harder then normal lights list

Discuss all aspects of headlight restoration, including marketing, technical, and business advice.
Old Blue 66
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by Old Blue 66 »

Brent Deines wrote:Paul, how about a before photo of that Dodge?
I was looking for it. Cant find it. Swear it I did though. :D
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Brent Deines
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by Brent Deines »

No worries!
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lcurle
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by lcurle »

Lotus headlights, made from Lexan, not easy to get a good finish on. 1 hr using 400,800,1000,1500,2000,3000 followed by diamond cut(12) fine polish(4) show car glaze and Acrylic sealant. No shot of the front, customer was annoyed with pictures.

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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by candyman »

Were you able to get to the surface with the 400. For a hard surface, try 320. if that won't do it, go to a 180 grit. Once you get to the surface,pick back up with a 500 and proceed as usual. Common problem with some of these Headlights are getting the surface coat off. People are picky in some cases and want a lot for nothing when doing their headlights.
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Old Blue 66
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by Old Blue 66 »

Thats why I stay away from the exotics. Porsche, Lambo, Ferrari, Lotus. I did a Vette once. Never again. By far the hardest coating to remove on any car.
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by brent »

This thread is great. Helps new guys to price the work correctly and to avoid some headaches. Keep them coming coming guys.

Here is a little cheat sheet gathered from the thread. :D

Hard OEM Clear Coat:

- BMW
- Dodge Ram, Caravan
- Cadillac CTS
- Chevrolet Cobalt
- GM+GMC trucks
- Ford Mustang, Focus
- Hyundai Tuscon
- Jeep Cherokee
- Mercedes
- Mitsubishi Eclipse
- Nissan Quest
- Pontiac Grand Prix
- Range Rover
- Volvo

Very Hard OEM Clear Coat:

- Chevrolet Malibu, Impala, Caprise and most trucks
- Corvette, Porsche and most of the supercars
- Saturn
Another newbie
clearvision
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by clearvision »

Thank you everyone for this thread. It has been a Godsend to me!

I just started doing restorations and got hit with 4 in a row that were extremely hard to sand .

A Chevrolet Silverado and Ford Cobra Mustang being the worst . I felt like someone beat me up and wasnt sure I wanted to continue doing this anymore !
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by clearvision »

Today I had my first paying job and it was a 99 Dodge Ram truck . I wasnt sure I was up to sanding a harder than normal UV coat but I could not turn down my first paying job and I was so happy I took the job! It really was no problem at all and sanded fairly easy with 400 . The only problem was sanding around the tips and some recessed areas that were a bit hard to get to. Would have been easier off the truck to sand for sure.

S0 I guess certain years arent so bad !
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by ukbrandon »

I would add Alfa Romeo 156 to this list. Recently I restored the shine of the headlights and it took me more hours than I've previously planned. However I'm very happy with the new look :) Good thing I decided to retrofit xenon headlights during the whole process. This decision alone saved me a lot of time and money.
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Re: harder then normal lights list

Post by Roo »

I did a 2013 Hyundai Equus this weekend. Only the top part of lens was oxidized and was removed quickly with 320 grit. The still intact coating was a different story. It took a 180 grit per side, probably should have used 2 per side to speed up the process. Total time spent was between 2-2.5 hrs.

Earlier in the week I did a 2008 Range Rover and I wouldn't say the coating was difficult but the contours of the headlight made lots of hand wet sanding necessary which made the restoration take longer than expected. The main problem is the bottom couple of inches under the raised contours over main bulbs, the sander couldn't get this part so hand sanding was required.

Another issue I encountered this week is a clear "bra" protective film applied to about half of a headlight on a Lexus GS430. The film was scratched and yellowed along with rest of lens that did not have bra on it. So I proceeded to pull off the film and it was tough and when it came off it left behind the adhesive. At this point I knew I needed some type of adhesive remover and I have some awesome citrus cleaner at the house called De-Solve It. So I ran to a few stores close by with no luck in finding it. At that point I decided to head back to the house to get mine. Well it worked but it took some major soaking and I finally realized that a edge on the suction cup removal tool (nylon stick part # 22200) would help! It was a total lifesaver and did the trick at scraping the softened adhesive off.

So, after dealing with this mess I called my local window tint shop to ask about removing clear protection film and he said he uses a steamer and that would loosen film and soften adhesive and it would all peel off together once it is steamed. Lesson learned but I wouldn't have had a steamer either:(
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