Hello all, I barely post my work, but I know a few people have shown interest in HLR work. One my coworkers brought me this XC90 today. I don't recall the year, but it had 177k miles and it was the V8 model. The car is in excellent shape (all highway miles), but the headlights needed some love. Products Used: Griots 6in DA Griots 3in DA Mirka Abralon & Abranet pads (used 400/800/1000/2000 grits) Megs MF finishing pads Uber Yellow pads Uber Green pads CarPro Eraser Spies Heckler 7010 Optimum Optilens (Two coats ... five minutes apart) Optimum ONR Rustoleum Tape Meguiars M101 HD Adapt HD Polish Process: 1. Quick headlight cleanup with ONR. 2; Taped edges to protect paint surfaces (2/3 layers were necessary to avoid any damage the surrounding paint surfaces). 3. Started with 400 grit because these headlights were really rough. I usually start 800 grit when dealing with moderate damage. I usually use my Griot's 3in DA, but it failed on me after a few passes. I was able to use the Griots 6in because the headlight shape was fairly forgiving. I usually "dry" sand a for a couple of passes and then switch damp sanding. Always clean the pads with compressed air and wipe the headlights after each pass. You don't want the removed material to interfere with the restoration process. 4. Same step as above for 800 grit. 5. 1000/2000 grit are always "wet" sanded. Clean pads with distilled water and also wipe surfaces after every pass. Continue until you notice that the pad is not getting saturated with the UV protection that you are trying to remove. 6. Proceed to correct headlights like paint surfaces. I used the Megs mf pads with M101 to get a lot of cut. Then I proceeded to use HD Adapt on a yellow uber pad. I did use HD Polish on a green uber to increase gloss, but didn't notice any significant gloss improvement. 7. Wiped headlights with Eraser (x2) and proceeded to do a final wipe with Spies Hecker 7010 (silicone remover) to make sure Optilens had a clean surface to adhere. 8. Applied Opti-Lens and let it dry for 5 minutes. Wipe off excess and apply another coat. Wait another 5 and wipe off excess. Before Pictures: During (2000 grit done ready for polishing): Customer also requested engine cleaning and a quick ONR wash. This is the reason why I didn't bother spending time covering areas that were going to be cleaned anyways. Final Product: The headlights turned out great, but I wasn't able to achieve 100% correction. Some defects were too deep to correct and there were some areas that had micro-factures. These lights were not as easy to correct as other vehicles I have done in the past. Feedback is greatly appreciated.
What kind of durability do you expect to see from the Opti-Lens? I am under the impression that wipe-on/wipe-off coats are not the way to go...as you will have to constantly re-apply. I was looking into the UV kits, with the UV lamps and all. I know a guy who restores lamps and since he's a bodyshop tech, he sprays the headlights with clear-coat and dries them in the booth.
Optimum states that this is a permanent coating. I bought Opti-Lens as soon as it came out earlier this year and my original application still shows no sign of failure. I offer a 1 year warranty on my work. I know Presta makes a spray-on coating and they state it lasts about 3 years. I'm pretty honest with the people I do this work for ... I tell them that there's a good possibility that the coating will eventually wear off with everyday wear and tear, but I "expect" a 2-3 year durability. Even if they have to do this every 2 or 3 years it is still cheaper than replacing headlight assemblies in most cases.
Thanks all for the feedback. I have been somewhat busy with HLR repairs as of late. I have MBZ to do next weekend. Will post pictures of that repair too.
what are you using to apply the opti-lens? I'm doing some HLR's and I'm looking for something to use to be able to control product usage/application. I'm thinking about ordering some lint-free towels to make the most of each application. The applicator that comes with the kit seems to absorb quite a bit of the solution. I even cut it down into small application strips to help try and control it.
I used the yellow applicator for this specific job, but I have also used the Car Pro suede applicator with the foam block with great results. I haven't noticed a lot of difference in how much product I use between the yellow applicator and the suede one (on headlight applications only). I think the yellow pad gets saturated after using it on several panels, but not when using them on headlights.
My first 10cc tube got damaged before I had a change to use it all, but IIRC correctly I still had more than half the tube after doing 6 headlight sets. I believe I use 1cc (or a little less per headlight). If you have used Opti-Seal (or Opti-Coat), application is identical. Just apply a few drops on an applicator (enough that the applicator doesn't grab) and apply it. It's so easy to use that I strongly recommend applying a second coat 10-15 mins after removing the 1st coat. You have to wait 5-10 minutes for the coating to flash and wipe off the excess. You will notice the excess by looking for the "rainbow" effect after the coating flashes.
My first 10cc tube got damaged before I had a change to use it all, but IIRC correctly I still had more than half the tube after doing 6 headlight sets. I believe I use 1cc (or a little less per headlight). If you have used Opti-Seal (or Opti-Coat), application is identical. Just apply a few drops on an applicator (enough that the applicator doesn't grab) and apply it. It's so easy to use that I strongly recommend applying a second coat 10-15 mins after removing the 1st coat. You have to wait 5-10 minutes for the coating to flash and wipe off the excess. You will notice the excess by looking for the "rainbow" effect after the coating flashes.
Many online stores sell them ... I get my stuff from Kevin Brown at www.buffdaddy.com Mirka Abralon and Abranet. Call Kevin, he always gives solid advice on what to use.
