Headlight restoration without tools, 7 month update pg 4

[human]

I used one of those $12 3M kits last summer and it only lasted about three months. I was so disgusted that I eventually replaced the headlights. I'll have to try this technique on theones I took out.

[crash93ssei]

Glad to see everyone having good results with this!

Update on mine, going on just over 7 months now, sits outside 24/7. Still looks amazing!

[1oldman]

Glad to see everyone having good results with this!

Update on mine, going on just over 7 months now, sits outside 24/7. Still looks amazing!

Doesn't really surprise me. You may get 3 maybe even 4 or 5 years out of it before it starts to need a "refresh". That poly you used is good stuff. Nice work - BC

[Zeik75]

Any possible problems with putting headlight with this treatment in the oven when clearing turn signals? Just not sure how it would react to the heat.

[Archon]

I did this to my car yesterday, and they turned out quite well. Today, I polished the front bumper so to be safe, I taped off the headlights to keep from marring them. It apparently needs more than about 20 hours to set up, as much of the urethane came off with the tape. So, a word of caution there.

[xcbullet]

Wow what new looking headlight's I have now. I even used the semi gloss as that's what I had. I need to apply it thinner when I do my truck though. I did have a spot with cracks in blinker area but hopefully this will keep it from getting worse & it's not even noticeable. Thinking about doing the rear blinkers on my truck too.

The light output is noticeable better too.

[Sirius]

Finally got around to doing this. Since I pulled the headlights out I thought I'd be a little different and apply the product (50/50 mix) with an air brush. With a little masking tape & paper, an air brush could be used on installed headlights. Even my wife is impressed with the result!

Next time, though, I'm going to mix the concoction up in a thimble...I used very little spraying it on.

FYI, I bought the minwax & mineral spirits at Walmart, Autozone has wet sandpaper.

[00Beast]

Next time, though, I'm going to mix the concoction up in a thimble...I used very little spraying it on.

That's the thing with a brush, most of the stuff you use just ends up getting stuck in the bristles and/or sponge of the brush...

[RJolly87]

Can we get another update on this? How is it holding up?

I am glad I don't have to deal with this, but I keep seeing my family member's cars, and the cloudy lenses are starting to irritate me.

[crash93ssei]

It lasted about 8 months and started to yellow a bit, I just put another coat on without sanding or anything, that cleaned it up some but not perfect. Just sold / traded them for another set of foggy ones that I will restore again and GXPify before putting back in the SE.

I just sanded and coated the lights on the SSEi as well so we will have another durability test there. I believe we should get at least 6 to 7 months this way being stored outside 24/7 and much longer if garaged. Last at least twice as long as sanding and polishing alone, and well worth the cost. Still my go to method for sure.

[fisdadsbonneville]

I just did mine with wipe new yesterday. Mine weren't very bad, but I wanted to clean them up before they got worse. I think that they look pretty great now, other than a couple little spots where I screwed them up.

[RJolly87]

Hrmmm... What would it take to push results in to 'years' of goodness instead of 'months'?

[Corrosive_23]

Thanks crash93ssei for posting this!
I was gonna pay $60 to get my headlights done but nope I will do 'em myself

[dpdan]

I am going to replace both headlights on my 2001 Bonneville SSEi.
Does anyone know if the SE, SSE and SSEi use the same exact headlight?
Thanks,
Dan

[crash93ssei]

All 2000 - 2005 physically fit the same, GXP and 2005 SLE got darker looking headlights but even those will still bolt up and work without issue. All you will find aftermarket is the regular headlights though.

[rmorton]

So far so good... BUT, has anybody gotten a slight glaze after the spar urethane dries? I sanded 400, 600, 1500 and applied 50/50 mix with foam brush. As the mix went on it looked crystal clear and awesome! But now that it has dried its not as clear.

Comparing before and after - huge improvement!


After drying completely:



Doesn't look as clear as the photos I'm seeing on here....?

[rmorton]

Just looked over everything again and noticed my can of Spar Urethane that I had on hand was clear Satin. So I wonder if thats the problem... You guys were all using High Gloss right?

[crash93ssei]

Yes, high gloss. Even satin looks much better then before though!

[1oldman]

It lasted about 8 months

You do better work than I do, so why did mine last 2+ years? or am I not as "pickie" as you are? - BC

[Jfridge92]

Since this was brought back, I used this method about a year ago. It definitely made a huge improvement over the foggy lenses, but after about 5 months the spar urethane turned pretty yellow. I'm not sure if it's because the car was outside the majority of the time before we got our house with a garage, but it flaked off leaving the lenses exposed. Definitely a huge improvement, and maybe it was my can of urethane, but I think I'll use a different clear coat when I redo my lenses again. Otherwise, this is by far one of the cheapest and best methods of clearing up the lenses!