Headlight correction

[Calendyr]

Did anyone listen to Larry's podcast about headlight restoration today?

Want to know what you think.

Here is how I feel about what he said:

First off, he explains his process and I don't know if I am crazy but he seems to go through way too many steps. He sands with 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 and then 3000 grit before doing compound followed by polish and finally a sealant... GEEZ!

Any of you guys do it with so many steps?

Also I don't think a sealant is enough once you have removed the factory UV coating. Granted if headlights are opaque and yellow, that protection is dead but once you reveal clear plastic, I feel a very strong UV protection is needed and that a dedicated Headlight coating is the best option. I do not know which one is best, I think that Opti-Lens is the better choice but maybe I am wrong and other products are better.

So, the question is, what is your process and do you think doing all those extra steps improve the results?

[wdmaccord]

Did anyone listen to Larry's podcast about headlight restoration today?

Want to know what you think.

Here is how I feel about what he said:

First off, he explains his process and I don't know if I am crazy but he seems to go through way too many steps. He sands with 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 and then 3000 grit before doing compound followed by polish and finally a sealant... GEEZ!

Any of you guys do it with so many steps?

Also I don't think a sealant is enough once you have removed the factory UV coating. Granted if headlights are opaque and yellow, that protection is dead but once you reveal clear plastic, I feel a very strong UV protection is needed and that a dedicated Headlight coating is the best option. I do not know which one is best, I think that Opti-Lens is the better choice but maybe I am wrong and other products are better.

So, the question is, what is your process and do you think doing all those extra steps improve the results?

I've had success with just 1500, 2000, 3000 and a good finishing compound like Megs UC. I did most of the correction with the 1000, then the next two sanding steps were just to remove the scratches from the previous grit.

[hernandez.art13]

I did my with 1000,1500,2000,3000.

I am going do my setup like Critical Detail's video.

I have the 3" backing plate for my PC. Just waiting for next month to place my order.

Plus I have someone asking me to do their headlights, so we'll see might be sooner.

[coqui]

For me it depends in the condition of the headlights. Very bad I use 320, 500, 800, 1500, 3000, polish, and sealant. In others, I start on 800 or 1500. For protection I now only use Opti Lens. You can use a sealant, only if your going to maintain it with other applications of sealant like you do with the paint.

[hernandez.art13]

How many headlights uses do you get with opti lens? Per se

Because I might be getting some if the headlight correction that I might do, goes through

[MirrorFinish]

I do 2000 grit, 2500 then 3000 grit then polish out. Always looks great then two coats of CQuartz ceramic sealant, not had a problem and my lights look like new.

[Christopher.Brown]

you can do it with 1000 [sometimes 800 depending on starting level of deterioriation] then go to 1500.... then can use a 3" MF cutting pad with a compound then finish with foam and a mild polish...

saves time and VERY effective

i prefer to finish with opti coat not opti lens

[Calendyr]

I did my with 1000,1500,2000,3000.

I am going do my setup like Critical Detail's video.

I have the 3" backing plate for my PC. Just waiting for next month to place my order.

Plus I have someone asking me to do their headlights, so we'll see might be sooner.

Can you post a link to that video?

[Calendyr]

you can do it with 1000 [sometimes 800 depending on starting level of deterioriation] then go to 1500.... then can use a 3" MF cutting pad with a compound then finish with foam and a mild polish...

saves time and VERY effective

i prefer to finish with opti coat not opti lens

Very interesting! So 3" mf has enough cut with a compound to remove 1500 grit scratches! That's surprising to me... maybe because it's plastic it's easier to correct?

Also why do you prefer opti-coat? The way I understand it Opti-lens is a product very similar to opti-coat but with increased UV protection. So is it a matter of looks?

[hernandez.art13]

Meguiar's Mf polishing pad and M100 was strong enough to remove 1500.

But that was on a Rupes 21

[Christopher.Brown]

Very interesting! So 3" mf has enough cut with a compound to remove 1500 grit scratches! That's surprising to me... maybe because it's plastic it's easier to correct?

Also why do you prefer opti-coat? The way I understand it Opti-lens is a product very similar to opti-coat but with increased UV protection. So is it a matter of looks?


the size of the Mf doesn't matter.. this is on a da.... the megs pads are aggressive and will remove and finish down on paint and headlights..

as far as preferring Opti coat... I have it on hand... I don't see the point of buying another product for the same application... I wax and keep a layer of wax in top of my coatings anyway.. so I have up to triple protection on many vehicles :props:

[Christopher.Brown]

..

[hernandez.art13]

How much opti coat do you use Christopher?

[CriticalDetails]

you can do it with 1000 [sometimes 800 depending on starting level of deterioriation] then go to 1500.... then can use a 3" MF cutting pad with a compound then finish with foam and a mild polish...

saves time and VERY effective

i prefer to finish with opti coat not opti lens

Why do you like using Opti-Coat instead of Opti-Lens for coating headlights. Opti-Coat works better than your average sealant and prior to the release of Opti-Lens it was my go to headlight coating. Restored headlights start to fade after a year or so when using Opti-Coat. Keep in mind the headlights still look many times better than they did before the restoration was performed.

I have only been using Opti-Lens for roughly six months so I can't compare its long term durability to Opti-Coat at this point.


Can you post a link to that video?

Here is the video that Art was talking about.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACu1yRyjzOU]Car Detailing: Headlight Restoration - Honda Civic, GoPro Hero3 - YouTube[/video]

[Setec Astronomy]

Restored headlights start to fade after a year or so when using Opti-Coat.

I was actually getting yellowing in a little less than that with one layer of OC 2.0. I just recently did my test subject with two layers of Opti-Lens...I'll report back in the spring.