[Brent Deines]

I know you headlight restoration guys and gals have covered this to some degree in the past, but it seems to me that most of you believe that it is very important to use a sealer after the headlight has been sanded. Are any of you adamantly opposed to the use of a sealer?

I have tested a few different systems to see what was the best on the market, and several other systems that I am still planning to test as time allows, but I am still confused about something.

This weekend I saw several demonstrations with varying results, and spoke to at least 6 different companies that sell headlight restoration products. Some say there is no need to use a sealer, and some say a sealer is necessary to get maximum protection. Some say if you use a sealer it needs to be solvent based, and others claim that only a water based sealer should ever be used on a headlight. I am now beginning to understand how truly confusing it is to new windshield repair technicians when they begin calling windshield repair suppliers. In fact, we had a number of people come by our booth that had been told it was impossible to fill a tight star break without drilling and/or impossible to completely fill a break without using vacuum as the first step. Seeing is believing, so it is easy to dispel those myths about windshield repair, but when it comes to how long a headlight will stay clear after restoration, I can't seem to find any proof.

There were two companies at the Mobile Tech Expo that did not recommend sealers, and one of those produced the best looking headlight restoration that I have ever seen. These are also two companies that I have been told supply many of the aircraft window restoration specialists. However "if" it is true that without a sealer the lens will yellow again within a few months, the cosmetic finish may not be as important as how long the finish lasts, at least for headlights.

For you guys that do use sealers, what do you think about spray on sealers vs paint on sealers?

Have any of you restored a headlight and then left it out in the weather for a few years to see what happens? If so, what did you use, and what were the results. Since some headlights seem to yellow faster right from the factory, I'm not sure even a test like that will be all that good of a test unless several products were tested at the same time on exactly the same make and model of headlight, but it would be a start.

I would like to endorse a headlight restoration product for my customers, but cannot do so unless I think it is the very best, and there are still too many unanswered questions for me.

I know a lot of you like the Develup system, so I was very interested in talking to those folks, but I went by their booth and no one seemed all that interested in talking to me. Two guys were sitting behind the table for about 10 minutes as I looked over their literature and watched their video, but neither made any attempt to find out what I wanted, so I got bored and moved on.

I would appreciate any thoughts from all of you experts out there, especially if you can back up your opinion with personal longevity testing.