it will produce a long-lasting UV hard coat, much like what I would expect from a "professional" service. I also haven't seen any updates from anyone on the new Opti-Lens Permanent Headlight Coating? Sorry for the long post, I saved my post until I read the entire thread. I have my process down for restoring headlights, just want to steer the topic back to the best products/systems for long-lasting protection.
Thanks to all who have made this a great thread!
-Marty
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I live here in Florida. I've done tons of research on headlight restoration. I use to do bumper repairs for car dealers near Syracuse, sold my business moved here in Florida. Wanted something to do so I set out researching headlight restoration. Read all 111 pages here, contacted companies about their method, you name it. I tried Solar Ray and it dos work but really don't like the finished result, It comes out of the can way to fast and to much product is applied. You get an orange peel effect.Im the MAN
 
Solaray is good stuff, but as mentioned... it sprays thick so it has to be laid down heavy, to level. Very tricky to get a smooth finish without orange peel or sagging. But from what I've seen when trying to remove the cured coating, it may be the toughest, most durable spray coating out there. Too bad it doesn't spray nice.

There are other uv spray coatings that spray better. I have tried a few, but I stopped using it because I found that it can be damaged with a pressure washer, at least in some cases. Without knowing EXACTLY why and how to fix that, if possible... I chose to run with the Optilens. for most of my work. I still keep UV spray coating with me for some nasty lights... the ones that take a ton of sanding and are difficult to get polished out perfect. Spray coatings are great for some jobs, but really not a good choice on others... such as a huge lens or one with damage only on the top edge.
 
mr.fusion said:
Spray coatings are great for some jobs, but really not a good choice on others... such as a huge lens or one with damage only on the top edge.
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What do you do in that case? Are you saying you only sand/polish out the damaged part and blend in with the good part of the coating, then Opti-Lens?
 
I just did a 2009 Honda Accord this weekend with damage along the top "plane" which included scratches and began looking ashy. The rest of the lens was still pristine. Sanded out just the damaged plane, polished it out and it looked perfect. Topped the whole lens with Opti lens and both the customer and I were EXTREMELY impressed.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
What do you do in that case? Are you saying you only sand/polish out the damaged part and blend in with the good part of the coating, then Opti-Lens?
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In many cases, yes. :xyxthumbs: Also, it's a good idea to hit the entire lens with a high grit and/or compound prior to cleaning and coating with Optlens.
 
Here is the whole thing in a nut shell. Lenses are made of lexan plastic, very rigid but won't hold up with UV light from the sun, (turns yellow and hazy. That has to be removed. As you people already know. BUT then you have to apply something on the headlights so the Lexan plastic won't turn yellow again. (like in a couple months). You need to apply UV sealant on those lights. Use what you may.. I myself use a two part Clear. This is all I do for a living, Let you all know that I did bumper repairs for dealers for 15 years, sold my business and now I can just focus on headlights. I spent a good couple months getting this down to a science. To do this job and DO IT RIGHT you need to invest time and money in it. Now for the problems of just doing headlight repairs for a living. Most of the public here in Florida have very little extra cash to put out to get their headlights done, so they don't do it. Most of the car dealers are buy here pay here that don't want to spend money on their junks they are trying to sell to the poor people that have no credit. So it is a vicious cycle. If you are doing this as a stand alone business you will starve. The way I do headlights will result in a professional repair but not many will pay the 95.00 it is worth. Good luck to all that have the talent and knowledge to do these repairs and charge 20.00 for their hard work. How is that working for you? What you have to do is find a cheap QUICK way to do this and then charge 20.00. Then I'll come along and do the job right and make the 100.00
 
Just purchased the new Opti-Lens "Permanent" headlight coating from AG, and I have a sample of the Infinity 4.1 Headlight Restoration Coating from Delta Kits on the way. I'm hoping a friend/family member will let me do a restoration using each product on separate headlights in the next couple weeks. I'll post pics if I get a taker, then try to follow HotRod's quest to keep the forum updated over the product life cycle. If anyone has used these products before, I'd like to hear your comments.
-Marty
 
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