Headlight lens restoration
 

Removed my headlights last week (whilst renewing the bonnet release cables and servicing the catches on the ZT-T), used a restoration kit i bought from eBay whilst they were removed, got a nice clear finish then applied the sealer following the instructions to the letter .
Happy with the results I refitted the headlamps and all was fine until today when it rained, now the sealant has gone opaque and is very sticky to the touch:eek:
Does anyone have suggestions as to method of removing said 'sealant' and recommendations for a quality restoration kit to rectify the issue.
P.S, I looked at the traders feedback on ebay and although it shows 99.8% positive feedback, he has several negatives complaining about the sealant in his kits 'pure superglue' was one description! (Should have looked harder before purchasing, fooled by his apparently good feedback).
Many thanks, Paul.

Hya Paul. It's hard to guess what's happened, but in my experience, the UV sealant needs to fully cure before exposure to wet weather. I suspect that's the crux of the problem. The current weather conditions (cold and damp) aren't very conducive to obtaining a fully dried/cured film. It sounds like the finish here is a water-based formula, so the effect of rain on the uncured film is to re-dissolve it.

As to removing the now damaged finish, I suspect you'll have more work ahead. I suppose it might remove completely using hot water and a detergent. Maybe try it on a small area first. If that makes things worse, I think you'll have to let it cure fully and re-start from square one.

I'd recommend using a separate finisher laquer from the type that often comes with the sanding kits. These seem little more than a wet wipe. You can get aerosol applied UV laquers which are non-aqueous but do require reasonably warm and dry conditions to fully harden. Always read the instructions. This is the stuff I used around eighteen months ago and so far so good.

https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/01...ds2fcjjh6g.jpg
TC

The kit I used was a sanding/polishing kit and the sealant came with it, applied by wiping on with a supplied applicator sponge.
The sealant when applied had quite a 'chemical' smell to it and although i followed the instruction it appears it hasn't cured, my worry is it will eat into the surface of the lens.
One other thing to note was the polish had set solid in the sachets, so maybe the kits had been stored incorrectly before sale.
I will remove the bumper when I rectify this and am prepared to start from scratch as it were.

Might be an idea (for any kit) to use a heat gun on a lowish setting to give a curative effect.

Kev

If you have a local friendly body shop get them to do them, they just need to run some wet and dry over them to key the surface and a coat of lacquer when they are doing another job. The last set my local body shop did he just charged me £20. Most paint finishes need lacquer these days so its very easy for them.

Dont be tempted to do it with a rattle can lacquer as any imperfections will be very visible.

The set on my that they did 2 years ago are still looking new.