Dealing with temps and the lack of light?

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cvilleHR
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Dealing with temps and the lack of light?

Post by cvilleHR »

Hey all,

I've been doing a lot of restorations for headlights that are out of the car lately. Usually I would just set them out in the sun and be good.

Now that it's getting colder and darker sooner, I'm having a hard time getting them to set up and cure. Usually I go back the next day and the infinity has cured improperly and is all white and nasty looking. I expect that this is a combination of it getting dark before they can cure and the low temperatures.

First of all, can I set the lights inside where it's warm and expect to get good results? I always assumed curing relied at least a little on the UV exposure.

Two, is there an easier way to strip off the damaged coating than going back to 5 or 8 hundred grit and starting over?

As always,

Thanks!
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Brent Deines
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Re: Dealing with temps and the lack of light?

Post by Brent Deines »

You do not need UV to cure Infinity. In fact, nearly all of our jobs are cured indoors as it minimizes the chances of exposure to moisture and contaminates. The simplest way I can put this is to tell you to treat infinity like a latex paint. If you try to apply latex paint to a cold surface, or in too low of an ambient temperature, or in to high of humidity, you will have problems. Infinity is very similar in that respect.

Room temperature is perfect for application and drying/curing. The lower the temperature the longer it will take to cure often the more humidity there will be in the air. Sounds to me like you may be experiencing a humidity problem. This is more common in high humidity areas but this time of year when the temperatures drop quickly as the sun goes down it can happen anywhere.

I suggest you warm the lights before, during, and if possible, for 15 minutes after the application. The coating should be approximately the same temperature as the coating for best results and using a heater/fan to blow air across the surface will speed up the dry time considerably. In warm temperatures a fan will work just as well as a heater/fan but in colder temperatures the heat will help. Room temperature and low humidity are not always possible but anything you can do to get closer to the perfect environment will be helpful.

Today it was about 35 degrees and raining in Eugene. I would not attempt a headlight restoration outdoors here today without a heater/fan, especially in the early AM or late afternoon or evening.
Brent Deines
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Old Blue 66
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Re: Dealing with temps and the lack of light?

Post by Old Blue 66 »

I work until its so cold the water freezes on impact. Lately Ive been doing a ton of Semi's and since they are made out of fiberglass, freezing water isn't a problem. We also work with the headlights on during the whole process for added human warmth and it makes everything work better during the process. .

In the cold weather, first we use 99.9% pure alcohol on the lens just before the coating is applied. This takes off water that you used to clean the lens before that hasn't had the opportunity to dry. Second, apply the coating on the lens while the headlight assembly is on the car. Turn the headlights on and let the lens get warm. Then hit it with a blow dryer. We do all vehicles in the cold weather this way and haven't had a single problem since we added this t tour cold weather restoration process. When I first started cold weather restorations three years ago, the lens did turn white and we made this change. No challenges since.

Its slows down the process a bit but its better than not working at all.
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Brent Deines
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Re: Dealing with temps and the lack of light?

Post by Brent Deines »

Good tips on the alcohol and turning on the headlights!
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Re: Dealing with temps and the lack of light?

Post by Old Blue 66 »

The alcohol also does a nice job of taking making sure all compunds are off the lens surface too. I like to use it all year but is espesially helpfell in the cold weather.The trick is that it HAS TO BE 99.9% water free or your defeating the purpose.
Paul Weinstein
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