What kind of paint sprayer for headlights

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tdrake2406

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Hey guys I have been working on some headlights and I think I have reached my breaking point with the spray can 2k clear. I would like to start using a spray gun to do them instead which will take out the guessing of how much product is left in the can. I was thinking about getting a regular spray gun or possibly an airbrush. I havent ever used an airbrush but thought it might be a good idea to get some thin coats on the headlights. What are you guys opinions?
 
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I have not used it for headlights but when I painted the roadrunner I used a 2 quart Devilbiss pressure pot and spray gun. This system works great as you can regulate the spray air and pot pressure to what ever works the best and can really cut down on orange peel. When doing under trunk lid, hood etc. with all the cross bracing I could cut the spray pressure and keep the pot high enough that there was absolutely no paint bounce back that gives that sandpaper effect. The only downside that I see is if you are doing small parts you would use more cleaning solution to rinse out the pot and gun.

Dave
 
I would really investigate one of the UV-cure headlight coatings before I started spraying 2K clear in my garage.
 
why even clear them with so many uv sealants on the market.just sand them buff them good and leave them alone,I'm not one for coatings on plastics or headlights cause when the product fails I don't need the headache.Buff them out,and touch them up 6 to 8 months from now.
 
GSKR said:
why even clear them with so many uv sealants on the market.just sand them buff them good and leave them alone,I'm not one for coatings on plastics or headlights cause when the product fails I don't need the headache.Buff them out,and touch them up 6 to 8 months from now.
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Here in Az. it is about 3 Months tops. I have read that 2k clear is the cat's meow for longevity. I have read good and bad with opti-lens. It is all a crap shoot. I have tried ZAIO.,Z2 pro, Duragloss, Collinite, FK1000, Opti-seal, ZCS and recently trying OCW. Just my .02 cents on the subject. I just have a hard time digesting the price of Opti-lens so I keep doing the buffing clean up when needed. I do agree when a coating goes bad it is a real PIA to remove, had that with Dlux one time.

Dave
 
davidc said:
Here in Az. it is about 3 Months tops. I have read that 2k clear is the cat's meow for longevity. I have read good and bad with opti-lens. It is all a crap shoot. I have tried ZAIO.,Z2 pro, Duragloss, Collinite, FK1000, Opti-seal, ZCS and recently trying OCW. Just my .02 cents on the subject. I just have a hard time digesting the price of Opti-lens so I keep doing the buffing clean up when needed. I do agree when a coating goes bad it is a real PIA to remove, had that with Dlux one time.

Dave
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Im from south fla,so I know what you mean about headlights.3 months is really quick fading.just make sure you wear a respirator and cover car before spraying anything Gd luck.might want to try a prevail sprayer just a suggestion.
 
Thanks for the quick replies and I am in az. So far the 2k has been holding up rather well compared to just coating the lenses. The pictures above are both done with 2k clear
 
davidc said:
Here in Az. it is about 3 Months tops. I have read that 2k clear is the cat's meow for longevity. I have read good and bad with opti-lens. It is all a crap shoot. I have tried ZAIO.,Z2 pro, Duragloss, Collinite, FK1000, Opti-seal, ZCS and recently trying OCW. Just my .02 cents on the subject. I just have a hard time digesting the price of Opti-lens so I keep doing the buffing clean up when needed. I do agree when a coating goes bad it is a real PIA to remove, had that with Dlux one time.

Dave
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Curious to know how OptiSeal and OCW are effective for you or not.
Thats what I'm using too after I polished them
Thanks Dave
 
glfnaz said:
Curious to know how OptiSeal and OCW are effective for you or not.
Thats what I'm using too after I polished them
Thanks Dave
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Now that you mention it, I have not tried them together. Opti-seal on it's own did not last more than 3 months or so. A little past 3 Months with OCW over 476S and I can see some slight yellowing so maybe 4 Months before I get tired of looking at it and re-do. I will try the Opti-seal and OCW next time. I had tried Wolfgang clear plastic protector along the line and it did not make it past the 3 Months also. I have been using the OCW on the lights about every 2 weeks or so.

Dave
 
tdrake2406 said:
Hey guys I have been working on some headlights and I think I have reached my breaking point with the spray can 2k clear. I would like to start using a spray gun to do them instead which will take out the guessing of how much product is left in the can. I was thinking about getting a regular spray gun or possibly an airbrush. I havent ever used an airbrush but thought it might be a good idea to get some thin coats on the headlights. What are you guys opinions?
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I have used a DeVilbis SRI Pro, CVI, FinishLine 3, and a $15 Harbor Freight HVLP gun to spray headlights. The SRI is a mini gun, but it cost a few bucks. All the headlights were removed from the vehicle; easier than wrapping an entire vehicle, IMO. Protect yourself and use a good respirator!! The Preval sprayer GSKR isn't a bad idea either. They spray surprisingly well.
 
tdrake2406 said:
Hey guys I have been working on some headlights and I think I have reached my breaking point with the spray can 2k clear. I would like to start using a spray gun to do them instead which will take out the guessing of how much product is left in the can. I was thinking about getting a regular spray gun or possibly an airbrush. I havent ever used an airbrush but thought it might be a good idea to get some thin coats on the headlights. What are you guys opinions?
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I think you can get any spray gun with a 1mm to 1.4mm fluid tip and just spay it. The smaller the fluid tip the better (less orange peel). Just make sure you mix your clear and hardner correcty, set air pressure as recommended for the gun, prep your lense, sand, clean and degrease and lay 2 to 3 light coats. You can tint your clear if you like. Cut and buff.
 
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