Which product to best seal restored headlights?

[reggie1967]

Hey there everybody! I have a question for you. I think this is the right forum for this (seemed like the best fit; there are so many).

I've been restoring every pair of oxidized headlights I can get my hands on, but my main concern has been sealing them against further UV damage. I know some amount of both road and UV damage is inevitable, but I'd like to have the risk at a minimum. I've seen headlights that had been restored but not really "treated" after the fact, and they looked as bad as they had before restoration.

What I've been using is Meguiar's Headlight Protectant, and am in the middle of a sort of test using my wife's Civic and my mother in law's Accord (both parked outside 100%). I restored them both at the same time and applied the first coat of Meg's Headlight Protectant right after. I've been cleaning and re-applying the protectant every week on the Civic, but I'll only be refreshing the Accord's once a month. I'll post monthly pictures in THIS thread.

So I'll get to see how effective that product is, but I'd still like to explore more. I don't really want to do the Spar-Urethane method for fear of the actual product yellowing.

Disregarding cost and focusing only on performance, longevity, and frequency of reapplication, how would you all rate these:

· Meguiar's Headlight Protectant
· Meguiar's #21
· Chemical Guy's Jetseal 109
· Opti-Coat 2.0
· Diamondite Clear Plastic Liquid Armor
· Wolfgang Plastic Surface and Headlight Sealant

What's your opinion on these? Which do you think would last the longest? How often should they be reapplied? Any you'd add to the list?

Remember, cost is no issue right now.

Thanks everyone!

well ther several more out there u can use but i was told on here not to mention other product on here got a email a yr ago i thought this forum open to more of one opinion

[mhphoto]

Sorry about that. Keep hitting the wrong button, or I'm old, or both.
ray6

That's alright, . Thanks for all your posts! I've been looking them up around the forum and learning a whole lot from them!

[Rayaz]

OC 2.0. Easy to use after you get the plastic just the way you want. I did some a year ago and there is no degradation. The same cant be said of some of the other methods I used before to include various sealants and waxes. Just my two cents from the hot Arizona desert where headlights fade in about 2 years from new.

[ref]

If we were to exclude the amazing and costly Opti-Lens, which one would be better in terms of durability?

[FUNX650]

If we were to exclude the amazing and costly Opti-Lens, which one would be better in terms of durability?

If I were you...I'd contact this person:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/members/ray6.html


Bob

[ray6]

What you're really asking is which is the best TEMPORARY protective coating? Virtually all these coatings boil down to some form of UV blockers in the form of wax. Some are better than others. None of these come close to the original protective coating applied to the headlight during manufacture.

At the factory, the polycarbonate is super cleaned, coated with a primer (electrostatic applied), followed by the actual coating which is then baked or cured with UV. You really can't duplicate this in the field. However, when considering coatings, think of the headlight just like the finish on the car body. Modern finishes need a protective clear coat to block UV. So do headlights. Wax is a short term solution. There are good coatings out there, but they are expensive and difficult to apply and cure. It really depends on what type of service and warranty you're offering.

Restoring headlights is a two step process; remove the old coating, replace it with a new one. There's no one size fits all for removing the old coating because there are too many variables. Essentially, you remove it with abrasives. The heavier the damage, the coarser the abrasive.

Your first abrasive should remove all the coating, all additional steps are to correct the damage from this first abrasive.

There are many tips and procedures available on this forum, but it really depends on the condition of each headlight and that will be different every time. Start too aggressively and you will spend more time repairing damage from the previous step. Start too fine and you will spend more time removing the coating.

Removing the old coating is the easy part. Once you remove the old coating, you must install a new coating. Most of the processes you see on this forum are various forms of wax. They will only last a finite time.

The new coating needs to block UV from the polycarbonate. Think of it as protecting the paint on your car. Sure, wax will work, but for how long.? This is why modern finish paints require clear coat. It's the same thing.

One of the things you'll notice in threads on headlight restoration is anecdotal. This particular process lasted 2 years, this one only 3 months, etc. The reason is the variables involved in UV exposure. Think of it this way: I could remove the old coating on a headlamp then make sure it never received DIRECT UV exposure by always parking in a garage, etc., and under these conditions it would remain clear forever.
A different headlight with a premium coating might fail in 6 months if constantly exposed to direct UV.

Coating with wax after removing the old coating will work, as long as you continuously reapply it.