Headlight sealant: spar urethane vs. opti coat 2.0

**Gatto5** · 10-01-2011, 09:08 AM

Ps.

Louie Blu,
Can you send me an example of one of your successful fliers?

**Part-timer** · 10-02-2011, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by Louie_Blu

Well I checked out some dealers yesterday and was able to pick up one mom and pop dealer, I offered them $25.00 per headlight only if they give me cars on a regular basis.
You have to try and get what you deserve or worth, some dealers wouldn't even give me the time of day, but the ones that do are worth it. It is so easy to show them how much better the vehicle looks, not too mention its not hard to add an extra 50 or 75 dollars to a cars sticker price and make their money back when they sell the car, I am also offering the Dr. ColorChip repair as well so they know I do other work.

Keep trying guys eventually there will be better days and just getting your name out there is important, Flyers and Business card to me are not really a waste of time because regardless if they don't want or cant afford to do the work, at least they have your contact information which can lead to them asking for you later on or even referring you to a friend, I like to actually talk to potential customers as opposed to just leaving a Flyer on a car, and if they cant afford my price, I will let them know that I can knock off a few bucks as long as they can refer me to friends and family, this should produce more work over time.
Hope this helps, More power to you guys and God Speed

Louie

Louie......you are correct. I used to be a realtor and getting your name out there was very important. For me right now, since I am just doing this weekends for some extra cash, I can't afford to spend the money on flyers. If I ever decide to do it more like a job....definately...flyers....displays at local parts stores and anywhere else that would allow it. Great info

**Part-timer** · 10-02-2011, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by Gatto5

Ps.

Louie Blu,
Can you send me an example of one of your successful fliers?

Me too........would love to see that.

**HotRod** · 10-09-2011, 05:31 PM

Well, I have decided to add in another car in this experiment, to see if I get the same results. And there will possibly be another car added in within the next week or so, that way we can compare all three results to see if they are comparable. This particular car is about 4 or 5 hours from me, so getting updates and pictures may not always be convenient or easy. So, hopefully the updates on this car will be anywhere from 2-4 months.

This car is a chevy malibu, not sure on year, probably around 2005 give or take a year. The lights were just starting to show signs of clear coat failure, and had a lot of pitting. I removed the lights to work on them indoors out of the wind and rain.

Here are some before pictures, and they really are not in that bad of shape, but they needed some attention.

Both lights were hand sanded using 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, and 3000. These lights were difficult to remove the old clear, and I have run into this problem before with GM cars. Next I took the passenger side light cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol several times, primed it with mineral spirits and applied the spar urethane, and that light was finished. Then I took the drivers side light and polished it with meguiars DA microfiber correction compound with the cutting disc on speed 5 with my old UDM, followed up by m205 on a black pad. To insure that I have removed all polishing oils, I cleaned the lights with Optimum Power Clean three separate times using brand new microfiber rags. The reason I used new rags was that I knew for sure that the rags did not have any previous wax or polish residue in them. Then, I cleaned the lights again with Isopropyl alcohol three separate times with the blue shop rag. NOW, there is no doubt that I removed ALL polishing oils from the lens getting treated with opti coat. Then, I applied the opti coat and let both lights cure for several days before reinstalling the lights on the malibu.

Here are a few after pictures.
Drivers side Opti-Coat

Passengers side Spar urethane treatment

Both of these lights showed signs of interior deterioration as well, so they are not perfect, but look much better.

**Part-timer** · 10-10-2011, 02:54 PM

Love your attention to detail my friend......thanks

**Louie_Blu** · 10-11-2011, 04:33 AM

Originally Posted by Part-timer

Me too........would love to see that.

you guys are welcome to use it if you'd like, just make your changes, I Made this on Microsoft Publisher it is simple but effective

**Louie_Blu** · 10-11-2011, 04:47 AM

Originally Posted by HotRod

Both lights were hand sanded using 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, and 3000. These lights were difficult to remove the old clear, and I have run into this problem before with GM cars. Next I took the passenger side light cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol several times, primed it with mineral spirits and applied the spar urethane, and that light was finished. Then I took the drivers side light and polished it with meguiars DA microfiber correction compound with the cutting disc on speed 5 with my old UDM, followed up by m205 on a black pad. To insure that I have removed all polishing oils, I cleaned the lights with Optimum Power Clean three separate times using brand new microfiber rags. The reason I used new rags was that I knew for sure that the rags did not have any previous wax or polish residue in them. Then, I cleaned the lights again with Isopropyl alcohol three separate times with the blue shop rag. NOW, there is no doubt that I removed ALL polishing oils from the lens getting treated with opti coat. Then, I applied the opti coat and let both lights cure for several days before reinstalling the lights on the malibu.

Here are a few after pictures.
Drivers side Opti-Coat

.

Hello HotRod, I see you used 7 types of sandpaper from low grit to higher grit was it really neccesary to use that much Sandpaper? you did mention because it was a GM car
Also you mentioned that you Primed first with Mineral spirits then applied Spar Urethane did you not mix the Urethane with Mineral Spirits as well ? just curious but aren't supposed to polish the headlight then apply Opti-Coat, or is this just for your experiment sorry for so many questions lol just would like to know
thanks for your time
Louie
P.S.
BTW Fantastic Job on those Headlights HotRod

**BorisC** · 10-11-2011, 05:36 AM

Does the OC leave lines like the urethane tends to do or is it a smooth finish?

**CEE DOG** · 10-11-2011, 06:09 AM

OC leaves no lines.

**cutter** · 10-11-2011, 06:23 AM

Originally Posted by Louie_Blu

Hello HotRod, I see you used 7 types of sandpaper from low grit to higher grit was it really neccesary to use that much Sandpaper? you did mention because it was a GM car
Also you mentioned that you Primed first with Mineral spirits then applied Spar Urethane did you not mix the Urethane with Mineral Spirits as well ? just curious but aren't supposed to polish the headlight then apply Opti-Coat, or is this just for your experiment sorry for so many questions lol just would like to know
thanks for your time
Louie
P.S.
BTW Fantastic Job on those Headlights HotRod

I agree Fantastic Job!!! And Louie's question about the number of different grits, I see some people starting with 800 and going through to 2000, and others start at 400 and go to 3000.

Do you start with 800 first and then if it's not removing enough of the sealant drop down to 400?