Headlight restoration?

[harrellbenjamin]

Was the PPG clear out of a "rattle can"??

[AGSS]

No, what he uses is a gallon of the clear and a little bottle of the activator. I think he said it mixes at 4 to 1 but not sure of that. A small pancake compressor and a spot panel gravity feed gun.

[harrellbenjamin]

Originally Posted by AGSS

No, what he uses is a gallon of the clear and a little bottle of the activator. I think he said it mixes at 4 to 1 but not sure of that. A small pancake compressor and a spot panel gravity feed gun.

Yes that makes sence.I have heard of that before but seems like alot of time and effort to coat a set of lens with the set up / clean up .I use the Dvelup 2 part slicker and is very fast and lens that look like glass.Its real fast with no clean up etc.I feel the results could not be better,Give it a try and I am sure you will agree.

[chips1144]

AGSS.
Does your friend use a curing light on the clear?

What does he charge for a rough pair of headlights?

How long does it take to do using clear coat method?

Thanks in advance.

[toab]

I played around with various rattle can clears but found that the petroleum distillate solvent in the clear always seemed to make the lenses milky because it bit into the plastic too hard(chrysler lenses).(reacted)So I went with rightlooks 1 part wipe on clear.So far so good.The ppg autoclear sounds interesting thuogh for a stationary setup but the cleanup might be a nuisance.

[Vancouver]

As IPS (Innovative Polishing Systems) plastic polishing kits are approved by FAA and Bae for use on multi-million dollar aircrafts eg windshields and transparencies, then I know they will work on automotive headlights. We use their plastic and glass kits with superb results. see www.ipsglass.com

[harrellbenjamin]

The IPS system is a good system.But like so many products on the market today they require you to buy their system to gain access to products that an informed tech can buy as needed on the open market.I call this a "stupid tax"$$$$$$$$$$ Read this forum and do a search of past posts and save yourself alot of money and effort.Their system is superior for plastic scratch removal but is not needed to do a fantastic headlight restoration job.

[chips1144]

This subject is interesting, I believe GTech to be happy with his IPS system and Vancouver is sold on it too.

Harralbenjamin
I understand where you are coming from too, "Stupid tax".
I don't mind paying good money for supplies if they are the best and make me good money.

There are many people selling kits and supplies, without buying a few different systems I think it is difficult to know which is the best system for each vendor, I have no doubt about the IPS system, I believe they are inventors sooner than being resellers or private labelers of other peoples products, that being said I'm sure many people could get by with cheaper products, Not everyone wants to be the best or excel, many just want to make a quick buck and move on, it depends how picky your customer is, I have feeling they cant all fix the worst damage.
Being a perfectionist Id like to be able to fix any headlamps to look like brand new and make good money in the shortest time. I don't want to give out excuses for poor repair's or say Im sorry I cant fix that.

I haven't called IPS, does anyone know how much their plastic system costs to buy and what the average cost is per headlamp on supplies.

Vancouver or others, Can anyone tell me how long it takes to fix a headlamp with the IPS system, quickest and longest times, I realize we have to make money here but it might be a hard sell if its time consuming and expensive.

[wilz]

O.K. guys, hope you all don't mind me, but have any one here tried caswellplating polishing kit? It is something like $130.00.

[AGSS]

Originally Posted by harrellbenjamin

The IPS system is a good system.But like so many products on the market today they require you to buy their system to gain access to products that an informed tech can buy as needed on the open market.I call this a "stupid tax"$$$$$$$$$$ Read this forum and do a search of past posts and save yourself alot of money and effort.Their system is superior for plastic scratch removal but is not needed to do a fantastic headlight restoration job.

I understand your point, I would not franchise or otherwise pay a royalty fee to anyone for HLR. I would and do however, pay a monthly fee for permit to use a long crack repair system.