Opti-lens yellowing after 90 days

Hmmm......This thread has been going on for a while. Still no input from optimum. I was going to order this during a sale and there has been at least 3 sales since this thread started. Right now it doesn't look like I will use Opti-Lens at $60.00, I can get plastic cleaner and 601/105 to last 3 months for a whole lot less. Unless Optimum shows up here and defends the product and there are significant results I would have to label Opti-Lens a flop.

Dave
 
davidc said:
Hmmm......This thread has been going on for a while. Still no input from optimum. I was going to order this during a sale and there has been at least 3 sales since this thread started. Right now it doesn't look like I will use Opti-Lens at $60.00, I can get plastic cleaner and 601/105 to last 3 months for a whole lot less. Unless Optimum shows up here and defends the product and there are significant results I would have to label Opti-Lens a flop.

Dave
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From what I can see, you haven't tried Opti Lens, so how can you label it a flop. If someone made a thread that they had poor results with Opti Coat, would you then also make a post and call it a flop without first hand experience?
 
Im not optimum, and ive only used o-lens for about a week. But ive had OC on a headlight, 50/50 with spar on my shed getting full sun/sky/rain 24/7 since march. Oh yea, i live in hawaii which gets level 9-10 uv rays on a daily basis.. higher than most of the conus. Spar is yellow and dead.. oc looks just a hair worse than the day i did it.

If o-lens has MORE UV blockers than OC.. then i highly doubt O-lens is yellowing at 90dayz and that improper application, or something else is to blame.
 
DaveT435 said:
I'm not saying it's a bad product it could be application issue. Sorry no pics. The only thing I did different from the instruction was using Carpro eraser instead of an IPA. The headlights were polished to like new condition. I used a very thin coat, similar to Opti-coat, and Opti-Glass. Has anyone experienced any thing like this?? Is the Opti-Lens supposed to be applied a little thicker than Opti-Guard and Opti-Glass. Any input would be appreciated.
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Dave,

I just saw your post and wanted to shed light on some of the issues that may have affected your application. First and foremost, we do not recommend using any product that has soaps, oils, or cleaners that can leave residue. As the instructions clearly indicate, the only thing you want to use for wipe down before the application of Opti-Lens is IPA or another fast evaporating solvent. We definitely recommend against using any other product before our coatings unless it is followed by IPA unless you are using Optimum Polish or Hyper Polish since any residue they leave behind can be wiped off with a damp microfiber cloth.

Additionally, if your headlights are very porous or extremely susceptible to oxidation, you might need a heavy coat or a second coat of Opti-Lens. In any case, as long as you have good bonding, you will get much reduced oxidation with Opti-Lens or even Opti-Coat than any other coating as was shown by JRS418 in his testing. Thanks.

David,
 
Dr G, Thanks for the info. A couple of questions for you:

What is the recommended curing time in between 1st & 2nd coats?

How would you identify a more porous headlight versus a normal?

You said Hyper compound can be wiped off with a damp MF, but in my limited use of it, i find it very hard to get out of polishing pads after use. Using Dawn/Water i have to clean the pad 3-4 times by hand to stop seeing the color of the polish. So i can't help but feel that plain water simply isn't enough, as it isn't enough for my pads. We also had some spill on the floor (we're half outdoors/half under a parking garage and its right on the sky exposed side) and the glob of hyper polish is still there after 5 days, even though it gets rained on every night at least. I've never had this much trouble cleaning my pads with D300 or 105. Feed back please
 
my .02
I would say there is no exact time to wait between coats, simply because the variables of temp, humidity, wind, sun. But in talking to DrG, 5-10 minutes is adequate assuming normal good conditions. I've worked in poor conditions however where it takes much longer before the coating seems "dry" enough to recoat. Outside in the summer heat, I have gone back over it again almost immediately... just a couple minutes.

As for the yellowing... I don't get to track much of what I do, beyond the few weeks they might sit on a car lot. But I have done a handful that have me a little concerned. I will say first though, that I work out in the elements... never in a shop in a controlled environment, and most of the cars I do are for dealers with the goal to make money as efficiently as possible. I'm not spending hours doing a show car or textbook photo shoot example. Anyway, a couple I've tracked that I'm not thrilled about were a toyota corolla, saturn L300, infinity g35.... mainly seems to be those have what I would say is a "soft" lens that discolor quickly without protection. I haven't seen much issue with others, except that the finish can lose some shine over time with more flaws showing through. The newer toyotas, btw... seem to work fine. The corolla is the one with the egg shaped lights.

For now, I'm going to be laying down more product to see if that is what's needed. It's very costly stuff, so I don't want to waste it, but then at the same time, it's too costly to use period, if it's not going to work. I hope these are just anomalies, because there is nothing else on the market that can do the same thing. I love what I can do with it...

btw, I use hyper compound... but I also take the 10 seconds to wipe down with a strong IPA....
 
Rsurfer said:
From what I can see, you haven't tried Opti Lens, so how can you label it a flop. If someone made a thread that they had poor results with Opti Coat, would you then also make a post and call it a flop without first hand experience?
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Ok, finally a statement from Optimum. I am glad the response came and I totally agree as I try very hard not to mix manufacturers while trying to achieve a goal. If it works everything is good, if not and you have followed the directions to a T then you know that it is not what it is claimed to be or what you have applied it to is not compatible if others are not having issues. That is what forums like this are about, feedback on products. As more people try this and post feedback on how the end result is doing will determine the flop or not. I have tried a few of the expensive products from AG that did not work out for me in certain areas and a lower cost product did just as well. So those high dollar items for me were a flop. I hope that the people that use Opti-Lens keep reporting the good/bad experiences as it will determine the usage. Opti-Lens could be product like Dlux. Dlux works very well on the Daughters 02 Ford and my 99 Dodge but is a complete flop on the Wife's 05 Toyota, and to be honest nothing works on the Toyota. It is just easier and more cost efficient to use something cheaper and get the same results in the same time frame.

Dave
 
Dr. G said:
Dave,

I just saw your post and wanted to shed light on some of the issues that may have affected your application. First and foremost, we do not recommend using any product that has soaps, oils, or cleaners that can leave residue. As the instructions clearly indicate, the only thing you want to use for wipe down before the application of Opti-Lens is IPA or another fast evaporating solvent. We definitely recommend against using any other product before our coatings unless it is followed by IPA unless you are using Optimum Polish or Hyper Polish since any residue they leave behind can be wiped off with a damp microfiber cloth.

Additionally, if your headlights are very porous or extremely susceptible to oxidation, you might need a heavy coat or a second coat of Opti-Lens. In any case, as long as you have good bonding, you will get much reduced oxidation with Opti-Lens or even Opti-Coat than any other coating as was shown by JRS418 in his testing. Thanks.

David,
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response. I tried to make it clear that I suspected it was something I did...not a bad product. I used hyper polish to polish them, but then used the Eraser instead of an IPA. I had a feeling that may have been the cause.
I haven't had a chance to do them over. I really wanted to isolate the problem otherwise I might just be wasting product.
Thanks again for solving my problem. I use mostly Optimum products and y'all haven't let me down yet!
 
DaveT435 said:
Thank you for the response. I tried to make it clear that I suspected it was something I did...not a bad product. I used hyper polish to polish them, but then used the Eraser instead of an IPA. I had a feeling that may have been the cause.
I haven't had a chance to do them over. I really wanted to isolate the problem otherwise I might just be wasting product.
Thanks again for solving my problem. I use mostly Optimum products and y'all haven't let me down yet!
Click to expand...

Dave,

Sorry if you took my comments as being too strong. Many of us are guilty of not following instructions in general but I just wanted to emphasize that with our coating products, it is crucial to follow the application process to the letter for best results. We appreciate that you choose to use Optimum Car Care products and will do our best to help in any way we can to help you with the application of Opti-Lens or any other Optimum product. You can always contact us directly also by phone or email for faster response. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Thank you.

David,
 
jrs1418 said:
Dr G, Thanks for the info. A couple of questions for you:

What is the recommended curing time in between 1st & 2nd coats?

How would you identify a more porous headlight versus a normal?

You said Hyper compound can be wiped off with a damp MF, but in my limited use of it, i find it very hard to get out of polishing pads after use. Using Dawn/Water i have to clean the pad 3-4 times by hand to stop seeing the color of the polish. So i can't help but feel that plain water simply isn't enough, as it isn't enough for my pads. We also had some spill on the floor (we're half outdoors/half under a parking garage and its right on the sky exposed side) and the glob of hyper polish is still there after 5 days, even though it gets rained on every night at least. I've never had this much trouble cleaning my pads with D300 or 105. Feed back please
Click to expand...

It is best to not touch the coatings between 5 minutes and 30 minutes after the application for surface temperatures of 70-90F. During this time, the resin is cross-linking and will be tacky so touching it will affect the clarity. This time range can vary depending on the temperature and humidity. So for instance if the temperature of the surface is 100+, the curing time will be shorter by roughly 50% (rate of reaction increases by 2 fold for every 18F). Therefore, it is best to wipe in the coatings and remove any excess within the first 2-3 minutes and then leave it to cure for 30 minutes. You can add a second coat after one hour of the application or longer.

With porous I meant higher degree of unsaturation which causes oxidation and the yellowing, So if the headlight that is being restored has a great deal of oxidation or has oxidized in a short time after restoration, then a heavy coat or a second coat of Opti-Lens would be highly recommended.

Hyper Compound and Hyper Polish can be easily removed from the pads with Power Clean. As far as the residue, it is very different from what is on the pad (or on the floor) since in the residue, the solvents have evaporated and it consists mostly of polishing agents. Additionally, dampened microfiber has a strong affinity for any remaining liquids and residue. The best way to judge the surface though is to feel it by hand and see if it is squeaky clean. Please feel free to contact me at the office to discuss these in greater detail. Thank you.

David,
 
Dr. G said:
Dave,

Sorry if you took my comments as being too strong. Many of us are guilty of not following instructions in general but I just wanted to emphasize that with our coating products, it is crucial to follow the application process to the letter for best results. We appreciate that you choose to use Optimum Car Care products and will do our best to help in any way we can to help you with the application of Opti-Lens or any other Optimum product. You can always contact us directly also by phone or email for faster response. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Thank you.

David,
Click to expand...

Your response wasn't too strong at all. I have just seen so many people blaming problems with opti-coat on the product. I don't know if you read the entire thread. I made I think four comments explaining to the followers that I wasn't saying it was a bad product. I had a feeling from the start that it might be the eraser, I just wanted to see if anyone else had the same problem when they used eraser.
Most of the products I use are Optimum and I've been very pleased. Thanks again for answering my question!
 
I applied Opti-Lens several months back to 2 cars. Both sets of lens were polished and then wiped 2x with IPA. One coat of Opti-Lens was applied. Both still look excellent.

Previously I used the Meguires product and the lens would yellow within 30 days or so.
 
Just wondering if anyone who tried optilens, especially those in this thread, have longer term results of it protecting/failing on new and re-polished headlights. It's been quite a few years since the last post. I'm especially interested in the ones that seemed to have good results so far in this thread, if those results continued on after so many years.

Personally, I cannot get it to last on a Toyota Sienna even with 3 coats. But maybe that is the toyota headlight material that just doesn't work well.
 
I've yet to find a ceramic coating that will prevent older headlights that have been restored from turning back. The only way to do so is to either use PPF which isn't as easy in all cases, spray clear or better yet something like Meg's Spray on Headlight coating; 2 layers.
 
TTQ B4U said:
Meg's Spray on Headlight coating; 2 layers.
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I’ve found this to last about 6-9 months then be hard to remove in order to start again.

You didn’t have good results with the Mckees headlight coating?
 
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