Uv Sealant For Headlights

[Charles89]

Hey guys,

I sanded back my headlights the other night and gave it a real good polish and I'm just wondering if UV sealant is required? If so, what options do I have?

Thanks!!

[matticus]

Hi Charles,

You will need to apply a UV sealant otherwise you will end up with headlamps the same colour of your car

I used the sealant from the Philips headlamp resto kit and 6 months down the track they are still good. The sealant they have is the same you will nee on new vehicles and leaves a rainbow colour reflection in some angles (dont worry, this is normal)

The plastic in headlamps does not actully contain UV filters so you will notice that enw cars will have the coating.

I was actully going to get some more sealant from the group that import the resto kit so I will let you know if i can get hold of some. Other option is to buy the kit which is ~40$ and you will get a bottle of sealant and applicator cloth.

Just a tip, do it on a sunny day off the grass and let it dry for four hours or so.

EDIT: Just talked to Invision Sales (distributer) and they dont ahve the bottles of sealant for sale seperately but they said there may be future developments changing this. They said they will contact me if something changes so I will let everyone know.

Matt

Hey guys,

I sanded back my headlights the other night and gave it a real good polish and I'm just wondering if UV sealant is required? If so, what options do I have?

Thanks!!

[Charles89]

Hi Charles,

You will need to apply a UV sealant otherwise you will end up with headlamps the same colour of your car

I used the sealant from the Philips headlamp resto kit and 6 months down the track they are still good. The sealant they have is the same you will nee on new vehicles and leaves a rainbow colour reflection in some angles (dont worry, this is normal)

The plastic in headlamps does not actully contain UV filters so you will notice that enw cars will have the coating.

I was actully going to get some more sealant from the group that import the resto kit so I will let you know if i can get hold of some. Other option is to buy the kit which is ~40$ and you will get a bottle of sealant and applicator cloth.

Just a tip, do it on a sunny day off the grass and let it dry for four hours or so.

EDIT: Just talked to Invision Sales (distributer) and they dont ahve the bottles of sealant for sale seperately but they said there may be future developments changing this. They said they will contact me if something changes so I will let everyone know.

Matt

Thanks for the reply Matt

Yeah, I know those headlight restoration kits have the sealant but I don't wanna be spending $40-60 for a bottle of sealant, because I've already did the sanding and polishing already which would be included in the kits.

Please let me know soon if you could just get the sealant by itself, because my car is off the road for a few days and would like to seal the headlights before I start driving again

[RobertoB]

Hey guys

My headlights are murky as and was looking for a resto kit or guide on how to make them clear again, help?

Rob.

[immacreflections]

http://waxit.com.au/proddetail.asp?prod=CP111&cat=22 and you'll never look back!

[Charles89]

Hey guys

My headlights are murky as and was looking for a resto kit or guide on how to make them clear again, help?

Rob.

There's HEAPS and HEAPS of thread on restoring headlights.... Look in Cosmetic Section as well as DIY Section.

But a quick solution would be cut & polish, or even toothpaste.

If you want kits, try glassylite or some other one from Autobarn.

@Immacreflections - That's what I was looking at before, might give that a go

[HEKT1K]

http://waxit.com.au/...od=CP111&cat=22 and you'll never look back!

Is this for headlights as well as paint?

[Charles89]

It does say plastic....

[immacreflections]

It does say plastic....

Correct, I've used it on paint, plastic, wheels, glass, the lot and love it!

[Charles89]

But I still can't justify spending $38 on a 10mL bottle lol, do you have any spares enough to do my headlights and I'll pay you some money? lol

[RobertoB]

Thanks guys sorry mustn't have searched hard enough lol

So I should just have to clean the outside of the headlight yeah? Also do I need to remove the headlights? Any links to another DIY thread? Please dont hate me lol

Also what makes them change this way?

Edited July 13, 2011 by RobertoB

[Charles89]

Yes, most of the time, just outside, unless you have leaks and water gets into the inside of the headlight, then you will need to take the whole lens off.

What changes them? The sun, the Australian sun changes the colour of the plastic, thats why I'm tryin to get some UV sealant, so it lasts a bit longer because I have to clean them again lol.

If you just cut and polish them, they will turn yellow again in a month or two, so with the headlights, it's kinda like a constant thing, just gotta keep cleaning.

Not much that you can do about it, because it's plastic.

REPLY TO YOUR EDIT:

You don't "need" to remove your headlights, you could mask around the light and cut & polish or just polish it with it on the car, but I took mine off coz I had to take my front bar off. So I thought I might as well take them off because it's easier for me to clean.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/325267-restoring-your-headlights-with-pictures/page__p__5298123__hl__headlight__fromsearch__1#entry5298123

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/249905-yellow-fever-restoring-r33-and-r34-model-headlights/page__p__4774164__hl__headlight__fromsearch__1#entry4774164

Search mannnn.... It isn't that hard...

[matticus]

Hey Charles,

I doubt it will be in the next few days if they come out with something but will let you know if i ever do hear antything.

As for the C.Quartz, it will be great to give protection from scratches/blemishes but it will not protect from the headlights goign yellow. It is made to not break down due to UV light but it wont stop the UV passign through.

The coating that is supplied with the Philips headlamp resto kit is the same coating that the auto industry uses and it is there to stop UV radiation.

Im gonna ask around work tomorrow to see if one of our suppliers has access to the sealant. Hopefully one of them can help us out.

[immacreflections]

Hey Charles,

I doubt it will be in the next few days if they come out with something but will let you know if i ever do hear antything.

As for the C.Quartz, it will be great to give protection from scratches/blemishes but it will not protect from the headlights goign yellow. It is made to not break down due to UV light but it wont stop the UV passign through.

The coating that is supplied with the Philips headlamp resto kit is the same coating that the auto industry uses and it is there to stop UV radiation.

Im gonna ask around work tomorrow to see if one of our suppliers has access to the sealant. Hopefully one of them can help us out.

Although I will have to double check off the top of my head I disagree.

A reason you use waxes and sealants is due to them having protection from uv also, if you did a car half maintained wax half not by taping it down the middle. After 3-4 years if you pull that tape of you would see a clear difference and I'm 99.99999999% sure that is the case with c.quartz also.

Regards,

Mitch

[matticus]

I had a different understanding but I will happily be proven wrong.

I will still maintain that the UV protectant that is used on head lamps will do a much better job than a wax or sealant at blocking UV as it is specifically designed to block UV radiation rather than a multitude of jobs.

Let me know what you do find out though Mitch as I am interested to know.

[immacreflections]

I had a different understanding but I will happily be proven wrong.

I will still maintain that the UV protectant that is used on head lamps will do a much better job than a wax or sealant at blocking UV as it is specifically designed to block UV radiation rather than a multitude of jobs.

Let me know what you do find out though Mitch as I am interested to know.

No worries I will let you know.

[matticus]

Well I stand corrected, the rep from CarPro who make Cquartz got back to me and they use a very high quality UV blocking agent.

The coating should last for a year if applied correctly.

@Charles: check waxit.com they have it for sale and are in Tulla.

[immacreflections]

Yes I have just spoken to Antonio, a world of information he is.

He also informed me that due to the headlight plastic and what it is made from that some times guys sand to deep and can result in speeding up of discolouration.

[matticus]

He also informed me that due to the headlight plastic and what it is made from that some times guys sand to deep and can result in speeding up of discolouration.

Very true, the only layer of protection against deterioration is a surface coating.

Most older cars didn't even have a coating, hence why the head lamps on Skylines go yellow.

The coating applied in the auto industry is very different from Cquartz and is designed to last 10+ years. In the end, both will do the same job and I am sure one bottle of Cquartz will last 10+ years if you only use it on headlamps.

So in the end Charles89, go with the Cquartz, I will keep everyone posted if a UV sealant comes out from Invision distributes.

[Charles89]

Very true, the only layer of protection against deterioration is a surface coating.

Most older cars didn't even have a coating, hence why the head lamps on Skylines go yellow.

The coating applied in the auto industry is very different from Cquartz and is designed to last 10+ years. In the end, both will do the same job and I am sure one bottle of Cquartz will last 10+ years if you only use it on headlamps.

So in the end Charles89, go with the Cquartz, I will keep everyone posted if a UV sealant comes out from Invision distributes.

I actually sourced some UV sealant from a mate with the Invision kit, so I'll give that a go first on my headlights

Will post up some pics when its all done