longevity of lens

[mrchip]

Glassstars...have you seen any h/l that you have cleaned over a lets say a year that are still looking good?...just curious as anybody else have anything to report as far as holding up..you have convinced me to give it a try...will buy product this weekend....thanks

[t4k]

Originally Posted by mrchip

Glassstars...have you seen any h/l that you have cleaned over a lets say a year that are still looking good?...just curious as anybody else have anything to report as far as holding up..you have convinced me to give it a try...will buy product this weekend....thanks

I use the same process as Glassstars (previously known as Dvelop) uses, without the WD-40, which i will try next week. I started using this process 2 1/2 months ago, so I can't give you a year's worth of history. I do know this....I have a 1999 Tacoma that I use for this business and I have reconditioned the HL's several times using the old sand and buff process with no sealer and the yellow always returnes. The first HL's I restored when I started using the sealer was my own truck and they still look brand new after almost 3 months. This is the reason I experimented with my truck so I could watch the progress of deterioration if there was going to be any. I will reort back as times goes on.

[GlassStarz]

As long as you have put a good coating down and done a good job of wiping it down first with the thinner so it will bond they should look good for years. I did a friends a couple years ago when i first started to use a system with a urethane top coat and they still look great I had buffed a few before that the haze seemed to come back pretty quick

[gt_repair]

I also use the devlp and I have used my to chevys to see how lona after using the sealer it would start to haze or yellow, and I found out on my truck it was within 6 months. It was something most would not see, but I knew what I was looking for. another customer called me on a Tundra that I did over a year before and it started to haze also....

When I started dealing with Dvelup they said to put a coat of car polish on them after sealing them and that will keep the UV off the lights and keep them from hazing over.. I tell the customers to polish their lights when they polish their car.

I will come back in a few hours of doing the lights or the next day making my rounds doing other customers and put the first coat on and to show them what they have to do every few months other wise they with have to pay me again to redo them.

It has been almost 3 years not with this system type with now problems.

To make a long story shorter: ....................... about 3 years so far.

[t4k]

Originally Posted by gt_repair

I also use the devlp and I have used my to chevys to see how lona after using the sealer it would start to haze or yellow, and I found out on my truck it was within 6 months. It was something most would not see, but I knew what I was looking for. another customer called me on a Tundra that I did over a year before and it started to haze also....

When I started dealing with Dvelup they said to put a coat of car polish on them after sealing them and that will keep the UV off the lights and keep them from hazing over.. I tell the customers to polish their lights when they polish their car.

I will come back in a few hours of doing the lights or the next day making my rounds doing other customers and put the first coat on and to show them what they have to do every few months other wise they with have to pay me again to redo them.

It has been almost 3 years not with this system type with now problems.

To make a long story shorter: ....................... about 3 years so far.

Sounds like (if I read this right) the yellowing and haze returned after 6 to 12 months, as you referenced on your truck and the Tundra. That's not as good as I was hoping for.

[GlassStarz]

Here is a trick the guy at headlight doctor told me spray furniture polish on a rag and wipe down the lens when it starts to fade it refeeds the urethane with the moisture that has dried out I tell this to retail customers

[gt_repair]

tou have to give your customer some thing to do... Don't most of them ask " Is there anything I need to to to them now?" At that point is when you tell them to just polish their lights as they polish there car. Thats it. After you tell them why, to keep the UV off just like on the paint, They will be ok with it and understand why they are going to do this....
All this is small talk as you are working also....

[gt_repair]

Originally Posted by t4k

Sounds like (if I read this right) the yellowing and haze returned after 6 to 12 months, as you referenced on your truck and the Tundra. That's not as good as I was hoping for.

You have to remember I am in Arizona, the UV does most everthing in out here.

The dealers sell a desert paint protector on new cars to protect it from the UV. I think it is a joke, but we will not tell the suckers...

[harrellbenjamin]

Keep it in perspective.In the states that have a lot of UV and the car is parked outside a new set of lens will start to yellow in 1-2 years.Headlight restoration is mostly a maintenance repair and never a permanent fix and should be sold as such.I have been using the the last 2 weeks WD-40 with 3" sand paper 500-1000-1500 then wipe clean with the mineral spirits and then seal with the 50-50 mix of urethane and the results are great and much faster then the Dvelup type technique.This is the fastest way I have seen yet that also gives the results that you require.No need to buff and this step alone is worth 10-15 mins if you add in clean up time.Add this with the better sanding results and I feel that the way Glasstarz has told us about is probably the best of both types combined.All of my lens will be done this way from now on.Would you warrant a buff and wax???? This is the way I look at lens.They will turn because of the environmental factors no matter what you do to them if not protected from the direct sun.

[GlassStarz]

Welcome back Scooter!!!