Looks like a great product. I'm all in. Great for headlight restorations im hoping
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Looks like a great product. I'm all in. Great for headlight restorations im hoping
Bob,
Hello!
My pleasure!
Sanding/polishing is only required if the headlights are yellowed/oxidized. If you're working on a brand spankin' new car, there (in theory) would be no need to sand/polish the headlights before applying Opti-Lens Headlight Coating. I would, however, lightly polish (let's say Optimum Finish Polish) the headlights on a vehicle that is several months old. A light polish applied with a soft foam finishing pad would remove any contamination without abrading away the factory-applied UV protection. Opti-Lens Headlight Coating, much like Opti-Coat 2.0, needs to be applied to a surface that's squeaky clean and free of contaminants.
You're correct - they "shouldn't be" in too bad of a condition. But let's use that logic in regards to gas pedals sticking and wheels falling off brand new cars. That "shouldn't" happen.
I was actually horrified upon taking delivery on my new-to-me 2010 Mazda 3. The headlights looked like they were 5+ years old. While they weren't trashed, they were far from perfect (remember I work for Autogeek) so a quick polish (I believe I used Meguiar's D300) restored them to optical clarity before applying the Opti-Lens Headlight Coating (I also wiped them down with 15% IPA after polishing).
Any time Bob! :dblthumb2:
No offense taken - this thread was created for questions to be asked and theories to be discussed. As I explained to Bob, the headlights on my vehicle had already began to yellow/oxidize so polishing was necessary. I'm sure the factory-applied coating was removed by the abrasive polished used to restore optical clarity. With a cabinet full of "the good stuff", applying a coat of Opti-Lens Headlight Coating was a no-brainer.
I'm sure as Opti-Lens Headlight Coating becomes available, comparisons will be made. I'm anxious to see how well Opti-Lens Headlight Coating holds up on my vehicle. Unless Max adds another 0 to my yearly salary, I'll be driving the Mazda for a while. I'm looking forward to the day 3 years from now when I bump this thread and say "hey look at that, my headlights are still perfectly clear." :)
Unless physically abraded away, Opti-Lens Headlight Coating will not be removed ("wear off").
I polish my headlights with every detail, just part of the process. They look very good and clear with the lights off. However when the lights are on you can see what looks like a somewhat very light sandblasted look. Could I use the OOLHC to fill and hide this? What I mean is apply, and wet sand as many times as it takes to remove or hide these defects? Much like applying a clear coat finish to paint I suspect.
I'm no expert on this and I'm sure there is a lot of variation between mfrs., suppliers, and year-to-year, but the factory coatings I have seen fail have had to be sanded off. It fails on the part of the lens with the highest UV exposure, so that part of the lens turns yellow. Then there is a transition area where there is some coating left, that looks blotchy, then there is a part where the coating is still good. So the old coating has to be removed in the transition and good area, and polishing doesn't do it, only sanding.
So I'm not sure if it was just the coating on your car that was yellowed and you polished off the yellowed part of the coating, or if the factory coating is really gone. It doesn't really matter, if Dr. G has formulated this product for lights, then as far as I'm concerned it's the product to use on headlights (and I'm hoping maybe trim) rather than the Opti-Coat I've been using.
I'm sure there are other members who will want to know how Opti-Lens compares to the Spar Urethane method, and that's really interesting to me from a technical standpoint, whether a one-part easy-to-use product like Opti-Lens can outperform the Spar or even the "real" UV-cured headlight coatings, but that doesn't have any real-world value to me like it does to the headlight restoration guys--who I'm sure will be feeding us results on this product.
Sheesh, I think I had too much coffee this morning, time for me to shut up already.
That's about as deep as I dig into the subject. I let the expert do all the heavy thinking and I simply take his word for it and use the products. I don't like to spend a whole lot of time thinking, analyzing and dissecting "theories" that I'm not properly educated on.
My headlights were yellowed/oxidized. I polished them. I applied Opti-Lens Headlight Coating and they look great. There's my analysis. :props:
Comparisons are inevitable - that's what makes this hobby (errr obsession) so enjoyable.
Have another cup for me. ;)
Speaking of comparisons:
Due to the money-making potential (for manufacturers and Detailers)...
It appears that many UV-Coatings specific to:
'Correction/Protection' of polycarbonate headlight/taillight lenses...
are now making an appearance on the car-care-products-scene.
As such:
I wonder how AI-ValuGard's: NiteBrite permanent coating technology...
Will stack-up to their competitors...
Bob
Opti Coat will add all the attributes to lenses that it does to paint. But, polycarbonate needs a little more from a coating than paint to be "Optimized"
Opti-Lens is a hybrid coating based on Opti Coat. We added acrylic for flexibility due to the constant expanding and contracting and increased the UV absorber content to accommodate the absence of protection inherit to polycarbonate.
This combination along with the attributes of silicon carbide (Opti Coat) is the 1-2 punch for headlight protection that makes it the ultimate lens coating. And considering that it doesn't have to be sprayed or lamp cured, it's also the easiest.
Hi Chris...
-Must any of the existing OEM-polycarbonate-lenses'-"coating(s)" be:
Scuffed/sanded/compounded/polished/etc...
Prior to these lenses having an Opti-Lens Coating application?
-Is Opti-Lens: 'Layerable'?
Thanks.
:)
Bob
Good question Bob! I am interested in this new coating for my 2012 vehicles but I don't want to sand on lenses in excellent condition.