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My mechanic offered to use an expensive special paint, anybody used that?
He showed it to me on his MB and it looks very nice (white/clear look, like new).
For about $150 it might be worth it, he said i should work for at least 5 years (that's when his were done).
My mechanic offered to use an expensive special paint, anybody used that?
He showed it to me on his MB and it looks very nice (white/clear look, like new).
For about $150 it might be worth it, he said i should work for at least 5 years (that's when his were done).
The clear coat headlight paint costs between $6.00 - $12.00 per spray can. Many brands.
Well got a update. Went to work Friday morning and the damn headlights went out right in my driveway. Didn’t have time to switch cars. So I drove with my high beams on. Not that it mattered they are aimed too low
So I ordered new Kia factory bulbs on EBay 14 bucks shipped showed up on Thursday. . Took off the headlights. One bulb burned out. Replaced it. Nice and bright. Seems that halogens lose power over time yellow out and die.
On the passenger side. Holy crap boys. Damn plug melted all to **** and the metal connector oat was really overheated Had some crimp angle female spade connectors so I used those. Works fine no big deal.
Problem is that one headlight has a stripped aiming gear so the headlight is skewed so I just pried it back to straight.
The bulb is held by this wire clip that sort of hinges on one side and hooks into this finger and puts pressure on the back of the bulb. Anyway that hinge piece is broken. So I had to rebend the clip to keep the bulb in.
So it looks like other than bad old bulbs 8 have actually white light emanating out of the headlights. Bu5 since they are cloudy and one is broken I’m going to be getting new ones. I just gotta figure out who makes decent aftermarket ones
I did use dielectric grease on the contact points
So I’m off to research who is good and bad in aftermarket lights.
Find a message and see which oes to get. Some are better than others. Those of us with Crown Vics know that when it comes to oem style replacements, there's only two that are basically exaxtly like oem housings.
The method I have used in the past works very well, but is time consuming.
First of all, you have to understand that not all clearcoats are the same. Most rattle can clears are lacquer based and will eventually turn yellow and dull when exposed to the sun for long periods of time. So avoid that at all costs.
My method has always been to begin with 1,200 grit wet sandpaper and light pressure. Once completely hazed over and white, I move on to 1,600 grit and repeat. Then I move to 3,000 grit and repeat. Then 6,000 grit sandpaper to finish. Once done, I polish the lenses with a rubbing compound to remove the almost invisible scratches from the plastic. Once that is done, apply an adhesion promoter (to keep the clear from peeling off) and then finally a good quality urethane clearcoat. I typically do two coats and let it dry. Then once completely dry, I hit it with two coats of wax.
I kept one vehicle for 7 years before selling and the headlights still looked new. I only reapplied wax when I waxed the car.
There's a guy on you tube named Chris fixx who does auto repairs videos. He has one on this. Make sure you watch the one where the clear coat is put on at the end plus which direction to sand .
Which I once posted here, that vid saved me.
Almost 2 years later, and they still look great.
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