HELP!! headlight sanding + clearcoat not working

[Murphy]

so, i followed the steps in the sticky

i put some water in the bathtub, just enough to splash on it, not submerge it
then i started with 200g and than went to 400g and 800g and finaly 1000g and it was pretty, though it was cloudy from the scrathes when it was dry, i thought the clearcoat would get rid of it

well the problem is, that when i apply the clear coat, it is crystal clear, looks like glass, but as soon as it begins to dry it starts to get that "crackle" effect, it clouds over with the clear lines in it that sorta look like cracks
if this helps any, its 93* outside but i did in the basment were its about 75*, it dries in about 2-3 minutes, i tried putting it in the fridge earlier but got the same affect
is that whats called "orange peal"?
how can i make it stop?


i going into town later to get a different type of clear coat, this was DupliColor Adhesion Promoter (clear primer for automotive plastic), maybe i can just get straight semi or high gloss clear coat

[Murphy]

well the third time i did it i used actual clear coat and i also got it sanded cleaner than the other times, it came out pretty decent after i sprayed it, its not great but better
the only problem now is the moisture inside the lamp now

does anyone know a good method of removing the moisture without opening it up? will it eventualy dry out???

[realfinn]

I wouldn't put the bulbs in and run with much moisture in there. The bulbs like to explode. The best way I have every done it is to take the bulbs out and just carefully use a hair dryer or heat gun. this normally burns off all the water. Just be careful not to get it too hot.

Next time you try to clear your headlights do the sanding like the thread says but try to buy some lite rubbing compound. This works a lot better than just wet sanding. I use the rubbing compound and really push down on the plastic. This takes most of the haze away. I actually don't even clear coat them. I haven't had a yellowing issue yet, and its been 2 years. If your carful you don't really need to take the headlight out of the car. Just do all the sanding and have someone trickle a garden hose overy the headlight. This seems easier to me.

[sacaccess]

To remove water inside the housing... Pour Rubbing Alcohol into the headlike Swish it around really good and dump it out... use hair dryer... the alchohol will seperate the water and it will rinse it out and the alchohol drys hella fast..

[smh0101]

Get a smaller (or higher I never remember) grit sandpaper like 1200 grit the higher the number the better.

[Murphy]

well i was going to try a hair dryer in hopes that my sister left hers here last time she was in, but she didnt
i also looked for rubing alchol but couldnt find any, so i got the next best thing
a wire and shoppe towels!!

it worked pretty good and somehow dirt had gotten in them, so after they were cleaned it looks twice as good now, tonight im going to drive out and see what the differenece is, i have high hopes

yeah i probably will try it a little different next time, like a higher grit

thanks for the sugestions everyone

[jake15]

yeah, depending on how bad the lights are, i'll start off wetsanding with a 220 or a 440, go to a 600 (still wetsanding), then to a 1,500 (still wetsanding). then after i'm done sanding, i get out the buffer and some buffing compound and buff them to perfection

[Legacy777]

Did you put the lights in the freezer or fridge? Having the lights cold really is what helps the finish turn out good.

[realfinn]

I am tempted to say that its not the cold that makes the CC turn out good on the light, rather the stable humidity. When I started painting cars (back when I had a cheap ass garage) I had a lot of problems keeping the room warm enough to get the clear coat to dry right. If I remember correctly the CC will "fog" up if you shoot cold.

[Legacy777]

Well....I live in Houston, and it is HUMID.....

[IronMonkeyL255]

I didn't have a problem until I waited until everything was dry to attempt a new coat of clear, then I ended up with horrendous cracking in the CC.....

[Legacy777]

I did my turn signal lamps and they cracked real bad.

So there definitely is a way to do it.