Any 'superior' headlight restoration products out there?

I am going to tell from first experience that the best headlight repair i have used is GCLEAR oem hardcoat



It is completely different from a traditional clearcoat-which of course everyone knows requires thin coats. to prevent from runs or sags.

It is expensive about 59.99 for a can that can cover about 10 pairs of headlights



The product is self leveling so spraying full wet is what the manufacturer wants you to do.

No need for extra coats, just one complete coverage fully wet coat, it will drip off and become completley uniform.

I have let this product sit on a pair of headlights that have been through full summer 2011 and now. They are as clear as day as of right now.



I am starting to test if spray coating Helmspar UV Varnish on headlight will hold up to yellowing after prper maintanence is done. Way cheaper but maintanence level is unknown. Wet sanding, ambering, gloss holdout,

cloudiness, etc.
 
I've always had good results with 105 on a 4" orange lc pad followed up by 205 on a white or black 4" lc pad. This set of headlights on an older prelude that I did with that process and sealed with some extra opti-coat that I had leftover.



prelude-headlights.jpg
 
All depends what ya start out with really. I think a lot of people wetsand when it isn't necessary but they don't ever try to polish first which I find weird. I can do most hazy headlights with a few passes of SIP and then some FP. And then seal em up. I've noticed they will get hazy again in a year or so though even re waxing them often.
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
All depends what ya start out with really. I think a lot of people wetsand when it isn't necessary but they don't ever try to polish first which I find weird. I can do most hazy headlights with a few passes of SIP and then some FP. And then seal em up. I've noticed they will get hazy again in a year or so though even re waxing them often.
Click to expand...



I sometimes find it quicker to wetsand then polish and seal.



Can do a largely clouded mildly yellowed surface (two piece lights) in 20 minutes. In comparison fog + headlights really.



If the polycarbonate has a delaminated coating or has to be sanded lower than 400-500, that is when i recommend to shooting a coating over it.
 
After polishing the headlights to make them clear, will applying opti-coat prevent them from clouding again for at least a year?
 
I have a few cars out there with the Helmsman Spar varnish on them, including my son's M3. So far, so good, but I have told people that it should begin to fail within 2 years and would need to be redone. Haven't tried Opti-Coat yet, but I bet it will work just fine. The beauty of using a clear coat is that there is no polishing involved. Sand with 1000, follow with 2500, clean, and apply the coating. Simple as that. I do have an old UV lamp, but I've yet to determine that it has the proper wave length bulb to properly clear a coating like SEM's Solaray. Once I determine if I can cure with it, I'll order one of the $35(!) cans of Solaray. SEM claims that it should last as long as the factory coating.
 
It's too bad that Sylvania doesn't sell their headlight UV coating included in their headlight restoration kits as a separate product. It's the only component in their kit that I'd actually use.



I had just enough Opti-Coat left over after spraying my car to do the headlights on the wife's SUV. The headlights were completely clouded over, yellow, pitted. 800/1500 sand, 105 then 205 and finally opti-coat. The desert south west sun will be a great test for any UV protection the Opti-Coat can provide. Her SUV never sees the inside of a garage...
 
SuperBee364 said:
It's too bad that Sylvania doesn't sell their headlight UV coating included in their headlight restoration kits as a separate product. It's the only component in their kit that I'd actually use.



I had just enough Opti-Coat left over after spraying my car to do the headlights on the wife's SUV. The headlights were completely clouded over, yellow, pitted. 800/1500 sand, 105 then 205 and finally opti-coat. The desert south west sun will be a great test for any UV protection the Opti-Coat can provide. Her SUV never sees the inside of a garage...
Click to expand...



Please keep us updated
 
countrysquire said:
I have a few cars out there with the Helmsman Spar varnish on them, including my son's M3. So far, so good, but I have told people that it should begin to fail within 2 years and would need to be redone. Haven't tried Opti-Coat yet, but I bet it will work just fine. The beauty of using a clear coat is that there is no polishing involved. Sand with 1000, follow with 2500, clean, and apply the coating. Simple as that. I do have an old UV lamp, but I've yet to determine that it has the proper wave length bulb to properly clear a coating like SEM's Solaray. Once I determine if I can cure with it, I'll order one of the $35(!) cans of Solaray. SEM claims that it should last as long as the factory coating.
Click to expand...



This is after applying last coat of Helmsman Spar Varnish about 3-4 coats roughly an hour after flash.



IMG_0170.jpg


IMG_0173.jpg




This is roughly 40 hours of sitting outside. The car is 2003 saturn l200 they actually come equipped with projectors. Driver side was cut and polished carefully. daylight





IMG_0177.jpg




As for my satisfaction, it seems to be a nice cheap fixer. Honestly i would rather put acyrlic urethane clear on it to get rid of ambering.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top