Headlight sealant: spar urethane vs. opti coat 2.0

[Part-timer]

I don't know what products you have tried, but not ours since it's not available as a DIY product.

We have never recommended or endorsed partial restorations because of the many different coatings used by OEMs. There's always potential problems of one type of coating sticking to another. We do know these coatings will stick to polycarbonate.

Doesn't seem like it would be worth it. Removing some of the old coating or all of it is not much different in time.
rays

I don't know what you mean by a partial restoration....? I've been a professional automotive technician for 22 years and for over 2 years now have been doing headlights and minor work for a few small used car dealers on weekends, just for some extra spending money. They get cars in all the time that have the top part of the lens coating worn off (which looks like crap). They want the whole car to look new again. I remove all of the old coating(normally by sanding) and apply a new coating to make the whole lens look like new again.

It seems like we are on different pages here. I have not used your "Brite Lites" product before, there are hundreds of different products on the market now to choose from, which I haven't used. I simply asked about it. I did look at the you tube video links you provided and went to the website to check pricing.

[Setec Astronomy]

I did look at the you tube video links you provided and went to the website to check pricing.

But the YouTube method and that shown on the website seemed completely different, so I'm not even sure it's the same place?

[ray6]

I don't know what you mean by a partial restoration....? I've been a professional automotive technician for 22 years and for over 2 years now have been doing headlights and minor work for a few small used car dealers on weekends, just for some extra spending money. They get cars in all the time that have the top part of the lens coating worn off (which looks like crap). They want the whole car to look new again. I remove all of the old coating(normally by sanding) and apply a new coating to make the whole lens look like new again.

It seems like we are on different pages here. I have not used your "Brite Lites" product before, there are hundreds of different products on the market now to choose from, which I haven't used. I simply asked about it. I did look at the you tube video links you provided and went to the website to check pricing.

Not sure what website you saw, since our website isn't operational yet. If you would like more info, please PM me or contact me at ray.raffa@att.net
ray6

[ray6]

But the YouTube method and that shown on the website seemed completely different, so I'm not even sure it's the same place?

It's not. Our website britelites1.com is not yet online.
ray6

[ray6]

Sorry Part-Timer, I misread your post. What I meant by partial restoration is removing the original factory coating on only part of the headlight then either coating the whole headlight or just the removed part.

This is what we don't recommend because there is a potential of the new coating sticking to the original.

Our website- britelites1.com will not be operational for 3 more weeks, so I don't know what website you saw but it wasn't ours. Sorry for the confusion.
ray6

[DaveT435]

That is on plastic...OC is designed to work with your paint to form the hard lasting surface...right?

[Chris Thomas]

Im surprised that the Opti Coat side has so much UV degradation. It makes me question its use for cars parked outside 24/7.

Hotrod has already done a spar vs Opticoat test and it appeared that spar won. I wonder what other user-friendly, affordable coatings there are for people who don't work in a shop environment? Especially something that can be guaranteed for 3 years.(without spraying 2 coats of clear)
????

That is on plastic...OC is designed to work with your paint to form the hard lasting surface...right?

Optimum's current coatings are for paint which already contains high levels of UV protection; so not much additional is needed. Enter clear plastics...you still have a coating that beads and doesn't allow contamination to stick well, but because the plastic has NO UV other than the factory coat that has worn away or you sanded away during the restoration process there isn't a lot of UV protection when applied to a substrate that has NONE of its own.

So, OC is still there and working, just not effectively as you'd like on these surfaces. The urethane has very high levels of UV inhibitors because it was designed to protect wood and such that had no protection, but it can't handle the chemicals than OC can.

We should have a plastic specific coating ready by SEMA that will permenantly prevent UV degradation on lenses...so stay tuned.

[Morphiusrt]

We should have a plastic specific coating ready by SEMA that will permenantly prevent UV degradation on lenses...so stay tuned.

Like!!!!

[Setec Astronomy]

We should have a plastic specific coating ready by SEMA that will permenantly prevent UV degradation on lenses...so stay tuned.

I think that's what they call in Washington DC, MAKING NEWS!!

[HotRod]

We should have a plastic specific coating ready by SEMA that will permenantly prevent UV degradation on lenses...so stay tuned.

I am very interested in trying out this product!!!! Hopefully its as easy to apply as opti coat 2.0.

I have recently been experimenting with multiple coats of the 50/50 spar treatment compared to just one coat, and the results are obvious. The multiple coated lens are outlasting the one coated side. And the lens are both in full sunlight every day.

However, I am curious about this XPEL Headlight Protection Kit, Xpel headlight film, x-pel headlight protection film, if it will keep the lights from degrading over its 7 year warranty. If so, it would definitely outlast any "coating" out there that I am aware of. But it might be difficult to apply to certain headlights, and it is much more expensive but might be worthwhile if it outlasts everything else out there on the market. Opinions?