[Brent Deines]

The two companies are 3M and Micro-Mesh. The 3M headlight looked like new after it had been sanded. They won't actually be selling the system they used at the show until next month, but it did do a great job. Neither company actually told me that a sealer should not be used, they just told me they don't currently recommend a sealer. I got the impression that they just didn't think the products that are currently on the market were good enough yet.

Micro-Mesh does a lot with aircraft windows, and that is a whole different ball game, so I don't think they can recommend something until they can get the FAA to go for it, which is not an easy task.

I think 3M may be running into some of the same issues. They are such a large company that they cannot do some of the things that the little guys do and get away with it. They will need to get approval from every state to apply something the the headlights according to the rep I spoke with, and I don't doubt it a bit.

Small companies can do just about anything they want and get away with it...for awhile anyway. Some of our competitors can do things with windshield repair products that we cannot do, and we aren't even all that big yet. There are lots of products being shipped in the windshield repair industry as well as in the headlight restoration company that are not in accordance with FAA regulations. Maybe they will get caught, maybe they won't.

I should also mention that some of the little guys had products that worked very quickly, and probably did a good enough job for most people. The Headlite Doctor did a ton of demos, and claims to have a great sealer. I was impressed that he gave away so many samples and did so many demos. It means he believes in his products if nothing else.

There was another one that I thought had some potential, but also some drawbacks for the mobile guys. The part I liked was the the sealer was UV cured and not simply allowed to air dry. It was also sprayed on so it left a nicer finish than the other sealers that were being used. The potential problems were the over spray issue, especially on a windy day, and the UV light system was expensive and bulky. The supplier assures me that this issues can be addressed, so I certainly wouldn't rule it out, but that is why I am asking you guys. I'm no expert! This company's name is Headlight Restoration Professionals.