Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea

For all of you that apply the urethane, how long does it take to dry on average? Have you ever tried using a heat gun to speed up the drying process?
 
96Lude said:
For all of you that apply the urethane, how long does it take to dry on average? Have you ever tried using a heat gun to speed up the drying process?
Click to expand...

I live in the desert so it dries to the touch on most days within an hour...but i let it set for 3-4 hours after that just to be safe...and yes i think a heat gun would work great...also some people just turn on their brights for a while (dont let your battery die) and that helps it dry too
 
Dumb ??

After you dip the blue scott rag in the solution and wiping it once? Is that enough for one coat? Is that all you guys are doing?

For me what I did was mix the solution in a dixiecup. About 1/4 full. After wiping it once I had leftover. So I dip some more then wipe some more.
 
nudetailer said:
Dumb ??

After you dip the blue scott rag in the solution and wiping it once? Is that enough for one coat? Is that all you guys are doing?

For me what I did was mix the solution in a dixiecup. About 1/4 full. After wiping it once I had leftover. So I dip some more then wipe some more.
Click to expand...

you dont need a lot...just maybe .5oz of each...dip the cloth...wipe it..if your cloth gets dry before you completely cover the headlight then you redip it. But i only do a single coat...if you try to do more...especially while the 1st coat is wet..you risk streaking

And like i said...i can speak for myself with a single coat i did on mine about 6 or 7 months ago now...and its still holding up...and my car isn't a garaged car...it sits in full Az sun all day..but the single coating has held up perfectly so far
 
HotRod said:
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?
Click to expand...

Not at all. They dont spray it on the headlights because they make more money from people buying new headlights. Same thing with the paint, its nothing special. Thats why all the new cars my family has bought i have sprayed high quality clear on it. My teacher's car has 20 years since it was painted with basecoat/clearcoat and hes always mainted it, the thing still looks new. So trust me, it will last on headlights if maintained properly. A good
Quality clear will last you a really long time if mainted well. But i can asure you, no car with stock clear is going to last the same. Its why you see clearcoat failure alot of the times.
 
93fox said:
Not at all. They dont spray it on the headlights because they make more money from people buying new headlights. Same thing with the paint, its nothing special. Thats why all the new cars my family has bought i have sprayed high quality clear on it. My teacher's car has 20 years since it was painted with basecoat/clearcoat and hes always mainted it, the thing still looks new. So trust me, it will last on headlights if maintained properly. A good
Quality clear will last you a really long time if mainted well. But i can asure you, no car with stock clear is going to last the same. Its why you see clearcoat failure alot of the times.
Click to expand...


So what brand clear do you use...do you use rattle can or a air compressor/sprayer? Do you have to sand it down at all after you spray?
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
So what brand clear do you use...do you use rattle can or a air compressor/sprayer? Do you have to sand it down at all after you spray?
Click to expand...

I use autmotive clear. PPG 2021 or PPG 2002. I use my spray gun to clear them, same way i would in a car. But on headlights i wetsand them up to 1000, wipe them down with wax n grease remover and clear them. They are usually dry in 30 mins or less and are ready to go back onto the car in about 40 mins. I also smoke out headlights and tailights this way. I mix the clear and add black paint into it, i spray a coat and if its not dark enough i drop in a little more black.
 
93fox said:
I use autmotive clear. PPG 2021 or PPG 2002. I use my spray gun to clear them, same way i would in a car. But on headlights i wetsand them up to 1000, wipe them down with wax n grease remover and clear them. They are usually dry in 30 mins or less and are ready to go back onto the car in about 40 mins. I also smoke out headlights and tailights this way. I mix the clear and add black paint into it, i spray a coat and if its not dark enough i drop in a little more black.
Click to expand...

Cool deal...you should post some pix man! So what do you charge for jobs like that...gotta be more than $50 that i charge.
 
93fox said:
I use autmotive clear. PPG 2021 or PPG 2002. I use my spray gun to clear them, same way i would in a car. But on headlights i wetsand them up to 1000, wipe them down with wax n grease remover and clear them. They are usually dry in 30 mins or less and are ready to go back onto the car in about 40 mins. I also smoke out headlights and tailights this way. I mix the clear and add black paint into it, i spray a coat and if its not dark enough i drop in a little more black.
Click to expand...

I am really liking this discussion, it's getting very interesting.

Yeah 1000 grit is high enough if you are using automotive clear coat since it has a higher build, it's thicker.

I would also be curious to know what you charge for clearing them, I would like to offer this to my customers. I also charge $50 right now, however without a real clear coat being applied. Do your customers drop off the car for a while, or do you offer a mobile service for this?

By applying a clear coat, they are guaranteed not to yellow for at least 5 years for sure.
 
Has anyone ever used the Preval spray system? Looks like it would be ideal for HL-restos, and applying protectant, etc. Think I might try it out on some junker headlights.
 
ShaunD said:
Has anyone ever used the Preval spray system? Looks like it would be ideal for HL-restos, and applying protectant, etc. Think I might try it out on some junker headlights.
Click to expand...

You talking about these?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhPWuZB0aqw]YouTube - Preval is Multi-faceted...it's F.A.S.T.!!![/video]

I've never been a fan of them, personally.
 
Currently i have done a few this way. Most of the time i dont since i dont have a shop, but when i get the chance i do it at school. Im in automotive collision repair and we have a nice painting booth there where i do it. On a regular size headlights i would charge $100. Now $100 seems cheap but i can knock it all out in about 40 mins. For a little bigger headlights anywhere from $120-$140. I mentioned that i do few this way since there are only a few people out there willing to pay for this for headlights. Its why i do more headlights with this uv sealant idea. But you guys might want to look into it. Clear is not that expensive. Theres this clear called shopline european clear and its $170 for a whole gallon(its more than a gallon) with the hardner. This clear well taken care of can last up to 10+ years. PPG 2002 and 2021 are high end clears. These clears have been known to last up to 25 years plus. Ive seen it myself. Now this stuff is expensive. The clear alone is like $200 for just the clear. Then $100 for a quart of harder an $30 for a quart of reducer. $330 in total. Pretty expensive stuff. Its no magic for headlights. Just a Little practice and you all can be clearing headlights.
 
Yeah Shiny, that's the stuff I was talking about. I just came across is when I googled cheap paint sprayers. I would have to be test it out on a pair of junk headlights before investing too much into it. It might be a handy tool to have for applying protectants, QD's, and cleaners/APC's.
 
This works AMAZINGLY!

Thanks so much for being the nice type of guy who shares his information with others. Huge kudos to you.

One question though, I'm getting some marks if I apply a little too thick with a shop towel.

Would it be better to try and use one of those foam paint brushes like they have at walmart? I have some more to do tomorrow so I may try that.
 
Bummer.

Sprayed the headlights with the new clearcoat an hour after the clear was applied.

The water spots made their way into the clear and won't come out.

Anybody know how long the car has to sit before applying water or washing the headlights? Obviously this process makes a mess so dealers will want to was the car when you're finished instead of having sanding residue all over the vehicle sitting in their lot.
 
Headlight 911! said:
Bummer.

Sprayed the headlights with the new clearcoat an hour after the clear was applied.

The water spots made their way into the clear and won't come out.

Anybody know how long the car has to sit before applying water or washing the headlights? Obviously this process makes a mess so dealers will want to was the car when you're finished instead of having sanding residue all over the vehicle sitting in their lot.
Click to expand...


Wow you applied clear and tried to wash them an hour later...:nomore: :). Did you read the directions? It is usually AT LEAST 4 hours that you should let them set...sometimes 24 hours..unless you have a heat gun to speed up he process. You might have to sand down and redo them if you have water spots...and if you're spraying clear you should tape/plastic off everything around the headlight so you do get over spray all over everything...overspray is a BITC* to clean up...trust me i know...i had a friend who bought a vehicle and the previous owners did some 'touch up' spraying to the entire bottom kit...and literally didnt tape off ANYTHING...so there was a good 2 inches of thick overspray on the main body...talk about scrubbing. Prep work is a pain to do...but pays off 10 fold in the end.
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
Wow you applied clear and tried to wash them an hour later...:nomore: :). Did you read the directions? It is usually AT LEAST 4 hours that you should let them set...sometimes 24 hours..unless you have a heat gun to speed up he process. You might have to sand down and redo them if you have water spots...and if you're spraying clear you should tape/plastic off everything around the headlight so you do get over spray all over everything...overspray is a BITC* to clean up...trust me i know...i had a friend who bought a vehicle and the previous owners did some 'touch up' spraying to the entire bottom kit...and literally didnt tape off ANYTHING...so there was a good 2 inches of thick overspray on the main body...talk about scrubbing. Prep work is a pain to do...but pays off 10 fold in the end.
Click to expand...

Hahaha live and learn.

It wasn't a spray clear, I don't want to have to worry about overspray so I'm using the clear solution this thread is all about.
 
Would the urethane UV protectant still "bite" on new headlights for extra protection? If not, what's best to use on new headlights to keep them protected?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top