FlaPhil

I also vote for this to be made a sticky. Great information!

Feliciano

Question. If you do not have one of those mechanical spray guns, what's the alternative, if any?

Your headlights look freakin awesome, nicely done.

xtr3me

Do a search online for 2K clear coat in a aerosol can, make sure it has UV inhibitors ( provides UV protection stated in description )
I've never used any of these clear coats in a can so I can't comment ...they can be found at Eastwood, Amazon, Ebay and other sites... or even your local auto paint distributor

Aerosol cans usually only have a 24-48 hr pot life once the activator is activated, so after that time period the product is no longer any good and ready for disposal. Always read and follow directions for best results
Some of these products like Solaray by Sem require curing lamps, maybe for fast curing... the way I see it , nothing is better than good ole free sunshine emitting UV rays

Read reviews on the product before buying as end results vary. Practice spraying techniques before spraying lights, past experiences with cans that provide a spray gun pattern I've noted that it was best to apply more pressure on the end of spray nozzle preventing the spray from hitting the edge of the can.
Safety precautions still apply, wear a mask of some sort.

Feliciano

Thank you for getting back to me. Much appreciated!!

ancdmd

spraymax sequence:

Feliciano

I took my car to a local car wash / detail place and had them take a look at my headlights. The guy told me that he can restore them but they wont be like new because the headlights, on both sides, had deep scratches in them. I am no expert by any means and I didn't want to insult this guys intelligence but isn't that the purpose of using the wet sandpaper technique? Am I wrong for thinking that?

The guy told me that the scratches on my headlights were caused by stressed material. Guess my headlights were about to transform into Hulk headlights. I can understand surfaces scratches due to debris hitting them, not hand washing the car but using one of those automatic car washing machines but stressed plastic? Again, I could be wrong.

I didn't see too many deep scratches on xtr3mes headlights and when he was done any scratches he had looked to be basically gone.

Stu

You are correct, the wet sanding will remove surface scratches. A stress fracture, where the plastic has split /cracked completely through the material ( after being hit hard by a rock or another cars bumper ) will not be fixed by sanding.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Post a pic of the lights....

If it's something like this, then no sanding or re-clearcoating is going to fix the problem as the stress marks are inside the plastic.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/b...v/a94f73f1.jpg

That's an extreme scenario but I have seen similar (although much more mild) stress marks on many Toyota and Lexus headlights headlights. That cannot be fixed.

Feliciano

Thanks and it's no where near those stress fractures. What I have are scratches. I went ahead and got them to take some of the yellow off with a little sanding, they didn't go through the whole process, 600 grit, 1000 grit, 2500 grit, etc. They buffed them out and wiped them down. they are decent but not where they need to be. I drove home then applied some Jet Sealant 109 and waited 25 minutes then removed the sealant.

I will see if I can get a clear picture with the scratches and post it.

Thanks for the post and the confirmation.

LSBen

I have a question. What do you use to wipe the lens with if you get runs or orange peel? A dry lint free cloth?

Thanks

xtr3me

Too much going on in the pictures, making it hard to see. It would be easier to identify if there was a solid background reflecting off the lights, for instance the side of a building. 109 acting like a mirror. However,the second image within the outlined square, it does appear as if you do have crazing. Note how there is one solid line and all the other lines branch off of it instead of being random markings. Looks like a stressed fracture

I've had to go as coarse as 320 grit before and work my way up due to some serious pitting. From the looks of those markings, 600 grit should have removed or reduced them if they were on the outside, if properly sanded. The way to tell if the markings are on the inside, spray water over the (white/ashy) sanded headlight, the appearance when wet will be the same as if clear coated. If the markings are inside the light, they will show at this time.

If you will, give feedback on the longevity of the Jet 109. Chemical Guys claims it lasts 1 year, I found it to be nothing but B/S marketing hype, my findings averaged 4-6 months. YMVT

xtr3me

You're looking at it all wrong... Fear not, you're not going to have any runs. Do a few practice sprays first on cardboard, etc. Keep in mind, first coat is a light coat with full coverage, second coat is a full heavy coat. If you have orange peel or runs they will need to be wet sanded out after drying. You will then need to buff out the sanding marks.

If you wipe the lens, you will have one big nasty sticky mess.
I'm no expert, but if you have any further questions feel free to PM me..

Feliciano

xtr3m3, thanks and you are correct, the pictures are not that good. I will see what I can do to take a better picture with a darker background.

In regards to the Jet Sealant 109. I have been using that on and off for about a year, mainly on my rims and windows. I used it once to wax my wife's car and didn't like the results so I went back to using their 50/50 brand which does a very nice job, IMO. 1 year on the 109 is doubtful and I don't plan on waiting a year before reapplying. I plan on reapplying the 109 every other week until I can get the headlights professional done.

I was at the Gardena, California Chemical Guys location Friday to pickup some items, next time I am there I will definitely ask them about their claim of 1 year on the Jet Sealant 109.

xtr3me

Oh wow, must be nice to live close by a big detailing distributor such as CG.. Actually your lights look pretty good, minus the markings. I'm not knocking the product, just CG's claim of 12 months as Billy Bo Bob states in this video ... However, they are not the only company guilty of making false claims when marketing their products within the detailing industry. Have you ever noticed though, every video that CG records when marketing a product, the vehicle they use is already in showroom condition. Makes for a 100% product success rate under these conditions.

Back on subject, I would consider treating lights one more time with Jet 109 and then top every other month with the 50/50. I've never used the 50/50 before but I have a few clients that have me top their vehicles with Celeste Dettaglio and the finished results are always impressive. I've heard 50/50 is comparable in looks, minus longevity but less than half the price. I also have quite a few female customers that love CG's ' stripper ' air freshener and nothing else is acceptable. I saturate several business cards and slide under the drivers and passengers floor mat for longer exposure time.

I'm curious to whether your lights have ever been dressed with a film / tint. Lots of people claim their headlights have crazed after application of certain brand films / tints because of the chemical solution that was used during adhesion process. That's a debate in itself though.

These are the waxes I use on my higher end customers vehicles - Esoteric Signature Series, Swissvax Glacier (white paint only) Celeste Dettaglio and Auto Finesse Desire..... I could go into sealants but these can be discussed later on in the detailing threads.

So yeah, if you still want to take some pictures of the lights at a later time and post them here. I'm sure someone will be able to confirm whether you have a case of crazing or not...

Feliciano

I just moved to Long Beach about a year ago, before that I lived in Memphis for the past 17 years.

Which wax on your list would you recommend for dark color cars, Brilliant Pearl Blue? I like the 50/50 because it doesn't take too much of the product to apply to a large portion of the vehicle and it comes off relatively easy compare to some other brands. 3M.