Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea

I agree...I didn't touch my lights for a few hours after i applied the sealant..and when i did they were as smooth as when i sanded them...maybe wipe em clean and try another coat...but park it in the sun when you're finished or turn you high beams on for a minute after you finish to help dry them and you should be good :dblthumb2:
 
I did not thin it, could this be my problem? I don't see how it would affect how it feels after it's dried, whether it's thinned or not.
 
Hmm. I tried this method on my semi clear lens and I would have to say it looks good. After mixing the varnish with mineral spirit I was nervous. It llook like mocha but after applying it I am happy. Hope it last like the OP's. Thank You.

Would it be okay to use this method on a brand new car?
 
nudetailer said:
Hmm. I tried this method on my semi clear lens and I would have to say it looks good. After mixing the varnish with mineral spirit I was nervous. It llook like mocha but after applying it I am happy. Hope it last like the OP's. Thank You.

Would it be okay to use this method on a brand new car?
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I dont see how a new car would NEED it since it already has a factory UV protective sealant on it. Now if it is already yellow..i would see no problem...but i can't imagine a NEW car already having its factory protectant fading...but it could happen :)
 
Here is a little different approach that I have been wanting to experiment with for quite a while now. I located some spare lights that needed a little work. These will be a "display" only to show the potential customer what headlight restoration looks like. I think someone had tried to restore these lights before but gave up.

Before restoration.
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I only wanted to restore half of this light to show the big difference in what headlight restoration can accomplish. So I ran a piece of masking tape down half of the lens and proceeded with my process.

I started to hand sand with 3M sand paper:
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3000
Then I skipped the polishing step, wiped the lens down with mineral spirits, to clean and prime them to make application of the urethane easier. I allowed it to fully dry before the next step.
I applied the spar urethane mix and it looks awesome, the polishing step was not needed since I used 3000 to finish. The sanding marks did not show through. And I did experiment with stopping at 1000 but the sanding marks were still visible after applying the spar urethane. I also tried stopping at the 1500 and 2000, but still was not happy. The 3000 was enough on these lights. Now, does this make the urethane bond better since I left out the polishing steps? Who knows, your guess is as good as mine. And I have not done any durability tests as of yet with this change in the process. So try it at your own risk.

One other thought with this process. If I machine sanded these lens instead of hand sanding, would I use less grit to accomplish the same result? Obviously it would go a lot quicker, but I would think the machine would finish down a lot better with fewer scratches. Any advice?

After the process
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50/50 shots
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Hotrod, that approach is very similar to clearing the headlights. Its what i do, sand them down up to 1000 and then shoot clear on them. It looks perfect and works great. My secondary option is this urethane clear trick. The results you got are really good. I believe this will last you a longer time than polishing them and then putting the uv sealant. Very good tip hotrod.
 
Wow...those look amazing...did you thin the urethane with mineral spirits?

There is no need to polish the lights before applying the urethane. When you apply clear coat, paint, varnish etc. you need the sanding marks so that your coating has something to bite into. It may still stick of you polish them first, however it's a wasted step if you are applying some type of coating, in this case urethane to the lights.
 
Those turned out very nice...I think you're right as far as doing them with a machine would make it more uniform (not saying yours dont look uniform...just would make it EASIER to get them uniform...and faster).

I just bought the 3M set up to attach to my cordless drill..was like $20 at walmart and comes with 800,1000 and i think 3000 grit...there might be a 1500 in there also but i cant remember.

I'm gonna test it out this weekend...i'll post pics when i do. I don't know if skipping compounding/polishing will actually make the bond better since
A: compound/polish isn't suppose to leave any residue left over...like wax does
B: If you do a prep wipe with mineral spirits like you did...if there WAS any compound residue left over..i'm sure that would remove it :)

So in THEORY, i think it would work fine either way. But that just my thoughts :)
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
Those turned out very nice...I think you're right as far as doing them with a machine would make it more uniform (not saying yours dont look uniform...just would make it EASIER to get them uniform...and faster).

I just bought the 3M set up to attach to my cordless drill..was like $20 at walmart and comes with 800,1000 and i think 3000 grit...there might be a 1500 in there also but i cant remember.

I'm gonna test it out this weekend...i'll post pics when i do. I don't know if skipping compounding/polishing will actually make the bond better since
A: compound/polish isn't suppose to leave any residue left over...like wax does
B: If you do a prep wipe with mineral spirits like you did...if there WAS any compound residue left over..i'm sure that would remove it :)

So in THEORY, i think it would work fine either way. But that just my thoughts :)
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It will definitely bond better if you don't polish the headlights, however you must clean the lights very well with a wax and grease remover or mineral spirits.

Think of it this way, when a body shop paints a car, after they have sanded and cleaned it, do they polish it before spraying the paint? Of couse not, so the same thing applies here.
 
96Lude said:
It will definitely bond better if you don't polish the headlights, however you must clean the lights very well with a wax and grease remover or mineral spirits.

Think of it this way, when a body shop paints a car, after they have sanded and cleaned it, do they polish it before spraying the paint? Of couse not, so the same thing applies here.
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That makes good sense. I can speak for my experiences with the sealant...i compound after sanding and have had good longevity with the sealant so far.
So you can get them crystal clear by finishing with 3000 grit and dont remove those scratches huh?
 
96Lude said:
Wow...those look amazing...did you thin the urethane with mineral spirits?
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Yeah, I am still using the 50/50 mixture with the wipe on method. I have always polished after sanding, and now that I see that thats not necessary, then I will adjust my process, and maybe machine sand with fewer steps instead of the lengthy hand sanding.

I am really interested in the opti coat 2.0 method of protecting the headlights Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0 Permanent Paint Coating FREE BONUS, I am thinking of testing it out along side this revised spar urethane method once its perfected. With the opti coat, the way I understand it is you would have to wet sand, and polish the lights to perfection before applying it, as it does not hide or fill scratches or blemishes. Which will take longer, but if its permanent, should be worth it.

If it proves the spar urethane method life expectancy is shorter than opti coat, then it would only make sense to market the spar urethane method to used car dealers and other customers who only want quick affordable results. Then the opti coat method if proven to outlast everything else should be for demanding retail customers and obviously the price of the restoration would be more as well. You could even add some type of long term warranty with the opti coat. And with the urethane, maybe give it 1-2 years warranty.
 
I have done several headlight restorations, however never with the spar urethane method. I usually just polish them and apply a high quality paint sealant, like Blackfire Wet Diamond.

I tried sanding them by machine and honestly I did not like doing it this way, I prefer by hand. By machine, the 3" pad just doesn't fit in certain tighter areas depending on the headlight and car.
 
96Lude said:
I have done several headlight restorations, however never with the spar urethane method. I usually just polish them and apply a high quality paint sealant, like Blackfire Wet Diamond.

I tried sanding them by machine and honestly I did not like doing it this way, I prefer by hand. By machine, the 3" pad just doesn't fit in certain tighter areas depending on the headlight and car.
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Blackfire wet diamond or any other paint sealant wont last nearly 2 years on headlights.
 
93fox said:
Blackfire wet diamond or any other paint sealant wont last nearly 2 years on headlights.
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That's for sure, this is why I would like to offer something more durable to my customers. I'll try to get myself some scrap headlights to test this on as well and post the results.
 
96Lude said:
That's for sure, this is why I would like to offer something more durable to my customers. I'll try to get myself some scrap headlights to test this on as well and post the results.
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the only durable thing is clearing them. meaning, taking them off the car, sanding them, mix some clear up and get your self a spray gun and clear them. thats the only durable thing for a headlight, everything else will eventually give up after a certain amount of time.
 
93fox said:
the only durable thing is clearing them. meaning, taking them off the car, sanding them, mix some clear up and get your self a spray gun and clear them. thats the only durable thing for a headlight, everything else will eventually give up after a certain amount of time.
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Even the factory clear went after a certain amount of time lol...seems it doesnt matter what you use...its gonna go if you dont take care of it...I like this spar/spirits combo...works good..its simple to do and isnt super expensive...plus ive used it on my taurus lights..and those damn things are NOTORIOUS for being CRAP..and so far no yellowing has returned :)
 
Even a spray on clear coat is going to fade away in my opinion. If clear coat was permanent they would spray it on at the factory, if they don't already. So far I have not seen any lights that are UV resistant over their entire life span. It seems like they fail within 5 years depending on their climate and maintenance. Clear coat does not last forever on paint, so why would it last forever on plastic lens?
 
How many times do you guys apply the urethane. Do you wait for it to dry before applying another coat ?
 
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