Tinting Old Headlights

I was that guy when I bought those knock off headlights you find all over the place and quickly found out that aiming them was basically impossible. Drove like that till a bulb burned out and swapped back in the old lights.

 

Hahahaha I did the same thing on my old '02 Ram 1500 before I sold it. It only took 3 aftermarket assemblies to find a legit one from an actual company that was good.

Here’s how they started

 

 

During the sanding

 

 

After the ReNuLite

 

 

Crystal clear. I’m going to order the laminx and toss them on ASAP.

Also added the Vleds so we’ll see how those work out tonight. They seemed brighter when I compared 1 halogen to 1 vled in a well lit garage.

Sub. Interested in Lamin x whole headlight result.

sub. Interested in lamin x whole headlight result.

 

+1

Is this the stuff you used?

 

 

Presta RENULITE Headlight SEALANT (PST-139603) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074FD832L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_tDQ7EbN40AJ19

 

 

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Yea but mine came in a kit at a Levine auto parts store. They apparently used to sell like a small spray bottle but this was all I could find. Doesn’t exactly leave you with much left in the end. I almost would’ve rather paid the $50 people were talking about for the larger amount so I could’ve really laid a thick layer on.

 

What a lovely surprise...looks like ReNuLite isn’t very durable. I don’t see how it’s possible to layer it up as was suggested given the amount they provide you in this bullshit kit. Does anyone have a source for the product in bulk and not in kit form? If not I WOULD NOT recommend. I’m gonna have to go back to that spar urethane again.

Today I repeated the process of sanding and polishing but instead went with the tried and true SPAR UV protectant. Came out great.

 

The plan was to give the lights a good 6 hours to dry and then apply the lamin-x film I bought. Turns out the film has an adhesive backing to it and if you need to adjust when applying, you have to peel the film off. Not the best idea after spending the morning applying a bunch of layers of liquid protectant. The film peeled off the 3 hours of work I’d done already which left my light looking patchy and shitty and rendered the film useless as it no longer had any adhesive on the patches that came off my light.

 

I just spent the last hour adding more layers to build up the SPAR back on my light to make the patches fade away. Debating taking the car to a shop to have a film professionally installed and letting them know what I’ve done regarding the protection. This whole process has been exactly the headache I expected.

it is definitely maddening when you try to do things right and then it goes south. How does the varnish look? The renulite result is disturbing - did you reach out to them? The material is UV curable, so you need some time in the sun for it to cure. Maybe it's a bad batch and they left out the curative?

I used a Maguires refinishing (sanding and two applications of goo that was supposed to cure) kit on my fog lights and after allowing for curing time I tried the Lamin-x overlays. They slid around and wouldn’t adhere. Had to remove and clean off the uncured finish. Eventually worked but PITA and not the outcome I was looking for. When these LED fog bulbs go, if ever, I’ll get the Ford LED fog assemblies and do a Lamin-x overlay off the bat.

it is definitely maddening when you try to do things right and then it goes south. How does the varnish look? The renulite result is disturbing - did you reach out to them? The material is UV curable, so you need some time in the sun for it to cure. Maybe it's a bad batch and they left out the curative?

 

The varnish looks great. Goes on clear and you’d just think they were new headlights. The ReNuLite was sold with such a small amount of the product that I don’t think I could’ve ever layered enough onto the lights to get the same outcome as those that bought the stuff back when it was sold in a spray bottle. The ReNuLite was cured and the whole process was done as the instructions called for. They looked great for the week or 2 that they didn’t peel.

 

This really sucks though. This car looks great with tinted lenses.