Long Term Review Spar vs Opti Pro **PICS**
- Thread starter jrs1418
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Harry Da Hamster
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- May 13, 2013
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Thanks for the review. I just bought Opti Coat for the rims but now i'll buy some Opti Lens to use on a few new cars in the family.
memphisraines26
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- Feb 3, 2009
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Any pics of the mudflap for the test areas? I've been looking for days on headlight restore to get a good process down. I'd hate to offer a service just to have the customer's headlight revert back to the ugly cloudy mess it was before.
What is the D300 you referenced?
What is the D300 you referenced?
Part-timer
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- May 30, 2011
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First review for me. I know now there is Opti-Lens, which has stronger UV blockers than Opti-coat pro. When I get my hands on some I will add it to this durability test.
I live in Hawaii.. Headlights and plastics stand no chance to the level 10 UV index's and salt air that we endure on a daily basis. I've been using the Spar method for headlights and overall am 7/10 happy with that method versus a polish and seal/maintain method. Out here, even if you wax regularly after a restore, your headlights will re-oxidize in under a month.
SO I decided to put the spar to the test. And while I was at it, i had some Opti-Pro i decided to put side by side. The test subject is a headlight i purchased off craiglist from a tacoma. The headlight wasn't too bad, probably the top 1/2 of the light was completely yellowed out while the bottom half was starting to die. I just realized I never took pics of the headlight before I sanded it, but it doesn't matter since I sanded off whatever coating was on there. My process was #600 then #2000. Yes i know, I should have done #1500 but I ran out... I just had to do a little more sanding with 2000.
Heres the lense after Sanding & IPA Wipe:
OK So first, I wanted to see if OC would fill sanding marks like the Spar does, SO I taped a line down the middle and applied the Spar/MS to the left side, and OC Pro on the right. The OC Pro went on real nice and clear and it looked like it was going to fill, however after a minute or two went by, it hazed up and looked like crap. So now I had to wait several hours for the spar to dry enough for me to tape it, then polish off the OC Pro & polish the sanding marks off the lens and the re-apply the OC Pro.
Here's the Spar/MS on left & OC pro right directly over sanded lens:
So as you can see from the last 2 pictures, the OC DID change how the lense looks versus where it was sanded, however did not do good as a filler. SO I Taped off the Spar/MS Side after it dried, and polished out the right side of the lense using D300, then 2 IPA wipes followed by OC Pro.
Final Thoughts before it gets thrown up on my shed roof to get pounded by UV rays & Rain & Salt:
I am truly amazed how nice and clear the OC Pro side is compared to the Spar/MS side. It really looks brand spanking new where you can tell the SPar isn't 100% optically clear. Also, even tho the spar levels out nicely, there is still a leftover waviness where you can see that it was applied by hand. The OC side looks super clean and clear. Although you can tell it is a used lens, this has got to be the best looking lens restore I've done IMO! Here's pictures side by side:
AAAAND, an added long term durability test BONUS, I had a brand new mud flap I decided to put Spar/MS on, and OC Pro as well. I would have put C4 but I had none left. I wanted to see how Spar would do on black exterior trim on the long term as well. Left is Spar/MS, middle is bare, right is OC Pro
And here is their not so final resting place, on top of my shed which gets sun morning till sunset and rain almost every night.
I'll update in 3 months.
Thoughts?
The only problem I see with this test is that both sides weren't sanded the same(the Opti-coat was sanded/polished more) so obviously the side sanded/polished more should look more clear.......and we don't know what mix was used on the spar and how thick of Opti-coat was used?
- Thread starter
- #29
Mix was 50/50 helmsman gloss spar urethane/ mineral spirits
I used no more than 10 drops of OC
And as mr.fusion said, polishing both sides would cause the spar to have less bite onto the plastic and cause it to delaminate.
The purpose of this test was to show the UV protection capabilities of each and against eachother as the best method of fixing headlights. The typical spar method doesnt include polishing as spar is thick enough to fill #2000 sanding marks. Spar considerably less uv protection than OC.
Btw the OC is still going strong.
Part-timer
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- May 30, 2011
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I am actually considering switching to the Opti-coat. So wouldn't polishing also cause the Opti-coat to come off, like the spar does?
- Thread starter
- #32
No because the oc reacts with the plastic versus just layering on it. And get o-lens for headlights. Its supposed to have more uv inhibitors.
Opti-lens works best on a fully polished lens. Compared to spar varnish, it goes on very thin and clear.... does not streak or peel or fade. Drawback is that you need to restore the clarity of the lens by polishing and can't rely on the coating to hide much. But you end up with a much better looking, more consistent result IMO.
Delta's coating would be similar to using spar varnish. I think it's a lot easier to use than minwax, and works better/tougher/lasts longer.
As with all the "pro" coatings, both cost more than minwax, but it's worth the reasonable $ per job.
Delta's coating would be similar to using spar varnish. I think it's a lot easier to use than minwax, and works better/tougher/lasts longer.
As with all the "pro" coatings, both cost more than minwax, but it's worth the reasonable $ per job.
Part-timer
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- May 30, 2011
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How much does Delta's coating cost? I tried the OC and it shows every tiny sanding mark.......It didn't work so well for me.......maybe I could use OC over the spar?
- Thread starter
- #36
Sorry my bad, been busy. I'll snap a few pics tomorrow. The last time I looked (about 2 weeks ago) the Opti-coat is holding but is showing some signs of breaking down. Its been almost 1 year.
In the meantime, i wouldn't hesitate to buy O-Lens. The results so far have been awesome.
- Thread starter
- #37
I think Mr Fusion said, OC wont hide sanding marks and its wasn't designed to I'm sure. If you see sanding marks, its because you didn't inspect properly in between sanding stages before polishing.
I always try to cross hatch my sanding from stage to stage. So go one direction with your first sanding stage, then cross it with your next. That way when you inspect, if you see sanding marks going in the opposite direction you were just sanding in, you know you missed and need to keep sanding.
I'll also let u guys in on a little secret. I STOPPED SANDING HEADLIGHTS!!!! Yes thats right, i only break out the sand paper if there is some DEEP damage, or there's a previously applied coating like clear coat thats been delaminating.
I've been using those 3" purple wool pads with M101 on my PC and i promise it'll clean up the oxidation just as good as sanding. As a matter of fact, on 2 separate headlights that had delaminating clear coat, I've gone from Megs #500 sanding disks by machine, to #800grit by hand, to purple wool & 101 on my PC and its gotten out ALL the sanding marks in less time than sanding up to 2-3000 grit. So that means that your purple wool + 101 = up to #800 grit of abrasiveness, which is what I used to START sanding at on most headlights. I've saved so much time by doing this!
EXTJosh
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- Oct 28, 2013
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