Sealer or no sealer

[Brent Deines]

Originally Posted by chips1144

Mr Chip, I stand corrected, thanks for that, I wish they gone this year, I would love to see their demo up close.

Actually the guy doing the scratch removal demos in the LR booth works for IPS, and was using an IPS polisher. Since he was working in the LR booth he was wearing a LR name tag and I'm sure being careful not to talk too much about any IPS products that LR is not selling.

[Brent Deines]

I just got a call from Ben at Dvelup. He apologized for that fact that the booth personnel were not more attentive to my needs at the MTE. The fact that he took time to call and was not too proud to apologize shows me that he understands the value of customer service, so I will chock up the booth experience as one of those unfortunate experiences that we all have from time to time. As hard as we at Delta Kits try to provide the best possible customer service, I know that every once in awhile we drop the ball.

I had a nice chat with Ben, and liked what I heard, although I am still intrigued by the issue of solvent based vs water based sealers. Water based windshield repair resins look good going in, and can be made to flow very well, but simply don't have the bonding strength that acid based resins do. It may very well be that a solvent based coating holds up far better than a water based coating, so even if it has drawbacks of it's own, it may still be the better choice. I don't know, just thinking out loud here.

In any case, Dvelup is back on the list of systems I would like to try one of these days, although I may have to use my own DA and just use their chemicals as I can't afford to buy equipment from every headlight restoration supplier. Now if I can just find the time to try all of the products I have been collecting for the past several months!

By the way, I had tried to find information about Dvelup on the web on several occasions, but was spelling the name wrong. I guess the fact that all of you were spelling it differently than me should have been a clue. Ben set me straight on the spelling.

[gt_repair]

Brent
Here is there site http://www.dvelup.com/

Can I post there web page to try to promote there name? Hold on, I will check with the Administrator of the site. Oh wait, that will be you... It should be ok then....

Oh, this is going to hurt. I can take it. Give it to me.......... JUST MESSING AROUND

Don D.

[Brent Deines]

Don,

Posting the URL "is" a borderline infraction. I will leave it for now as I don't think you are self promoting, but if someone complains I will remove the link. I was removing them all for awhile, but now I just try to keep out the obvious self-promoting URLs.

A lot of what gets edited on this forum is a judgment call on my part, and whenever I do edit a post someone gets mad at me. That used to really bother me, but I'm getting better about letting it go.

I didn't write the rules for this forum, and I have not gotten around to modifying them, but hope to do so one of these days to clear up some of these gray areas.

[Chips-B-Gone]

Originally Posted by Brent Deines

I agree with everything you said, but like you I am still confused about the sealers, mainly because the reps from 3M and Micro-Mesh both said that a solvent based sealer should not be used, but that seems to be what most of the others do use.

I do not know why they would say to stay away from solvent based sealers but I have heard from many people to stay away from petroleum based products such as sealers or waxes because they to not interact well with plastics.

[mhughe29]

Brent,

Clear Again out of Lutz, Fl is another company that does not to the best of my knowledge use any type of sealer on the lenses. I have seen many lenses that one of their Licensees has completed and I have to say they look great.

I also have a friend of mine who is currently testing the 3M system in his market area and I will post the results as they become available as to how it works in the real world.

As for me I am currently using the Dvelup sealer but always testing new products for ease of use, durability, and results.

[GlassStarz]

Here is my take on the situation I have used a system that buffs of the damage in the past and it did an ok job but after awhile the Headlights started to fog back up I have a good friend who is an engineer working in plastics and acrylics his answer was that plastics etc are a petrol based product once the surface is broken with chemical of abrasives they will ten to dry out and also let other chemicals in through pores If you put a sealer on it will eliminate this
I now use a system where the damage is sanded off using a petrol based lube then wiped with a prep with a final sealer coat applied with a foam brush I get a long term good looking fix with little effort (20 minutes tops)
Works for me

[Brent Deines]

I finally got the opportunity to see the Dvelup system in action, and I must say I was impressed. I was also impressed with the company representatives who gave the demonstration and answered questions without pushing for the sale. The quality of the product is the number one priority of course, but the company that produces the product is also very important in my book.

The restored lights made the car look 10 years newer, and the process was very simple. I am now convinced that investing in good power tools and using a good sealer are the way to go when restoring headlights.

[chips1144]

Brent, I'm glad you got to see a Dvelup demo in person, I have to agree with your views, when I saw Ben's demo he took the worst possible Intrepid headlights and made them look like new, I was impressed.
I saw many good results at the MTE and it did make it difficult after listening to every vendors opinion.

Not to knock Bens tools but I'm a believer in buying the best if you can afford them, His tools do the job but they don't have brand names and looked like harbor freight, that bothered me, I want to buy tools that will last, Ben seemed pretty honest and decent, I didn't see any reason not to buy from him, I also liked his product for bringing back the new look of black plastic.

[chips1144]

Originally Posted by Brent Deines

Actually the guy doing the scratch removal demos in the LR booth works for IPS, and was using an IPS polisher. Since he was working in the LR booth he was wearing a LR name tag and I'm sure being careful not to talk too much about any IPS products that LR is not selling.

I went to the LR booth because I saw the Jepson polisher sitting on their bench, I just wanted to pick it up and feel it in my hands.
I wished I had known the guy was from IPS I really would have loved an in depth chat about headlights and glass polishing, IPS has interested me for a long time, I thought they were all Liquid Resin guys and so I didnt want to waste their valuable time.