Do the Toyota Camry headlight polishers actually work well?

On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 08:11:15 -0700, Oren wrote:

> Danny,
>
> My wife took our cars to Sam's Club Auto Center to have the headlights
> restored, last year. Cost ~$30 and has a 5 year warranty. They still
> look great. Living in the desert with blowing sand and UV damage.
>
> I didn't have to do any work :-|
>
> Sam's Club Headlight Renewal:
>
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9RyTa2fVJg>

You know your huckleberries, so I trust your opinion.
That means the stuff works.
And $15/headlight is in this kid's budget!
Thanks!

On 7/16/2017 8:30 PM, Danny D. wrote:

> Where can we get a handful of free "aluminum oxide" & "dimethicone"?

Try polishing the lights with some toothpaste or BonAmi polishing cleanser.

On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 15:16:15 -0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
> wrote:

>On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 08:11:15 -0700, Oren wrote:
>
>> Danny,
>>
>> My wife took our cars to Sam's Club Auto Center to have the headlights
>> restored, last year. Cost ~$30 and has a 5 year warranty. They still
>> look great. Living in the desert with blowing sand and UV damage.
>>
>> I didn't have to do any work :-|
>>
>> Sam's Club Headlight Renewal:
>>
>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9RyTa2fVJg>
>
>You know your huckleberries, so I trust your opinion.
>That means the stuff works.
>And $15/headlight is in this kid's budget!
>Thanks!

IIRC, Sam's adds a clear UV protection coating after the finish. Not
sure any DIY kits have that included. Sam's did the work, a warranty
and I stayed lazy :-)

On 7/17/17 12:15 PM, Oren wrote:
> On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 15:16:15 -0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
> > wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 08:11:15 -0700, Oren wrote:
>>
>>> Danny,
>>>
>>> My wife took our cars to Sam's Club Auto Center to have the headlights
>>> restored, last year. Cost ~$30 and has a 5 year warranty. They still
>>> look great. Living in the desert with blowing sand and UV damage.
>>>
>>> I didn't have to do any work :-|
>>>
>>> Sam's Club Headlight Renewal:
>>>
>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9RyTa2fVJg>
>>
>> You know your huckleberries, so I trust your opinion.
>> That means the stuff works.
>> And $15/headlight is in this kid's budget!
>> Thanks!
>
> IIRC, Sam's adds a clear UV protection coating after the finish. *Not
> sure any DIY kits have that included*. Sam's did the work, a warranty
> and I stayed lazy :-)

$30 to have it done is nice. However the Sylvania $20 kit does include
UV block.

Kit contents:

1 oz. Surface Activator
1/2 oz. Clarifying Compound
1 oz. UV Block Clear Coat
Waterproof Premium Sandpaper (400, 1000 & 2000 grit)
Applicator and Polish Cloths
Vinyl Glove

On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 12:39:00 -0400, Retired > wrote:

>On 7/17/17 12:15 PM, Oren wrote:
>> On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 15:16:15 -0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 08:11:15 -0700, Oren wrote:
>>>
>>>> Danny,
>>>>
>>>> My wife took our cars to Sam's Club Auto Center to have the headlights
>>>> restored, last year. Cost ~$30 and has a 5 year warranty. They still
>>>> look great. Living in the desert with blowing sand and UV damage.
>>>>
>>>> I didn't have to do any work :-|
>>>>
>>>> Sam's Club Headlight Renewal:
>>>>
>>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9RyTa2fVJg>
>>>
>>> You know your huckleberries, so I trust your opinion.
>>> That means the stuff works.
>>> And $15/headlight is in this kid's budget!
>>> Thanks!
>>
>> IIRC, Sam's adds a clear UV protection coating after the finish. *Not
>> sure any DIY kits have that included*. Sam's did the work, a warranty
>> and I stayed lazy :-)
>
>$30 to have it done is nice. However the Sylvania $20 kit does include
>UV block.
>
>Kit contents:
>
> 1 oz. Surface Activator
> 1/2 oz. Clarifying Compound
> 1 oz. UV Block Clear Coat
> Waterproof Premium Sandpaper (400, 1000 & 2000 grit)
> Applicator and Polish Cloths
> Vinyl Glove

Yeah butt, DIY kits don't give a warranty for labor. Sam's gives five
year warranty. Total $30 and no labor at my house.

Oren > wrote:
>
>Yeah butt, DIY kits don't give a warranty for labor. Sam's gives five
>year warranty. Total $30 and no labor at my house.

Wait a minute, this is your kid's car?

Sheesh, buy the $5 kit and make HIM do the work.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 12:39:00 -0400, Retired wrote:

> $30 to have it done is nice. However the Sylvania $20 kit does include
> UV block.
>
> Kit contents:
>
> 1 oz. Surface Activator
> 1/2 oz. Clarifying Compound
> 1 oz. UV Block Clear Coat
> Waterproof Premium Sandpaper (400, 1000 & 2000 grit)
> Applicator and Polish Cloths
> Vinyl Glove

I like to know how things work, since there's usually no magic involved.
Looking up the Sylvania kit, is this the combination you are talking about?
http://www.osram-americas.com/en-us/...ation-kit.aspx

$18 SYLVANIA Headlight Restoration Kit
https://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-HRK-.../dp/B00429NKWK

$12 SYLVANIA Headlight Restoration UV Block Clear Coat, 1 fl. oz.
https://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-HRK-...01KIVYE6G?th=1

It's a multipart where this has some of the permutations & combinations:
https://www.opticatonline.com/part/s...estoration-kit

It seems (almost?) impossible to find the MSDS for this stuff online, so I
can't tell you what's in it yet. I have a call open to Sylvania at
1.800.729.3777 to ask them to email them to me though.

I realize I take a different approach than almost everyone here in that I
don't stay on the same well-worn trails that everyone else does. To me,
product solutions just commodities that are just basic chemicals.

The work is in finding out what the chemicals are, and in figuring out what
they do that matters - which is the fun part.

So far, it seems that the uv block is just simethicone (silicone) and the
restoration part is just aluminum oxide (grit) but that's only a basic
assumption based on the 3M results.

I'll let you know what Sylvania comes up with as their "magic" ingredients.

On 17 Jul 2017 14:02:27 -0400, Scott Dorsey wrote:

> Wait a minute, this is your kid's car?
>
> Sheesh, buy the $5 kit and make HIM do the work.

It's not as simple as that.
It's not my kid and she's a few hundred miles away.
I'm just doing the research because they TRUST me to know the answers.

For example, I taught them that cheap acetone is better than nail polish,
and they've been using that ever since.

I told them that vinegar works wonders in the kitchen (for getting rid of
scale in pots and glasses) and they love the simplicity.

I taught them that mayonaise in a jar is horrid stuff compared to what
their grandma makes with just an egg, oil, and lemon juice. Likewise with
whipped cream that is made from real cream.

It's similar to the fact that they've never once bought salad dressing in a
jar (where they pluck the tomato and parsley and basil themselves from
outside) nor have they ever eaten pasta without sauce from the same
ingredients from home.

To me, they know that to buy a headlight restoration kit would be like to
buy a microwavable TV dinner or ready-made popcorn or frozen orange juice
or any number of barely edible things which have no business being sold to
human beings who can think about what it is that they are consuming.

So for me, the fun is in figuring out what the "magic" is, whereas in most
people, it seems, they drink the jimjones punch and just buy the "magic
solution" without even thinking about what is inside that they already
might have at home.

Mayonaise is a good example. Ice cream also. If you ever made it (and I'm
sure most of you have), you realize they're just basic ingredients - but if
you look on the label of the store-bought stuff - you'd be horrified
instantly.

I'm no "organic" evangelist (my tomatoes outside fertilized with coyote
poop are just as organic as anything bought for double the price in the
fancy grocery store).

I just believe in figuring out the "mystery" in marvel mystery oil (which
is just light sewing machine oil - which is itself just a light petroleum
distillate - which is pretty much in almost everything).

This kid is taught that gasoline is a commodity (tier 1 at Costco being
good enough) and that motor oil, despite the outlandish claims, is motor
oil (SN being good enough and API viscosities being essentially meaningless
in California - and yes - I know what they indicate).

Too many people, I believe, think that our "consumer" society requires
these magical mystery claims when the polisher appears to be a fine grit
and a silicone protectant ... which is fine if that's the case ... but I'm
still working on what it is.

On 7/16/2017 10:27 PM, Danny D. wrote:
> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 21:52:59 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> That would depends on where suburbia is. In the snowbelt, the roads
>> are salted and sanded and that can have an effect. Obviously that is
>> only a prtion of the problem but look at windshields after 60,000 miles.
>
> Califonria suburbia. The environment doesn't get any easier than
> California, except for the
> full-time sun - there's almost no dirt, grit, salt, or cold to worry about.
>
>> I'd bet on UV. It is not kind to plastics.
>
> I'd bet on the California UV also, as the plastic is "foggy".

There is always grit to worry about on the road.
I know the formula used for scratch resistant plastic but cannot divulge
it. It would basically be applied like a wax. That's why it may be in
a lens refinish kit but I do not know for sure. These finishes are also
used on plastic eyeglass lens which easily scratch. Composition I had
seen was for acrylic sheets.

Both acrylic and polycarbonate have good outdoor resistance but both are
much softer than glass and easily scratched and dulled. Years ago I had
a watch with plastic lens that I occasionally restored clarity with
tooth paste. Toothpaste contains particulate that will not scratch teeth
but is a mistake to use on plastic dentures as it could wear them. I
have an old dental bridge that once had a plastic coating. Now years
later after years of brushing it is gone and all metal.

On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 18:15:29 -0000 (UTC), Danny D. wrote:

> This kid is taught that gasoline is a commodity (tier 1 at Costco being
> good enough) and that motor oil, despite the outlandish claims, is motor
> oil (SN being good enough and API viscosities being essentially meaningless
> in California - and yes - I know what they indicate).

Ooops. I meant SAE viscosities are meaningless in practical terms where I
live, but you knew what I meant (API being for the SN or SM, which is good
enough for any kid's car).

My point is that it's worthwhile to figure out the "magic" in the
ingredients where basic chemistry is the rule, not the mystery.

To that end Sylvania sent the MSDF which is a bit cryptic:
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET #080513HRKUVBCC HRK UV BLock Clear Coat
Bottled By: Dvelup 888-350-2932
Stoddard Solvent CAS 8052-41-3
Stoddard Solvent CAS 64742-88-7
Where the MSDS says "This products formula is considered a trade secret,
the exact chemical names of the ingredient(s) and the percentages in which
they are combined will not appear in the body of this sheet. The exact
composition is available upon request to physicians, industrial hygienists
and other health professionals."

The "secret ingredients" are probably just dimethicone, but that's what
I'll try to find out.