Headlight sealant: spar urethane vs. opti coat 2.0

**knowell** · 02-15-2012, 04:16 PM

Sorry to hijack the thread but, can I use a clear, high gloss wood varnish plus lacquer thinner for this method? I've inquired to almost all hardware/paint stores here in Doha and all they're giving me when I asked for Urethane and Mineral Spirits are the varnish and lacquer thinner respectively.

Thanks!

**GP49** · 02-15-2012, 08:49 PM

I don't know what formulation the wood varnish is, but lacquer thinner is a much stronger solvent than mineral spirits and could dissolve the plastic of the headlight, permanently damaging it. Depends on the formulation of the plastic.

**mr.fusion** · 02-16-2012, 02:18 AM

I would agree.... lacquer thinner may eat the plastic. Also, you need to use a product with UV inhibitor, made for use outdoors. I'd be shocked if you cannot get an outdoor "spar varnish" or "spar urethane" locally.

Cabot, Minwax, Varathane brands all have it, and I'm sure there are others.

**Part-timer** · 02-16-2012, 06:28 AM

Originally Posted by knowell

Sorry to hijack the thread but, can I use a clear, high gloss wood varnish plus lacquer thinner for this method? I've inquired to almost all hardware/paint stores here in Doha and all they're giving me when I asked for Urethane and Mineral Spirits are the varnish and lacquer thinner respectively.

Thanks!

Where is Doha located? There was a guy in here from, I think, Puerto Rico who couldn't find the right stuff either.

**knowell** · 02-16-2012, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by Part-timer

Where is Doha located? There was a guy in here from, I think, Puerto Rico who couldn't find the right stuff either.

Capital of Qatar here in the Middle East.

**Louie_Blu** · 02-17-2012, 02:27 AM

Originally Posted by HotRod

Four month update on car #2 Chevy Malibu.

I had a chance to take a few update pictures of my second test vehicle this past weekend, and it just past four months from the restoration.

Opti Coat side

This vehicle is protected by a car port most of the time, but its rarely washed. Both lens look just the same as they did when I originally did the restoration.

Spar Urethane side

So far, there are no visible signs of deterioration on this test vehicle.

Nice work, Kinda Curious are you applying one coat or 2 on these lights?
If so do you guys use anything to dry the headlight quicker? like maybe a blow dryer on a low speed
when I do headlights and want to use a second coat I wait about 45 minutes to apply the 2nd coat and i'm only talking about Spar Urethane method only

**Kaban** · 02-28-2012, 11:45 AM

This is too awesome.

I just have a simple question. How do you go about cleaning the lights after application? Let's say you get some bug splatter on them or other "hard to remove" dirt, can you use OPC or other APCs to clean the lights without physically ruining the spar/miniral spirits protection?

Also, should you wax them or seal them after the sealant has fully cured?

**Kaban** · 02-28-2012, 11:20 PM

I just did the spar and mineral treatment on my mom's 97 Toyota Avalon and the lights look brand new.

The car rarely gets washed. Last year, I polished the lights with a rotary and a compound/polish combo and treated them with 476S. Well, they turned yellow after several weeks and have stayed that way since.

The spar treatment was very easy to do and the result was fantastic. I left the car in the garage for several hours for the protection to cure.

After how much time can I apply a wax or paint sealant (like bfwd) on the spar treated lights to keep them going even longer? Thank you.

**Kris R** · 02-29-2012, 09:15 AM

I've also used various methods of restoration on headlights. But have you ever noticed, especially when one headlight is NEW and one is yellow, that if you look very closely to the restored headlight, even though it looks PERFECT, it still isn't as clear as the factory?

Sent from my iPhone using AG Online

**Part-timer** · 02-29-2012, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by Kaban

I just did the spar and mineral treatment on my mom's 97 Toyota Avalon and the lights look brand new.

The car rarely gets washed. Last year, I polished the lights with a rotary and a compound/polish combo and treated them with 476S. Well, they turned yellow after several weeks and have stayed that way since.

The spar treatment was very easy to do and the result was fantastic. I left the car in the garage for several hours for the protection to cure.

After how much time can I apply a wax or paint sealant (like bfwd) on the spar treated lights to keep them going even longer? Thank you.

I personally wouldn't use wax after the spar has cured. I've done that and I believe it is the wax that then turns yellow. I would just clean them with a car wash. I'm not sure but I'm afraid harsh cleaners or solvents would quickly remove the cured spar.
Just my thoughts.