How to make headlight clear coat not spiderweb??
Posted by Imaginary_Bug_1900@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 2 comments
I have a 2007 Nissan 350z, and It had really faded headlights, so I decided to work on restoring them
I worked my way up from 220 to 700 grit sandpaper, I tried doing it wet and dry
I then would clean the lens with isopropyl alcohol (after washing it off)
Then would let the lens dry for a solid 2-5 minutes
Then I would activate the clear, and spray it onto the headlights, starting with 2 light coats with 5-10 minutes in between, and then one medium coat
But then, literally every single time the clear starts to crack and spiderweb through the entire lens
I'm using the correct clear, at least from what I've researched, it's 2k clear
The humidity is low, about 30% right now, temperature is 65 degrees, which should be perfect, and there's like no wind.... what am I doing wrong!? The bottle of clear is now ruined as it's activated already, and I'm at a loss
I've tried painting it with a 220 grit finish, I've tried painting with a 700 grit finish, I've tried painting with a 400 grot finish, and with a 1000 grit finish. Idk what else to try at this point, I feel like I'm doing everything correctly
sporkmanhands@reddit
The only time I’ve had clear “crackle” was when I didn’t wait the correct amount for the coats to dry. It was Also a bit warm that day but that doesn’t seem to be your issue unless there is a minimum temp for your product
Coat 1 goes on, if coat 2 is applied after 1 has dryed to touch but not before it is actually dry, then coat 2 has to chemically melt in to coat 1 so they become a single thick coat. If that doesn’t happen correctly by the third coat or so it will start to do what it did.
When I did the wet sand on my Mustang headlamps I went up to 1500-2000 grit, cleaned it appropriately and used good ‘ol clear lacquer from a rattle can. Layer after layer, sand every 2-3 coats. It took forever but looked new when I was done.
I suggest watching a few videos on finishing a guitar with clear. That’s what my prior painting experience comes from.
In the end I put nufinish on the lacquer and then a cheap ceramic because why not?
Imaginary_Bug_1900@reddit (OP)
Interesting ok, I feel like it should be working alright based on that, but idk, I’m ok with what happened now… what I did is 5 light coats and it’s thick enough for me to be comfortable to wet sand now, so I’ll wait 48 for it to dry and then wet sand buff and ceramic coat them, I’ll try to keep you updated on if that works 🙏