clear urethane casting resin on headlights vs others...

[pman626]

I was thinking about those wood furniture that is coated in a thick hard resin coating, and I thought it sounded perfect for headlight yellowing problems.

polyurethane (not polyester) casting resin is optically clear UV stable, and a lot cheaper than opti-lens.

There's something called Alumilite water clear, and it costs $24 for 16oz.
That's way more than opti-lens, and it cures hard.

Sounds like a good coating for failing headlight lenses. It's sandable and polishable too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl-fwuo5pgg

[MikeC]

Looks interesting. It seems to release pretty easily from the molds so bonding might be an issue?

[FUNX650]

From the video...

•It was stated that this product "takes-on" the finish,
or the appearance, of the mold into which it's poured:
-Glossy mold = glossy end-product
-Frosty mold = frosty end-product


Then...and when:
•Taking forum member MikeC's below post into consideration:

Looks interesting. It seems to release pretty easily from the molds so bonding might be an issue?
•How would a "headlamp lens-cover mold" be
properly prepared to accept/(bond) with the resin?

-Using the analogy of:
"the mold's-finish equals the end-product's finish":

If the P-Carb is sanded, scuffed, or otherwise compounded/polished to remove all traces
of the OEM's headlamp lens' "hardcoat"...

The resulting end-product's finish would not,
(probably could not), have the greatest of clarity...IMO.


Bob

[builthatch]

try it and report back.

but, Opti-Lens is specifically designed for this purpose in every way.

headlights take the brunt of road wash...high speed impacts from debris. they see intense heat from the lights inside them in conjunction with the exposure to the sun, which means more heat but most importantly massive UV exposure that is not easy to endure as evidenced by the headlight yellowing issue the world has had since the advent of plastic lenses. and they are polycarbonate, so bonding long term is a concern. $50-$60 for a tube that will handle all of those specific issues on tons of lenses vs. $24 doesn't seem like a big deal to me in light of all that, esp. considering how much it would be, alternatively, to replace the headlamps with OE lamps.

[pman626]

You all have good points. I was just throwing an idea out there. Also it would be nice if opti-lens were half the price, and nothing brings price down like competition.

Opti-lens is resin based, last I checked.

As for releasing from molds easily, that's because they spray some mold release layer.

for headlights, you wouldn't be spraying a mold release agent.

If it came off so easily, they wouldn't be using resin to coat tables and countertops, as shown below.

The only issue is application. I don't know how easy it would be to brush on and whether it would self-level into a thin layer.

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server1800/ftnwt/product_images/uploaded_images/sony-project.jpg



headlights take the brunt of road wash...high speed impacts from debris. they see intense heat from the lights inside them in conjunction with the exposure to the sun, which means more heat but most importantly massive UV exposure that is not easy to endure as evidenced by the headlight yellowing issue the world has had since the advent of plastic lenses. and they are polycarbonate, so bonding long term is a concern.

From the data sheet I glanced at, the polyurethane casting resins are UV stable, cure extremely hard, and can take up to 130 C temps.

[FUNX650]

You all have good points. I was just throwing an idea out there. Also it would be nice if opti-lens were half the price, and nothing brings price down like competition.

Opti-lens is resin based, last I checked.

As for releasing from molds easily, that's because they spray some mold release layer.

for headlights, you wouldn't be spraying a mold release agent.

If it came off so easily, they wouldn't be using resin to coat tables and countertops, as shown below.

The only issue is application. I don't know how easy it would be to brush on and whether it would self-level into a thin layer.

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server1800/ftnwt/product_images/uploaded_images/sony-project.jpg



From the data sheet I glanced at, the polyurethane casting resins are UV stable, cure extremely hard, and can take up to 130 C temps.
OK then...Carry on:
You seem to have this "technology" well in hand. :dblthumb2:


Bob