Polishing Headlights: UV Coating

M

mysteryan

New member
I was thinking about giving my headlights a good polish with some PlastX on a white LC via UDM. My question is, is there a UV coating that I'll end up polishing off? My headlights aren't that bad yet, but they can be clearer. I wouldn't want them to yellow faster if there is a UV coating on the outside. The car is an 06 Lexus GS300.
 
You've reached the point in which you headlights will need to be polished out every 3 to 6 months. The factory UV coating doesn't last long and once it's gone, it's gone. The headlights on my 2002 Accord lasted about three years. Now, I'm polishing them on a regular basis. I don't know if there's a product that you can apply that will bring the lights back to factory UV resistance.
 
My car is an 04 and is as clear as can possibly be. Atleast it seems that way. There doesnt seem to be any noticeable oxidation/haziness or yellowing.



Are you sure they need to be polished and your not just being overly anal.



I mean, being anal in this business is good most of the time, but i think the headlights are the one thing you should leave alone if theyre not bad.



I just seal them/wax them with whatever Im using at the time





If they are at that point though, once you polish them, I remember seeing someone mention that placing a clear bra like film over them helps to stop the oxidation
 
I'd sure hope regular plastic sealant application would be able to keep a polished headlight clear. Maybe others who have polished off the UV coat and kept an LSP product on their headlights regularly could comment on if it kept them from hazing over through the years.



But if they aren't so bad, I'd not polish them yet. Maybe some other process like claying or a good cleaner could clear them up if it's not oxidation. Maybe just try plexus for now.
 
Any durable LSP will keep them looking polished. Just clean them up with an AIO each time you do your paint (AIO or corrective polish). ZAIO, JW Prime and PS AIO's work great on headlights. Then put a coat of sealant on top. The protection that Plastix leaves behind is short lived.
 
There's something I'm not clear on (sorry)...we've all seen pictures of the horribly yellowed headlights, which seem to usually be rectangular Ford and Chrysler ones from the 80's/90's. Those headlights were always frosted in appearance to begin with, and then yellowed with age, kind of like old fluorescent light diffusers.



The newer cars seem to be using transparent plastic, which looks to me like polycarbonate (Lexan). My cars are like this, and my friend Jr's car is a 2003 that is outside 24/7 and hers don't seem to have yellowed (although I have done mild polishing on them a couple of times). I have wondered if I should polish them again, whether they have a coating that I will eventually polish off and be sorry.
 
Dsoto87 said:
Are you sure they need to be polished and your not just being overly anal.
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I thought everyone here is pretty anal. Well, it's not oxidized, but there are some swirl marks and pitting already. They're clear, but they don't look new. I wouldn't want to repolish it every few months which seems to be the concensus if I start.
 
Dsoto87 said:
My car is an 04 and is as clear as can possibly be. Atleast it seems that way. There doesnt seem to be any noticeable oxidation/haziness or yellowing.



Are you sure they need to be polished and your not just being overly anal.



I mean, being anal in this business is good most of the time, but i think the headlights are the one thing you should leave alone if theyre not bad.



I just seal them/wax them with whatever Im using at the time





If they are at that point though, once you polish them, I remember seeing someone mention that placing a clear bra like film over them helps to stop the oxidation
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It really depends on the exposure, though. If your own car is garaged at night and covered all day at work, I can see them lasting years. My own car, however, is exposed to the hot Florida sun all day, every day, during the week. The car is garaged at night, but, then again, there's no UV exposure at night. I kept my lights sealed from day one but they just couldn't take it anymore. They still look good with regular polishing. When the car was new, they remained polish free for three years.
 
The "yellow" stuff you see is the UV coating breaking down. If it's really bad,

and if you have time, take the head lamps out, sand off the failing coating with

P800. Follow up with P1000 and use a scuff pad for the sides and take them to

a body shop you trust and have them shoot 2-3 coats of clear.



P1000874.jpg


P1000757.jpg


P1000758.jpg




First candy smoked set:

P1000898.jpg


P1000913.jpg




:)
 
mborner said:
I kept my lights sealed from day one but they just couldn't take it anymore. They still look good with regular polishing. When the car was new, they remained polish free for three years.
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What did you seal them with? And how often did you apply it?
 
bcwang said:
What did you seal them with? And how often did you apply it?
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I sealed the car every other month with Z2, that included the headlights. Again, after 3 years in the Florida sun, there's only so much you can do. I'm actually thinking about replacing the headlight units with brand new OEM ones.
 
Wow, just 3 years even sealed every other month. How did your paint hold up in that same time frame? Still good as new?



I wonder if many sealants and waxes don't help plastic much because they don't actually provide UV protection. Maybe something that specifically has high levels of UV protectant in it may do better than a normally very durable paint sealant like Zaino.
 
bcwang said:
Wow, just 3 years even sealed every other month. How did your paint hold up in that same time frame? Still good as new?
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The paint looks flawless, as good as new.

Flashtime said:
Products you apply by hand and goes on with a microscopic build that offers real

UV protection? Ya, sure...
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That's right. There is no sealant that can protect the headlights from UV rays. Like you said, the layer(s) of sealant are too thin, virtually immeasurable, affording no UV protection at all.
 
Flashtime said:
Products you apply by hand and goes on with a microscopic build that offers real

UV protection? Ya, sure...
Click to expand...



Then please continue to offer your customers subpar results with other products.
 
mborner said:
The paint looks flawless, as good as new.



That's right. There is no sealant that can protect the headlights from UV rays. Like you said, the layer(s) of sealant are too thin, virtually immeasurable, affording no UV protection at all.
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Well then it's a good thing this product is a latex acrylic emulsion(yeah, the same basic acrylic acids used to the original micro thin UV coating on the headlights) and not a paint sealant.
 
Simply put, plastic isn't capable of withstanding the sun's rays no matter what you do to it. If it has failed once, what's going to keep it from failing again? You can only do your best to help slow down the process and correct it on a regular basis which is perfectly fine by me. :bigups
 
imply put, plastic isn't capable of withstanding the sun's rays no matter what you do to it. If it has failed once, what's going to keep it from failing again? You can only do your best to help slow down the process and correct it on a regular basis which is perfectly fine by me.
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True. That goes for the rest of the vehicle as well. And it's more than just about

UV protection. Unless it's a garage queen not driven nor exposed to the elements...
 
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