Headlight Coating

[candyman]

I polished a HL yesterday on a Buick Regal. The HL's were yellowed. One side was worse than the other. One side sanded easily. When I started on the other lens I kept seeing this dark yellow film on the lens and was difficult to sand. I used 3, #320 pads and 2, 600 pads to get it sanded off: The owner said as far as he knew knowthing had been put on the lens since he owned the vehicle. It took almost 30 minutes to get that headlight sanded. Does anyone have an idea as to what I was sanding off. The end result was great, and the customer was satisfied. I noticed the two small parking/turn lens on the front bumper, also had the same yellow film on them as well. He didn't want those polished.

[mrchip]

just probably it was deep into h/l..sometimes your thrown a curve..just a learning experience..by the way i will use a 240 grit on a bad h/l..speeds things up

[candyman]

Where can I get a 240 grit pad? I also saw somewhere recently that someone used a 4000 pad instead of wax and polish. Thanks for the reply db

[t4k]

Where can I get a 240 grit pad? I also saw somewhere recently that someone used a 4000 pad instead of wax and polish. Thanks for the reply db

There are a lot of sites on the internet that sell sanding pads. I can't mention any on this forum but if you do a bit of homework you can find everything you need. My most aggressive pad is a 220 and I finish with a 4000 all purchased from the same online store at a very good price.

[Roo]

Oh man, I ran across a set of headlights this week that apparently had been clear coated at a bodyshop at some point. I bet I went through at least 25 -320 grit discs on those two lenses. Whoever put the clearcoat on must have just sprayed right over the top of the original oxidation and just trapped it under the clear. I spent over 2 hours per lense. The stuff was like sanding concrete. I sold auto paint for 12 years and I have never seen clearcoat this tough to sand. Hope I don't run across many like this. Here are some pics.

[Hawaii Guy]

Hi Roo: I have walked that walk myself and it was on Chevy Impala too. Took over 4 hours but in the future I know I can do it in less than half the time. When I see this type of situation I automatically start hand sanding with 180 grit then 220 before I even start with the sander and 320. When I mentioned this job on this forum and someone else reported having similar problems with a Chevrolet Impala. I thought something may have been applied to the lenses but now I just wonder if it is just Chevrolet. Great Job and I let me say feel your pain.

[just chippen away]

Been there, done that. What a feeling after you can show it can be restored. It ate my lunch at first, then I got aggressive on it and won the battle...
It did feel good... And the dealer loved it.

[candyman]

Roo you did a great job on those HL: I had a set of lens this past week that had a lot of scratches at the top of the lens. It was a 2006 Volvo. I used several pads. After I finished I could still see a few faint scratch marks near the fender area on one lens. I told the owner I would redo that lens on the next warm day we had. He was happy with the results but I wasn't.
I'am always trying to achieve the best possible results. Some headlights are a nightmare to begin with. I had a customer trying to nickle dime me about her repair after the dealer quoted her a price above $1000.00. She touched the lens after I instructed her not to. She washed the car with a high pressure hose within a hour of my redo and I had given her written information not to. I typed a new Flyer with a statement that if they expect new they should buy new HL's. However, I have only had two encounters of this nature since I started. I give my customers a limited 2 year guarantee and instruction on how to keep their lens clean. 95% or better of my customers are amazed at the results and send me referals. Dealer's always seem to want something for free or next to nothing. A dealer last week showed me a product that he sprays the lens then flushes with water. He uses a cloth to wipe on a yellow/gold liqud and it looked really good. He said it was suppose to last about six months or long enough to sell the vehicle. He didn't sand or buff. I didn't see any labels on the products. He said a salesman came by and sold it to him. I plan to go to a car products show this year to get an idea of what type of competition we have.

[t4k]

Do a Google search and you find hundreds if not thousands of products that claim to be the best H/L restoration on the market.

[Roo]

update: I followed up with the dealership today and the Impala sold! I told them it's because the headlights looked so good!...haha. Hope they test my theory by letting me do more work!