Help with Headlight Coating

[derass]

Yesterday I restored my headlights with a 3M kit and CarPro DLux. It turned out great but I made a small mistake.

Since the bottom corner of the headlight was going to be really difficult to sand and polish, I took off the bumper for better access. That certainly made things easier.

But about 30 min after applying DLux, I needed to put the car back together so I could drive today. As I was re-installing the bumper I accidentally touched the coating, I guess it was still curing so it left a fingerprint sized smudge. Then 6 hours later I came back and tried wiping the smudge with a microfiber towle to see if it would do anything. The coating still had not cured and the smudge got worse.

I'm just wondering is there's anything I can do to fix the smudge? Apply some more DLux? Polish the area once it's fully cured in a few days?

[Rsurfer]

That's the problem with Dlux..you must level it out while its still wet. Once it starts to cure, it will start to get tacky and then smear if you try to wipe it down.

Let it cure and polish it off.

[derass]

Yeah, I noticed the tackiness when I did my trim. So for the headlights, I loaded up the applicator and worked quickly. There was no need to level it, but I could feel it getting tacky as I worked. It was about 30*C and humid outside.

When you say polish it off, do you mean the effected area (about 1 square inch), or the entire headlight?

[Rsurfer]

I don't think you can just polish the affected area, but try and see what happens.

[jeff79]

you will probably have to re-sand if the clear coat set in.

how long does the Dlux last?