My Headlight Restoration Write-Up

[nfpgasmask]

My experience is that once you do the restoration, the yellowness comes back quickly. I think there is a UV coating that comes off when you do this that makes them get the yellows much faster. At least that was my experience.

Bart

[killinformula]

My experience is that once you do the restoration, the yellowness comes back quickly. I think there is a UV coating that comes off when you do this that makes them get the yellows much faster. At least that was my experience.

Bart

That is one of my fears but I have looked into it and there are simple ways to keep the headlight from oxidizing again

Covering Methods (just a few of them)
1) Clear coat them
2) 3M makes a clear film
3) There are clear films made by companies that are more like clear bra covers, they help against chips as well from rocks and scraping against branches

Treatment methods
1) Use a clay bar every few months
2) Use a clear plastic polish, many at the local auto store are specifically designed to give a tiny polish but primarily prevent oxidization
3) Wax them
4) Baking soda

Just restoring the headlight is not sufficient... just as everything it requires the care after or it will be in vain, luckily the care is a lot easier than the cleaning

Braden Morris

[vt_maverick]

...I imagine that once you use the 3M kit to get rid of the surface roughness (mine was really bad) you could follow-up every few months with those compounds to keep them clear.

2) Use a clear plastic polish, many at the local auto store are specifically designed to give a tiny polish but primarily prevent oxidization.

Well there you go.

[SlowPro48]

My experience is that once you do the restoration, the yellowness comes back quickly. I think there is a UV coating that comes off when you do this that makes them get the yellows much faster. At least that was my experience.

Bart

Not only that but they will scratch much easier after you sand the hard protective coating off. You need to clearcoat them after you polish them.

But a word of warning for those in the South - if you do this in summer, wait until they are FULLY cured before taking outside to reinstall. I learned this the hard way. I was in a hurry. A few hours after spraying, the fresh clearcoat felt cured enough to work with. Looked really good too - if you think polished headlights look clear wait until you clearcoat them - they look absolutely brilliant. Anyway - wanted to get the lights back in and the cladding on before dark so took lights from 70 degree a/c air (dry) to outside where temp and humidity both were in high 90's. Doh! Forgot basic physics and chemistry - vapor expands when heated! Within 3 minutes whole thing had jillions of almost microscopic bubbles in the clearcoat. The surface is smooth - bubbles are deep down in the clearcoat so apparently the surface was fully cured but below the surface - not so much... It was still elastic enough for water vapor or VOC or maybe both to expand...

What an amateur, eh? Can't really see it during the day but at night when the lights are on those tiny bubbles sure do light up!





Yes, there is more sanding, polishing and clearcoating of headlights in my future - but not until Fall, of that you can be sure!