McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish

Matt@flyingchipmunk

Matt@flyingchipmunk

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I wanted to create a demo headlight I could show people and thought great time to bring a new product along for the ride and put it to the test.

I found an ebay special set of headlights for my test subjects. All the pictures below will link to the full size versions in my gallery.

Our test subject today features a very cloudy lens, OEM UV protection broken down, long surface scratch bottom right corner, and heavy pitting.

McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish being an all-in-one I didn't expect miracles. These are worse headlights than I would even waste my time not wet sanding, but for the sake of testing and results let's see what we can do here.


Before Shot




5 Passes of McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish



Meguiar's red foam cutting pad was used on 3" pneumatic rotary, product worked 5 passes.

On the lower part of headlight where the OEM UV coating wasn't broken down it did return a good amount of clarity. It "darkened" the look a little compared to what Plastx does. After thorough wipe down it left something on the lens that Plastx does not, almost a little oily. If the lens is to be coated with a UV protectant (not just a UV lotion/spray) I highly recommend a stripper/cleaner before coating. At the very least an IPA wipe down should be done.

As an all-in-one I did not expect the pitting and surface damage to be leveled out, but I was very impressed with the amount of correction on the surface scratch on the lower right. It did about a 75% correction. Happily impressed with that cut ability.


Deep Clean and UV Protectant Middle Section



Left section is before section. Middle section McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish followed up with Meguiars Headlight Protectant. Right section was further deep cleaned with Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 17 Plastic Cleaner.


Right Section Wet Sanded, Sectioned Again



The entire right section (the entire part of light in this picture), was wet sanded 800/1500 grits with 3" pneumatic DA then 2000/3000 grits by hand.

The center tape was added and on the right side McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish was used with a B&S 3" hex orange cutting pad, 4 passes. Then again with Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad, 4 passes.


Close up McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish 2-step



Close up with bright light showing 3000 grit sanding marks polished out with B&S 3" hex orange cutting pad, 4 passes. Then again with Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad, 4 passes.

I found with using the orange pad it did not finish off as clear as I wanted. There were still enough DA cutting marks left that another section pass with a softer pad was beneficial to finishing off clearer.

Note: Far right grunge is inside lens damage.


McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish After Wet Sanding



Before and After of 3000 grit sanding marks. Left side 3000 grit sanding marks. Right side polished out with B&S 3" hex orange cutting pad, 4 passes. Then again with Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad, 4 passes.

I found with using the orange pad it did not finish off as clear as I wanted. There were still enough DA cutting marks left that another section pass with a softer pad was beneficial to finishing off clearer.

Thoughts: Maybe with some more fine tuning of process the 2nd step could be eliminated making it a true one step product. The end results were about 80% correction. Very respectable for an all-in-one product but since I had to 2-stage it anyways, it won't replace the M105/M205 combo that does finish a tad bit better ~90% correction.


McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish After Wet Sanding



Left side 3000 grit sanding marks, right side after McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish.


After Shot Meguiar's M105/M205



Entire wet sanded side polished with M105 using B&S 3" hex orange cutting pad with pneumatic rotary, 4 passes. Then polished with M205 using Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad, 4 passes.

Using the same pads, pressure, passes as McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish to give an example of difference. The M105/M205 can be seen here finishing off better with about a 90% correction.


Spar Urethane UV Protectant Applied



Spar urethane, mineral spirits 1:1 applied


After Shot - 3 sections



Left - untouched

Middle - Polished with McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish, Meguiar's Headlight Protectant applied.

Right - Wet Sanded, Polished with M105/M205, Spar Urethane applied.


Comparison Before and After



Top headlight showing the before state. The top headlight's OEM UV protectant was not as badly degraded as the bottom one but still shows a great before/after of the different products and techniques.


Some of the Tools/Pads Used



Chicago Pneumatic CP7200S 3" DA, Harbor Freight 3" Pneumatic Rotary.
B&S 3" orange hex cutting pad, Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad


Video

https://vimeo.com/160553091

Who doesn't like video? Hopefully capturing the differences in correct-ability of the different products and techniques described above.

Thanks for reading/watching, hopefully this gives you an idea of what is possible and what you can expect at different levels of usage :) I welcome any questions or constructive criticism on my usage and results with McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish.

Cheers!

-Matt
 
So is this the relabled version of DP Headlight all in one? Any formulation difference?

I've used it on headlights with light oxidation and had great results. Anything like what you show here I have zero reason not to just jump in with 1500-2500 and then 3000 grit wet sanding followed by polishing with an orange pad. Very quick but excellent results that I've not been disappointed in at all.

Thanks for the right up.
 
pdqgp said:
So is this the relabled version of DP Headlight all in one? Any formulation difference?
Click to expand...

Yes it is, I can't speak to the formula change, Nick would need to chime in as to what has changed :)

I've used it on headlights with light oxidation and had great results. Anything like what you show here I have zero reason not to just jump in with 1500-2500 and then 3000 grit wet sanding followed by polishing with an orange pad. Very quick but excellent results that I've not been disappointed in at all.

Thanks for the right up.
Click to expand...

Yup on a headlight this bad I would also jump right to wet sanding totally agree. I did the pre-wet sand polish just to see what it would do. Totally agree, I do not recommend not wet sanding first for headlights this bad :xyxthumbs:
 
Onlything that they said change in formula was to help prevent polish from drying up in bottle when low..that's the only change besides brand change
I did really bad ones without wet sanding, turned out great
 
"Spar urethane, mineral spirits 1:1 applied"

Tell me more about this, please.
 
Matt@flyingchipmunk said:
I wanted to create a demo headlight I could show people and thought great time to bring a new product along for the ride and put it to the test.

I found an ebay special set of headlights for my test subjects. All the pictures below will link to the full size versions in my gallery.

Our test subject today features a very cloudy lens, OEM UV protection broken down, long surface scratch bottom right corner, and heavy pitting.

McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish being an all-in-one I didn't expect miracles. These are worse headlights than I would even waste my time not wet sanding, but for the sake of testing and results let's see what we can do here.


Before Shot




5 Passes of McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish



Meguiar's red foam cutting pad was used on 3" pneumatic rotary, product worked 5 passes.

On the lower part of headlight where the OEM UV coating wasn't broken down it did return a good amount of clarity. It "darkened" the look a little compared to what Plastx does. After thorough wipe down it left something on the lens that Plastx does not, almost a little oily. If the lens is to be coated with a UV protectant (not just a UV lotion/spray) I highly recommend a stripper/cleaner before coating. At the very least an IPA wipe down should be done.

As an all-in-one I did not expect the pitting and surface damage to be leveled out, but I was very impressed with the amount of correction on the surface scratch on the lower right. It did about a 75% correction. Happily impressed with that cut ability.


Deep Clean and UV Protectant Middle Section



Left section is before section. Middle section McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish followed up with Meguiars Headlight Protectant. Right section was further deep cleaned with Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 17 Plastic Cleaner.


Right Section Wet Sanded, Sectioned Again



The entire right section (the entire part of light in this picture), was wet sanded 800/1500 grits with 3" pneumatic DA then 2000/3000 grits by hand.

The center tape was added and on the right side McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish was used with a B&S 3" hex orange cutting pad, 4 passes. Then again with Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad, 4 passes.


Close up McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish 2-step



Close up with bright light showing 3000 grit sanding marks polished out with B&S 3" hex orange cutting pad, 4 passes. Then again with Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad, 4 passes.

I found with using the orange pad it did not finish off as clear as I wanted. There were still enough DA cutting marks left that another section pass with a softer pad was beneficial to finishing off clearer.

Note: Far right grunge is inside lens damage.


McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish After Wet Sanding



Before and After of 3000 grit sanding marks. Left side 3000 grit sanding marks. Right side polished out with B&S 3" hex orange cutting pad, 4 passes. Then again with Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad, 4 passes.

I found with using the orange pad it did not finish off as clear as I wanted. There were still enough DA cutting marks left that another section pass with a softer pad was beneficial to finishing off clearer.

Thoughts: Maybe with some more fine tuning of process the 2nd step could be eliminated making it a true one step product. The end results were about 80% correction. Very respectable for an all-in-one product but since I had to 2-stage it anyways, it won't replace the M105/M205 combo that does finish a tad bit better ~90% correction.


McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish After Wet Sanding



Left side 3000 grit sanding marks, right side after McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish.


After Shot Meguiar's M105/M205



Entire wet sanded side polished with M105 using B&S 3" hex orange cutting pad with pneumatic rotary, 4 passes. Then polished with M205 using Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad, 4 passes.

Using the same pads, pressure, passes as McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish to give an example of difference. The M105/M205 can be seen here finishing off better with about a 90% correction.


Spar Urethane UV Protectant Applied



Spar urethane, mineral spirits 1:1 applied


After Shot - 3 sections



Left - untouched

Middle - Polished with McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish, Meguiar's Headlight Protectant applied.

Right - Wet Sanded, Polished with M105/M205, Spar Urethane applied.


Comparison Before and After



Top headlight showing the before state. The top headlight's OEM UV protectant was not as badly degraded as the bottom one but still shows a great before/after of the different products and techniques.


Some of the Tools/Pads Used



Chicago Pneumatic CP7200S 3" DA, Harbor Freight 3" Pneumatic Rotary.
B&S 3" orange hex cutting pad, Meguiar's 3" foam polishing yellow pad


Video

https://vimeo.com/160553091

Who doesn't like video? Hopefully capturing the differences in correct-ability of the different products and techniques described above.

Thanks for reading/watching, hopefully this gives you an idea of what is possible and what you can expect at different levels of usage :) I welcome any questions or constructive criticism on my usage and results with McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish.

Cheers!

-Matt
Click to expand...
Great work!

Sent from my QMV7B using Tapatalk
 
Mike Honcho said:
"Spar urethane, mineral spirits 1:1 applied"

Tell me more about this, please.
Click to expand...

It's using a wood varnish mixed 1:1 with odorless mineral spirits to leave a high gloss on plastic with a very low margin of error.

However it does not have great durability as all most urethanes yellow with sun exposure. It can peel with pressure washer rinsing as well.
 
Mike Honcho said:
"Spar urethane, mineral spirits 1:1 applied"

Tell me more about this, please.
Click to expand...

g35_coupe pretty much summed it up. Takes a few tries when you are first attempting the method to get it to come out good. But once you find what works for you it's pretty quick to apply.

Here's a thread by sweatthedetails with videos showing the process http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-videos/98629-headlight-restoration-z.html

g35_coupe has definitely found a recipe that works for him :xyxthumbs: Your headlight restoration thread is full of great work!
 
Matt@flyingchipmunk said:
g35_coupe pretty much summed it up. Takes a few tries when you are first attempting the method to get it to come out good. But once you find what works for you it's pretty quick to apply.

g35_coupe has definitely found a recipe that works for him :xyxthumbs: Your headlight restoration thread is full of great work!
Click to expand...

Matt, thanks for the compliment.

I looked pretty heavily into the spar/urethane thread started years ago and considered it for a few customer vehicles. Remember this was about the time before coatings flooded the market. The spar/MS concoction answered many prayers. It costs pennies to make, applies easily, fills scratches, levels nicely, and leaves a superb gloss---it seems too good to be true (forgive the cliche). After testing it out, I saw it does have drawbacks. As I mentioned, it flakes off with a pressure washer. Not good if you're not the only one washing the vehicle. Also, if there are washer sprayers (like BMW's and Volvo's), there's a good chance people or shops run some anti-freeze in winter months. How resistant is urethane against chemicals?

In come various (affordable) coatings that cover a wide range of protection, and aesthetics. Any of which give you better: peace of mind, results, and durability you (and your company name) can stand behind. For your own personal for relative's vehicle, it would suffice. It seems like a glorified bug spray trick. Not here to tell people what they can/can't detail their cars with, just putting in my 2 cents and providing info for others to make an educated decision.
 
Yup all excellent points, I also was not trying to say this is what people should/shouldn't do :)

The chemists son in me is putting this urethane resin spar test subject up against a phenolic resin spar vs opti-lens (currently my preferred option). This write up just happened to be my urethane test subject.

-Matt

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk
 
Matt, I also didn't want to come across like you're implying great results or endorsing it. It's obviously about reviewing the polish (which is great, of course). I have read that marine-grade spar won't yellow but it's obviously more expensive and geared for a different environment.

Speaking of OL, how is your durability record on it?
 
It will be interesting to see what kind of abuse they will all take before breaking down in one form or another. I expect the bigbox urethane to fall far short of the others, it's chemically a pretty weak spar. The phenolic spar per ml ($.07) was about 4x as costly but still comes in way below cost per headlight than OL. I expect the phenolic not to yellow (at least as quickly) but it might lose out on scratch/impact resistance vs urethane which could lead to a failure in a different way.

I've only gotten feedback of about 6 months with OL but not because of failure, only because I don't have access to the vehicle. I personally haven't seen OL breakdown but I don't have a good long-term test subject honestly.
 
Another quick rundown on the next headlight test subject, wanted to pass along the results of McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish with some refinement to get a two thumbs up final result from me

Starting off with this test subject



This was right after decon with nanoskin mitt.


Close up showing surface scratches and yellowing




After Wet Sanding



800/1500/2000/3000 grits


Close up After Wet Sanding



Trying to capture in the picture the 3000 grit horizontal marks that we will be polishing out.


After McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish



Close up after 5 passes of McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish using B&S 3" orange hex foam pad on pneumatic rotary.




With a little change to technique I was able to get excellent results from McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish. Like any other polishing it's an art to find what works, headlight materials, pads, what you are trying to correct, atmosphere (temp/humidity), etc all plays a roll in figuring out what works. What happened to work for me here was pretty darn firm pressure for the first two passes (just shy of pad stall) to really get those diminishing abrasives working hard. Then 3rd pass much less pressure, 4th pass barely any pressure, 5th pass speeding up pad rotation and worked until polish was very clear. Interesting thing I noted is when the polish is done, it's done very quickly. I had to apply a little more product to get another pass and a half with very little pressure to finish up half the lens. If I had used a little less presssure to start, or moved to lighter pressure sooner I could have extended the working time of the polish enough to finish the job without having to reload.

As you can see from the close up I would be hard pressed to make M105/M205 finish better, and can now happily give this two thumbs up! :xyxthumbs::xyxthumbs:
 
So it looks like you use one less pad when you did the 2nd headlight? Looks great! I just recently bought McKee's 37 All In One Headlight Restoring Polish and used it on a customer's car Saturday. The headlights were lightly oxidized and by polishing it by hand with a polishing pad it came out great.

In the past i have used wool pads for the first pass on oxidized headlights for restoration followed by a polishing pad. I have not dealt with wet sanding yet and this looks like the process I need to use.

Any particular wet sanding materials to use that work best in your experience?

Thanks for the thread.
 
yup only 1 pad on the 2nd headlight.

wet sanding really comes into play when the UV protection has failed and you need to either blend or fully remove whatever is left of the original coating. Also helps level out heavy pitting and deep scratches. The first headlight here was a good example of a headlight I would jump right to wet sanding. The 2nd one probably could have been done with a MF or wool pad but since these are going to be test subjects for different coatings I wanted them restored as similarly as possible :)

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk
 
Sorry missed your question about wet sanding materials. I use a combination of meguires unigrit 3" discs and 3M discs. Meguires sells a kit that comes with a variety of grits 3 different pads, the interface cushion (goes between sanding disc and backplate) and 105/205.

You 'can' do it all by hand but will take awhile. A cordless drill helps or if you're able to use air pneumatic DA's and rotaries make quick work out of it. Corded electric 3" DA machines could also work but I'd try and find a variable speed control one to give you finer control.

I prefer to do all 2000+ grit wet sanding by hand, a cheap wet/dry sponge wrapped with a piece of 2000 grit and for 3000 I really like the 3M trizact.


Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk
 
For those interested in the next step of this experiment: Opti-Lens vs phenolic spar

Left: Opti-Lens Right: Phenolic Spar



Opti-Lens applied to left side, Phenolic spar (1:1 with mineral spirits) applied to right side. Picture taken after 20 minutes, spar dry to touch but not fully cured.


Left: Opti-Lens Right: Phenolic Spar, Close up Tape Line



Close up showing 1/4" tape placement separating the two UV coatings. You can see the vertical line on the phenolic spar side as it is thicker.


Opti-Lens Applied



Left side of lens with Opti-Lens applied.


Phenolic Spar Applied



Right side phenolic spar applied. The phenolic spar is much thicker than the urethane spar. It took a minute or two to actually get it to mix with the mineral spirits. It goes on thicker and has the glossiest look of the 3 test subjects (urethane vs. phenolic vs. Opti-Lens). It has a little bit a blue hue to it. Time and tests will tell how these test subjects hold up to abuse. Thanks for looking :)
 
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