Headlights Look Like Fried Eggs Again...

V

voiddweller

New member
Hello,



After finding a lot of information regarding headlights on the forum, I decided to restore my hazed/yellowed lenses from circa-1996 :) .



They came out great, but they are turning yellow, again. It appears a UV protectant is needed due to the intense rays in the U.S. Sunbelt.



Would someone mind recommending a good UV product that does not require excessive or frequent application?



Thank you.
 
Bob's site is great. I've been using AMSOIL for years.



I took at look at the instructional video: Streaming Video of our Directions



Cleaning and polishing the lens is the same as most people have previously posted. It's just some sandpaper with a polish. The CV#2 Sealer is what sets the kit apart from just cleaning and polishing.



Does anyone know what that sealer is and know how to obtain it or something similar?



Thanks.
 
Just wash and wax the headlights as you do the rest of the car. That should help to at least slow down the process of oxidation on them. Eventually you will have to polish them again. In my experience, some plastic headlights will cloud up faster than others, so the time you can go without polishing is variable depending on the car.
 
White95Max said:
Just wash and wax the headlights as you do the rest of the car. That should help to at least slow down the process of oxidation on them. Eventually you will have to polish them again. In my experience, some plastic headlights will cloud up faster than others, so the time you can go without polishing is variable depending on the car.
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Nice to see you around again Paul. :wavey



Does anyone know what the "sealant" used in the Crystal View kit is? It sounds pretty interesting.
 
I have the same questions about the sealant.



I'm sure the polishing can be done as described by the numerous threads in the forum, but they stuff they call CV#2 is really the key to the product.



It fills in all the abraisions, hardens within a few minutes to become crystal clear and must use some kind of UV protection.
 
twitch said:
Nice to see you around again Paul. :wavey
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Thanks. I've been busy with a new career, getting engaged, planning our wedding, and writing two books (using all of my own photography for both). :spot

I washed and waxed my car yesterday for the first time in at least 2 months. AIO/UPPx2 so far, and some #16 is going on today before work.
 
In my experience, once the headlights fade, that's it. They will no longer last as long as they did when they were new, no matter what you put on them. I religiously seal my headlights with Z2 (about every 3 weeks) and I still have to polish them out every 3 months. There seemed to be some kind of factory coating that's gone now and the headlights remain unprotected. The sunblock in most sealants does virtually nothing to protect the polycarbonate plastic.
 
mborner said:
In my experience, once the headlights fade, that's it. They will no longer last as long as they did when they were new, no matter what you put on them. I religiously seal my headlights with Z2 (about every 3 weeks) and I still have to polish them out every 3 months. There seemed to be some kind of factory coating that's gone now and the headlights remain unprotected. The sunblock in most sealants does virtually nothing to protect the polycarbonate plastic.
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Correct. The lenses have a coating from the factory and once that is gone it will be very hard to stall let alone prevent the oxidation from occuring.



I saw a product that was pretty cool (and had a demo done on my wife's car). They sanded the headlight with 2000 grit, sprayed a coating/clear coat on the light, then baked it with a special light for 15 minutes.



The light came out crystal clear, and still looks that way 1 year later.
 
TH0001 said:
Correct. The lenses have a coating from the factory and once that is gone it will be very hard to stall let alone prevent the oxidation from occuring.



I saw a product that was pretty cool (and had a demo done on my wife's car). They sanded the headlight with 2000 grit, sprayed a coating/clear coat on the light, then baked it with a special light for 15 minutes.



The light came out crystal clear, and still looks that way 1 year later.
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You can use Auto Int(valugard)'s UV Gard(from their ETR II kit) for similar purposes.

If you get Detailer pricing and just purchase the refill(UV Gard only) if you don't plan on doing any trim, and not only will the total cost be cheaper than many of those "kits", the cost per headlight is usually cheaper as well.
 
Like others have said, once whatever factory coating is gone, polishing/sealing becomes more frequent.



I have wet-sanded mine several times over the years I've owned it. Polishing is needed about every two months or so. I apply "wax" (NXT or #16) at least every month. I've used several other products, including 303 Protectant to no avail. I've seriously considered clearcoating them.



Hopefully someone will chime in with some other ideas before I do clear them. I'd hate to mess up clearing them (with my luck, the solvents of the clear would cloud the lens or something).



The clear bra thing does look promising. Has anyone tried it on previously polished lenses? Where is a good supplier of it?



BTW, my lights are on a '97 Nissan Maxima. They look really good after polishing/waxing, but degrade from UV after a while. It is really apparent when you open the hood and can see the line from where UV hits the lens and the part covered by the hood that is still clear.



Dave
 
Headlights are generally polycarbonate, they have a coating which prevents moisture in the air from combining and oxidizing the plastic. Unfortunately without constant car you'll get yellowing and eventually clouding that penetrates inside. This usually happens after years and years of neglect. A relatively cheap way around this after polishing it you can wipe it down with urethane reducer and paint it with urethane clear coat. This will then act just like paint clear and should resist yellowing.
 
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