Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea

pman626 said:
how durable is this coating?- if you rub on it with your finger or score it with your finger nail, does it scratch?

i know this material can expand and contract with wood, so I'm wondering if it's too soft when cured.
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I would assume that its very hard considering the person who started thsi thread had his on for a year and the pictures taken after a year of driving looked almost as good as new. I'm sure some rock chips/bugs etc had hit them during that time and they still looked fine to me....so id have to say its prett durable.
 
I wanted to post up another job I did on a relative's car this past weekend. I went down with 220/400/600/1800/2400 (I forgot all of my 1500 grit at home) and the usual SSR + Diamondite compounds. Temps were in the mid 90's and it was nothing but sun. I could have moved the vehicle in the shade but thought I should get used to it if I'm doing mobile work plus I wanted to experiment with the urethane application in the direct sunlight. Once again, the first application was wiped off and went with the second application although the driver's side streaked and needed a 3rd attempt. Since there's texturing on the inside of the lens, it can hide a lot of imperfections left behind. I've also got a website at OKC Headlights - Home and would like any input from you guys. I'm forever grateful for the guy that thought up this OTC remedy. :props: Anyways, here's the pics.

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g35_coupe said:
Unfortunately, no. It was for my parents who are retired but this will likely be my last freebie.
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oooo ok...nothin wrong with that, cant charge your parents! Its good you were able to get a practice session in full sun thou...turned out nice...hope you get your first client soon.

You know maybe you should hit up dealerships and sell that you specialize in headlight restoration, i bet you geta LOT of business with trade in cars!
 
g35 coupe

That is one NICE job on those headlights. I checked out your website too and it looks nice and clean. Just one suggestion...drop the page down so you have a background border showing at the top, the same as at the bottom of the page, and it will be 100%. It looks like the picture in the header is cut off.
 
g35_coupe said:
Unfortunately, no. It was for my parents who are retired but this will likely be my last freebie.
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after doing so many practice cars, what is your best technique to apply the urethane?

or is it still trial and error for you?


I plan to cut a piece off of an old cotton t-shirt, and douse it in the urethane, and wipe.
is that ok or not?
 
Polytech said:
g35 coupe

That is one NICE job on those headlights. I checked out your website too and it looks nice and clean. Just one suggestion...drop the page down so you have a background border showing at the top, the same as at the bottom of the page, and it will be 100%. It looks like the picture in the header is cut off.
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Thanks. My wife suggested that too but the "theme" that I prefer is this one and has the picture at the very top. I'm not sure if you can adjust it using HTML or not but I'll do some research.

pman626 said:
after doing so many practice cars, what is your best technique to apply the urethane?

or is it still trial and error for you?


I plan to cut a piece off of an old cotton t-shirt, and douse it in the urethane, and wipe.
is that ok or not?
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A t-shirt might leave lint behind. The Scott shop towels have some lint but can be dusted off and it is minimal. Someone else tried "priming" the area by wiping mineral spirits first then the urethane mix. This prevents (at least for them) having to do a subsequent application to get it to lay down just right. I'll try it myself next time I do a set.
 
A t-shirt might leave lint behind. The Scott shop towels have some lint but can be dusted off and it is minimal. Someone else tried "priming" the area by wiping mineral spirits first then the urethane mix. This prevents (at least for them) having to do a subsequent application to get it to lay down just right. I'll try it myself next time I do a set.[/QUOTE]


I have "primed" or pre wiped the whole headlight in mineral spirits to remove any remaining contaminants and leftover polish from the lights. It helps to prevent uneven coverage and gives a nice clean surface for the urethane to stick to. I have done this with all my cars thus far with perfect results every time. I've been fortunate enough that none of my applications have sagged or ran at all. They look a little streaky at first but after a couple of minutes as the mineral spirits evaporate, the mix smoothes out perfectly.
 
Has anyone tried spraying this mixture? I tried the rub on and it's great for small headlights,like the Grand Marquis, but on a more expansive set of lenses it didn't work so well for me. Most of the later model foreign cars and vans have large lenses. I also wonder if some sort of Japan drier (like house painters use during the winter) could be added (just a bit) to speed up the cure. I called Minwax tech support and they were almost insulted that I would even consider using their product in such a manner, and wouldn't offer any info on flash curing or adding drier. Imagine that.
 
Actually I just did. I went to an automotive paint supply and they advised a medium urethane reducer mixed with the Helmsman. Worked beautifully and covered a large headlight easily and super smooth, was tacky dry in 5 minutes without any air movement or heat lamps.
 
Clearviewtn said:
Actually I just did. I went to an automotive paint supply and they advised a medium urethane reducer mixed with the Helmsman. Worked beautifully and covered a large headlight easily and super smooth, was tacky dry in 5 minutes without any air movement or heat lamps.
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so how exactly did you spray it on...just a spray bottle or?
 
I would be afraid of any overspray if any wind gust came through simply because of needing to use mineral spirits to take it off. How would mineral spirits affect paint? Wax? Sealant? I can only assume it would completely strip any sort of protection on the paint.
 
I used painter's tape/paper roller to cover the surrounding area and I have some large movers blankets I tossed over the rest or the area and the hood was up. Took just a couple of minutes to completely cover the front end of the vehicle so overspray wouldn't be a problem. I think from here on out I will make up some small bottles of pre-mixed urethane before I leave the house. it takes a very small amount. Got a small air compressor that is on sale right now at Harbor Freight tools for $40 and the small two stroke generator was $95. I sprayed it with a small jamb gun.
If it were small headlights as in the Chevy truck size or like those on the Grand Marquis I wouldn't even break out the paint gun this is only for expansive lenses like the Honda mini van or my Nissan Pickup.
I use it as an example. I refinished one light and left the other one undone. The dealership I bought it from simply buffed it out before I bought it and a year later it is already yellowed and hazy.
 
Clearviewtn said:
I used painter's tape/paper roller to cover the surrounding area and I have some large movers blankets I tossed over the rest or the area and the hood was up. Took just a couple of minutes to completely cover the front end of the vehicle so overspray wouldn't be a problem. I think from here on out I will make up some small bottles of pre-mixed urethane before I leave the house. it takes a very small amount. Got a small air compressor that is on sale right now at Harbor Freight tools for $40 and the small two stroke generator was $95. I sprayed it with a small jamb gun.
If it were small headlights as in the Chevy truck size or like those on the Grand Marquis I wouldn't even break out the paint gun this is only for expansive lenses like the Honda mini van or my Nissan Pickup.
I use it as an example. I refinished one light and left the other one undone. The dealership I bought it from simply buffed it out before I bought it and a year later it is already yellowed and hazy.
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?? Jamb gun? Whats that...kinda like a mini paint gun you can hook up to your air compressor?
 
guys, save yourself the unneeded expense if you're going the spray route. no extra tools needed.

Just buy the helmsman aerosol can from Home depot. Costs $8.64.

I just bought the high gloss version today, and I am impressed with the results.

Home depot also sells the Rustoleum version of spar urethane for cheaper, but it sucks. It's not even close. the Rustoleum aerosol sprays on thick and nasty.

the minwax sprays smooth and thin, and certainly looks better than the orange peel clear coat you see on bmw's.

sprayed straight up without any diluting, it does have very very slight orange peel, but clarity is still awesome.

I'm gonna try to polish it after the urethane cures to see if I can make it smoother.


because it is oil based, it does have a 5% amber tint, but it's hardly noticeable except on a white background. On chrome and black, it's not noticeable.

I did some test sprays on some clear plastic cd cases.
see pics below.



I sprayed the right side, outlined in red, with helmsman aerosol. The left side was some Krylon clear crap which made the plastic opaque. krylon sucks major ass.
notice the clarity of the minwax side against the white cardboard box.
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another angle to show hi gloss reflection
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That is a great comparison between two competing products. While the spay on version may be cheaper and faster, the smothness and gloss from the towel applied version can't be beat. Good job on the comparison and testing the spray on version. Try it out on a headlight and post up some pics. I would love to see the difference between the two.
 
The Helmsman Spar Urethane has worked flawlessly for me. This is only on my own cars, a 1994 Ford Taurus whose original UV protection coat had worn off a long time and many polishings ago, and a 2002 Ford Taurus on which the upper part of the headlight had its UV protection worn off, but not the bottom.

On the 1994 I polished out the headlight/parking light (they are in one housing behind one lens) and applied the Helmsman with a blue paper towel. Excellent result, very good looking. Previously I repolished with PlastX every month to six weeks, and the appearance of the headlights had been deteriorating all the while.

On the 2002 I got lazy and polished out only the top to the bare plastic, then buffed out the entire headlight, without removing the original UV protection coat where it was still intact. Then I applied the Helmsman Spar Urethane over the entire, rather large headlight using the blue paper towel method. Again, the appearance of the headlight was very good. This worked fine...the demarcation between the two sections was visible if you looked hard, but it wasn't bad.

I find that it's best never to wipe the treated headlights dry. Of course this is the case with brand-new headlights, too. Dirt that gathers on the surface is abrasive and wiping it off can scratch any surface. Spray the surface of the treated headlights with water and wipe off with a damp rag. That's all the spar urethane seems to need.

Quite by accident, I did make it necessary to strip and refinish a headlight on the 2002 Taurus. I was using some "SLX" brand denatured alcohol near the car, and splashed some on the left headlight. It was immediately apparent that the alcohol had marred the nice, clear spar urethane finish, and was, in fact, softening it. Fortunately, applying more of the alcohol with a paper towel softened the coating and made it relatively easy to remove, down to the bare plastic. This accident gave me an opportunity to see the condition of that plastic surface after several months' protection by the Minwax Spar Urethane. It looked as good as new. A fresh new coat of the spar urethane restored that headlight to that same excellent appearance, and once it had set up for a couple of hours, I could compare the appearance of the newly-treated headlight to the months-old treatment on the other side. They were virtually indistinguishable.

Count me as a happy user of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane as a protective coat on freshly cleaned and polished headlights. But watch out for denatured alcohol!
 
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