Clear coating headlight fail lol

[Subru]

Decided to fix my headlights and did the sanding from 400 grit to 800 then 1500, cleaned it up mint and then clear coated it and a whole bunch of lines showed up. Here are some images with very bad quality coz its another phone and mine is getting fixed (didnt like sea water...) Also have pic of before/after.

Did 3 coats total.

I think I didnt sand it enough but I still have the other headlight so can experiment with that I guess.

Before:

Straight after second coat:

[thewabbit1]

Oh man! at least you got rid of the yellowing

[Subru]

10 minutes ago, thewabbit1 said:

Oh man! at least you got rid of the yellowing

Yeah big time. Irl its a lot worse. at least its somewhat consistent now.

[thewabbit1]

I'm no painter, but it looks like you might have layered the clear on too thick? start with a light dusting and build up. The duplicolor stuff I had said to wait no more than 10mins between coats - how long between yours?

[Subru]

I did fairly light coats and did each coat around 6mins apart.

First coat was pretty light and even then the lines appeared.

[thewabbit1]

maybe you didn't sand back enough? looking at your second pic it looks like it only happens on the yellowed area... but you did start with 400... so i'd think you would have taken enough off.... i'm really only guessing at this point. Bound to be someone on here who knows more than I do...
Is it under the clear coat? or on top of?

[Subru]

I think I didnt sand it enough. Its much worse in the yellowed area meaning its under the clearcoat. They were pretty bad so I might need to sand more.

[ADIKT]

You managed to post this thread twice some how - I've deleted the other one for you 

[Subru]

1 minute ago, ADIKT said:

You managed to post this thread twice some how - I've deleted the other one for you 

lol no idea how that happened...

Thanks.

[Joker]

Pic of the clear coat you're using?

and have a read through these from the Mega FAQ thread

 

Quote

Exterior

 

 

Removing scratches from headlights

 

 

Removing scratches from headlights #2

 

 

Headlight Polishing #3

 

http://www.clubsub.org.nz/forum/index.php?/forum/139-general-faq/

[Joker]

appears Clear coat is not mentioned much & people dont tend to go that way

 

On 10/11/2009 at 10:08 AM, ReubenH said:

Will that actually stop it though? And gotta make sure you use good clearcoat, or that too will go yellow

 

[Subru]

Its lyndar 2k clearcoat coz the Supercheap guy recommended it and its hella expensive.....)

http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/Product/Lyndar-2K-Clear-Coat-Aerosol-Paint-400g/386985

[Joker]

feed back on that link is of similar experience to yours, might be a little more work involved though doesn't say weather they were using on Panels or headlights etc

 

Quote

Wasn't expecting too much. Followed the directions on the can and got an "OK" finish - noticeable orange peel and average gloss. To be fair, the results I got were possibly from my own application so may not be the product's fault. Wet sanded the orange peel with 2000 grit till the surface was bump-free and polished using Meguiars Ultimate Compound and a DA machine - ABSOLUTE MIRROR FINISH!! Looks like it was done in a pro - hopefully it lasts as only did this a week ago. A bit pricey at first glance but given the final result, I'm very impressed.

 

[Subru]

ill wet sand it and see what happens. 

[J CHILN]

Hey mate,

 

It is caused by the thickness of the coats being applied or not enough flash off time between coats. Don't try and paint over it, Sand it all off completely and start with a fresh surface.

 

With the spray can boil the jug and bob the can of paint in a bucket of hot water for approx. 15-20mins this will let the paint warm up inside the can and flow more freely and flash off a bit easier. do light coats with 10 mins between each. if you do 4-5 coats this will give you lots of room to flatten back and polish for the "glassy look".

 

 

[Subru]

1 hour ago, Inked said:

Hey mate,

 

It is caused by the thickness of the coats being applied or not enough flash off time between coats. Don't try and paint over it, Sand it all off completely and start with a fresh surface.

 

With the spray can boil the jug and bob the can of paint in a bucket of hot water for approx. 15-20mins this will let the paint warm up inside the can and flow more freely and flash off a bit easier. do light coats with 10 mins between each. if you do 4-5 coats this will give you lots of room to flatten back and polish for the "glassy look".

 

 

Okay, It was prob around 15 degrees when I was doing it, I used the warm water trick in winter but thought it would be okay right now. I will try that tho.

[Kiwi_Fozze]

Ooooohh no hot cans, always hot cans..... Doesn't matter if middle of Sahara, always hot cans

[Subru]

14 minutes ago, Kiwi_Fozze said:

Ooooohh no hot cans, always hot cans..... Doesn't matter if middle of Sahara, always hot cans

hahaha okay... lolol

[BMCracer]

Might want to wait for warmer weather before having another go, 15 is too cold. We never paint if it's less than 20, preferably 23-25. Watch the humidity too ( you want it low ), not that it's so important for the little bit you're doing, but every little bit helps.

[Subru]

4 minutes ago, BMCracer said:

Might want to wait for warmer weather before having another go, 15 is too cold. We never paint if it's less than 20, preferably 23-25. Watch the humidity too ( you want it low ), not that it's so important for the little bit you're doing, but every little bit helps.

Yeah, did mine at nigh so its colder. Wellington been pretty damn hot the last few days tho reaching 23-25 (yeah almost Sahara desert stuff..) ill do em on Saturday if its hot (I bet its gonna hose down all day...)

[boostin]

We do them at work, and always avoid wet or humid days, which is often in Auckland! 

[boon]

Just gonna throw it out there that you can get them looking pretty damn good just with Autosol....

[Subru]

2 minutes ago, boon said:

Just gonna throw it out there that you can get them looking pretty damn good just with Autosol....

maybe, mine are pretttty bad tho.

I might try it tho

[willisnz]

Cutting compound then autosol? Or is autosol slightly abbrasive?

[sobanoodle]

1 hour ago, willisnz said:

Cutting compound then autosol? Or is autosol slightly abbrasive?

 

I'd say the other way round - Autosol --> heavy cutting compound --> light cutting compound

 

I just use Meguiar's heavy cutting compound then some Meguiar's glaze. Do not leave any micro scratches/swirls as most of the other methods do.