Windshield Repair Forum

So after my first attempt, I will need to redo them. They look good as far as all the old coating cleaning up, but they still have a little haze to them...not crystal clear. Without seeing pictures, where do you think I messed up and what step do I need to go back to? My steps were 320, 500, 800, 1200, 1500 and 3000.

What kind of car?

2006 Toyota Corolla

Sometimes you don't see the crystal clear till you apply the coating. What coating did you use? Ensure you had the correct mix ratio. After the 320 you should have penetrated the original coating. The others are for smoothing the lens out. The 1500 & 3000 should have begun the polishing phase. Clean the lens after the 1200 , 1500, and 3000. If you did all that, I have no quick answer for you. Do a practice lens.

I didn't apply the coating because I thought the lens wasn't complete. I will apply the coating to my practice lens and see if it clears up.

BlakRam wrote:I didn't apply the coating because I thought the lens wasn't complete. I will apply the coating to my practice lens and see if it clears up.

There's your problem. An uncoated or unpolished lens is never crystal clear after sanding.

On a Corolla, 320 is NEVER needed nor on any other Toyota. The coatings on those cars are very weak and come off very easily. You'll find that on many cars as not all cars need the same sanding method. Thats learned over time.

Having said that and if you've already used it, as long as yo have done the sanding process correctly, they should be clear but have a gray hue to them.

If this is your first lens, good luck. If you want a few pointers that will take the finish to the next level other than the sanding process suggested by our host, send me a PM. Its my opinion that this procedure is very basic and can easily be improved on using a couple of finishing discs at 1200 and 1500 instead of the Indasa Redline and the use of a compound.

Let us know how they looked after you applied the coating. Ensure you clean the lens with the clear-prep after you polish with the 3000 foam pad. Then apply the coating with a folded blue shop towel. Tear a sheet in half, then tri fold. ensure it is wet. Don't overlap. If you miss a spot wait a few minutes, then touch that spot up with a WET portion of your towel.

I usually do wet sanding and polishing, so I am used to getting a crystal clear result before applying a coating. I will apply the coating and see what happens. The clean2prep says to wash off with water, which I did. Do you guys wash off? I usually use alcohol to clean. Opinions on alcohol vs clean2prep?

I usually wash off with water. You will find people do HLRs using different methods and still gets a great result.