Please help! helmspar urethane headlight restore yellow tint

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boostedsil40

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Hello I have been trying to do the helmspar clear urethane with about 25/75 mix 25% helmsapr and 75% paint thinner and each time I do a car the lights have a slight yellow tint to them so I assume I'm doing something wrong?first I sand 800/1000/2000/2500 wet,then I polish by hand with automotive polish.Then I wipe clean and add the urethane helmspar and I think its this step where the yellow tinit comes in as the helmspar is yellow?maybe I should use mineral spirits or maybe I shouldn't polish?or maybe I have the wrong helmspar urethane??I got it at home depot and think its for wood but I don't know whats causing it but I like wipe on clear coats if I cant fix this problem could I take a crystal clear enamel clear coat and spray it in a cup then take a blue towel to dunk it in and apply?I don't want to use spray on because of the extra masking and stuff?I have a ton of this helmspar left and another person wants there headlights restoresd please help me fix this problem.
 
boostedsil40 said:
Hello I have been trying to do the helmspar clear urethane with about 25/75 mix 25% helmsapr and 75% paint thinner and each time I do a car the lights have a slight yellow tint to them so I assume I'm doing something wrong?first I sand 800/1000/2000/2500 wet,then I polish by hand with automotive polish.Then I wipe clean and add the urethane helmspar and I think its this step where the yellow tinit comes in as the helmspar is yellow?maybe I should use mineral spirits or maybe I shouldn't polish?or maybe I have the wrong helmspar urethane??I got it at home depot and think its for wood but I don't know whats causing it but I like wipe on clear coats if I cant fix this problem could I take a crystal clear enamel clear coat and spray it in a cup then take a blue towel to dunk it in and apply?I don't want to use spray on because of the extra masking and stuff?I have a ton of this helmspar left and another person wants there headlights restoresd please help me fix this problem.
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I used the aerosol.That product is garbage for headlights and it won't last.I use to have Mercedes Benz account,and I must of sprayed 60 eclass and clk.a lot of them were come backs.why don't you prep the lights then polish them with nothing,then protect them with a sealant.If you are stuck on using that don't dilute it.Get some black foam wedge sticks in the paint section at HD and spread it on evenly.
 
The reason I did the helmspar,cause there was a guy there doing service dept cars and used cars.He showed me just before they threw him out.
 
I've never done the spar urethane thing on headlights nor do I think I ever would except maybe on a real POS as an experiment but I have heard of it being done. If I were ever to try it I'd use the water based version which dries crystal clear. The oil based version is not clear.

I do a fair amount of woodworking as a hobby and have used Helmsman Spar Urethane in both oil and water based versions. It's great on wood, I'm not so sure about headlights.

Here's some bandsaw boxes I made last year for Christmas gifts. Finished with semi-gloss Helmsman Spar Urethane.

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Mineral spirits not paint thinner. Also it's a 50/50 mix. I have done this to a lot of lights including my own. I guarantee it for one year. My jeep is parked out side in direct sun light all day. Its been well over a year and they are not as shiney as when I first did them but they still look great. Here is part three of a video series I did explaining my method.
https://youtu.be/hpmnZOK2-KI
 
sweatthedetails said:
Mineral spirits not paint thinner. Also it's a 50/50 mix. I have done this to a lot of lights including my own. I guarantee it for one year. My jeep is parked out side in direct sun light all day. Its been well over a year and they are not as shiney as when I first did them but they still look great. Here is part three of a video series I did explaining my method.
https://youtu.be/hpmnZOK2-KI
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Nice!
 
sweatthedetails said:
Mineral spirits not paint thinner. Also it's a 50/50 mix. I have done this to a lot of lights including my own. I guarantee it for one year. My jeep is parked out side in direct sun light all day. Its been well over a year and they are not as shiney as when I first did them but they still look great. Here is part three of a video series I did explaining my method.
https://youtu.be/hpmnZOK2-KI
Click to expand...
Thank you.So paint thinner would cause the yellow tint?Are you pretty sure that's the reason I hope this is the case it wont let me put a pic up of the helmsman can but it looks like what everyone uses.do I need the oil based or water based?I think I have oil.anyway I will buy mineral spirits and thanks a ton I hope this is what works.
 
boostedsil40 said:
Thank you.So paint thinner would cause the yellow tint?Are you pretty sure that's the reason I hope this is the case it wont let me put a pic up of the helmsman can but it looks like what everyone uses.do I need the oil based or water based?I think I have oil.anyway I will buy mineral spirits and thanks a ton I hope this is what works.
Click to expand...

I doubt if the paint thinner was your issue. Paint thinner and mineral spirits are very similar and in some cases exactly the same thing. The two terms are used interchangeably at times. It really depends on how the manufacturer labels their product. I've actually seen cans of "Paint Thinner" with the words "mineral spirits" in smaller letters and parenthesis right below Paint Thinner on the face of the container. Kind of like waxes and sealants. What's a wax and what's a sealant?

If you use either mineral spirits or paint thinner as your thinning agent then you would use oil-based Helmsman. If you were using the water-based Helmsman then you would use water as your thinning agent.

Most of my comments in this and my previous post are simply an "educated" speculation based on my experience with the Helmsman in other applications. Like I said earlier I have never done the Helmsman headlight restoration. But one thing that is not speculation on my part but rather fact, is that the water-based Helmsman is clearer than the oil-based Helmsman.
 
2black1s said:
I doubt if the paint thinner was your issue. Paint thinner and mineral spirits are very similar and in some cases exactly the same thing. The two terms are used interchangeably at times. It really depends on how the manufacturer labels their product. I've actually seen cans of "Paint Thinner" with the words "mineral spirits" in smaller letters and parenthesis right below Paint Thinner on the face of the container. Kind of like waxes and sealants. What's a wax and what's a sealant?

If you use either mineral spirits or paint thinner as your thinning agent then you would use oil-based Helmsman. If you were using the water-based Helmsman then you would use water as your thinning agent.

Most of my comments in this and my previous post are simply an "educated" speculation based on my experience with the Helmsman in other applications. Like I said earlier I have never done the Helmsman headlight restoration. But one thing that is not speculation on my part but rather fact, is that the water-based Helmsman is clearer than the oil-based Helmsman.
Click to expand...

By the way a wax and a sealant are 2 completely different things.
 
what about NOT polishing and using the spar method?Is polish overkill because I tried this on some plastic.I wet sanded 600/1000/2000/2500 then wiped clean and added 50/50 spar/mineral sprits and it looked the same as when I add polish?Normally I would wet sand and when I finish I use a polishing copound to buff out scratches but the spar is so thick when I did this it look perfect!also noticed know yellow tint so eather the polish or the thineer was the problem.So is polishing just overkill and not needed with this method????
 
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