I bought new headlight assemblies for my 02 Honda Civic, along with a can of spray max 2k clear coat. I intend on giving them a spray to prevent any future yellowing/ damage to the plastic. Do I need to do any prep to the new headlights besides cleaning them before I spray? I don’t want to sand the new headlights if I don’t need to.
Does clear coat block UV?
I wouldn’t sand them. Spray if you want to, but how many more years will you keep it? The last headlights lasted EDIT 20 years.
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I would not clear coat new headlight, just use a wax with UV protection every 90-120 days.
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Perhaps that’s 20 years.
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If clearcoating would resolve the yellowing problem, don’t you think all headlights would already come with a clearcoat?
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All polymers block UV. Actually, the UV light breaks bonds in the polymer (basically all polymers) and the UV is spent in probably far less than a millimeter. That’s why polymers turn yellow or fog up.
One 1992 Toyota Camry headlight is fairly clear. 2010 replaced aftermarket one is a bit more yellow. Why not just make the plastic like they did in 1992?