Billy Jack Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 About a month ago I was fortunate to win a syringe of Opti Coat in Chris's contest, in exchange for a review. I had intended to do one of the family daily drivers, but the weather in PA has been so crappy, I just haven't had time to do the necessary correction. There's been some buzz on the various forums about OC's suitability as a headlight coating, so one of the family DD's will be a guinea pig. Back on May 18, I did the OC treatment on a set of headlights. The subject vehicle is an Olds Intrigue with just over 100K miles. Headlights were slightly dulled due to visible failure of the clearcoat, but no yellowing. Since they are easily removed from the car, I took the opportunity to disassemble and clean the inside of the lenses as well as the reflectors. The lenses were first sanded with 1000-1500-2000 grit by hand, then rotary-buffed with heavy compound with a wool pad, then a machine polish with a Meg's yellow pad. After a cleaning and IPA wipe it was time for OC on the left light, with the right one left untouched as a control. I applied just a few drops to one area of an applicator and started spreading product. I was immediately impressed at how far a small amount spread. Every OC tutorial I have read stressed thin,light application and I can heartily validate. I could have easily done another set of lights with the small amount of product on the pad. Fortunately, I was applying OC to the light on the workbench, so it was easy to move the lens around under the garage lighting to assure my coating was even with no streaks. The first pic shows both lights on the bench, with the left (lower) light in the pic coated with OC. This weekend provided clear, sunny weather, so it was time for some observations and pics after 10 days of daily use. Since I had done the coating on a rainy night, I left the light to cure inside and installed it the next morning. The control light received just a coat of a good sealant, Collinite 845. The depth of the gloss on the OC light was immediately obvious, but it wasn't as slippery as the waxed light. However, after a week of driving, including numerous days of rain and one washing, the OC lens feels noticeably slicker than the morning after coating. Maybe the OC was still curing. Here are a few pics taken earlier today, May 29. Again the untreated right side light is on top, with the OC-treated light as the lower pic in each pair. Overall, based on my impressions so far, Opti-Coat seems like an ideal headlight resto coating. Application couldn't be easier and appearance is great. As far as durability of OC applied to a bare plastic headlight lens, we'll find out. Updates to come. Once again Chris and Dr. G, thanks for the opportunity to try a new Optimum product. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfections Detail Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Cool Billy thanks for the review, keep us posted on long term durability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Jack Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 I posted my update in another thread, but I'll duplicate it here for continuity: Well, It's only been about 5 weeks, but here's my update: The gloss, IMO is now equalized between the OC treated right headlight and the Collinite 845 treated left headlight. Weather hasn't been severe in PA, as all our rainfall came in May. One thing I mentioned in my initial update that's even more evident now is the slickness of the lenses. After treatment, the OC side was noticeably less slippery than the 845 side. Now, after 6 weeks it's the opposite, as the OC light is definitely slicker than the 845 side. Washes have been with ONR exclusively and I notice residue from bugs is much easier to wipe clean from the OC side. So far, my opinion is that OC is definitely a winner for headlight resto work. I'll update again in a couple months. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Jack Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 Well, it's been a bit over two months since my last post, so here's an update: Just as a review, both lights were removed, polished to a visibly identical condition and both coated, one with Opti-Coat, one with Collinite 845, the most durable sealant I have on my shelves. The subject vehicle is a daily driver, parked outside 24/7, cleaned regularly with either ONR, OOC or a few different brands of spray detailer. No car-wash soaps or machine washes have been done since the headlight job. Earlier in the test, I reported differences in slickness or smoothness between the two lights. Now that it's been over 3 months, I am still able to notice a difference between the two, in favor of the Opti-Coat. The other point that's starting to be apparent is a slight, but noticeable difference in clarity, again in favor of the Opti-Coat. When I first did the restoration in May, I split the lenses from the bezels, cleaned and waxed the reflective surfaces, and cleaned the inside of the lenses. At the time they both looked identical. Three months later, the OC-protected light has a slight edge. Not a night-and-day difference at this time, but noticeable. Sometime in late fall I'll give them a good inspection and report again. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfections Detail Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Cool deal thanks for the update, I'll look in the fall for your thoughts as most of the headlights restos I do I don't get to see them down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Jack Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 It's now early March, almost 10 months since I started my review and the difference between the OC light and the 845 light is now obvious. This vehicle is my winter DD while the Camino is in hibernation and it stays outside 24/7. I purposely chose 845 as the product for my control headlight as it's generally acknowledged as one of the most, if not the most durable LSP available. Winter in PA was somewhat milder than usual, with less than average snowfall (meaning less than average road salt) and slightly milder temps than normal. Washing over the winter was done when time and weather permit, sometimes 2-3 weeks apart, and were all done using ONR ( I just love that stuff!). No waxes or other products were applied to the headlights since the original application last May. I'm starting to see some clouding/ hazing form on the 845 side, while the OC side is still visibly perfect. When time and weather permit, I'll pop the lights out and post some photos as the final follow-up. Once the pics are posted, the 845 light will be polished again until clear and then Opti-Coated. Based on my observations of my old beater's headlights, I'm also going to OC the lights on both my wife's 2009 BMW and my son's 2008 Audi. Both are fine now, but I do believe that OC will keep them clear for a lot longer than just the original factory coating. Thanks again for the opportunity to do the review! Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Jack Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 April 1, 2012, 10 months since my original post and time for the final follow-up. To summarize, last May both headlights on my beater Olds Intrigue were sanded and polished. GM headlights have a very durable clearcoat and the lights were in reasonably good shape, slightly dulled with some cracking clearcoat, but no yellowing. At that time I sanded and polished both lights, applied Opti Coat to the left side and Collonite 845 to the right as a control. After a Summer, Fall and Winter of 24/7 exposure the difference in the two lights was starting to become visible. The picture shows the light OC light still in place with the right side control light stacked above. You can see that along the top of the light the finish had dulled and the cloudiness was back, while the bottom OC-coated light looks just the same as last year's pics: Needless to say, the control light got lightly sanded, polished and Opti Coated before being re-installed. For now, I'll consider my review complete. However, if I see any indication of gloss deterioration in the future, I will report. There's been a long running thread on AGO dealing with the use of Marine Spar Varnish on headlight restos. Many posters report long term success with the process and obviously the initial startup material cost is less than OC. But, based on the results on my aged beater it's OC all the way for me! Thanks again, Chris, for the opportunity to do the review. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfections Detail Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Bill thanks for the follow up! I've been observing good results with oc as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal329 Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Great review. I been thinking of using OC for headlights myself this just proves it will work just like I thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Jack Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Just a few comments for those contemplating the process: My lights weren't seriously deteriorated, so I didn't attempt to remove all the factory clearcoat. I just sanded until any evidence of crazed clearcoat was gone and the lens was smooth, then compounded, polished and wiped clean with IPA. After almost a year, there's no evidence of blotches where the clearcoat was not completely removed. Also, a foam applicator will absorb way too much product for two headlights. I cut a strip of a blue Scott Shop Towel, folded it over a few times and just applied a few drops of OC. You'll use so little that a syringe will last virtually forever. My lights were easily removed from the car, so I did them on the bench. If you're working on the car, keep a strong light handy to check for streaks. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipMech Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Bill... Just curious. Did you put the OC on a dry shop towel? It seems the towel would absorb much of the product. Thanks for doing the evaluation. Bill Lemon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.