06 XC70 headlight covers - do they have a coating? Topic is solved

Post by **scot850** » 12 Apr 2022, 17:43

I am trying to polish the headlights on my son's 06 XC70. But on removing them from the car and the rubber strip off the top, it looks like there has been some coating put on the headlights. It has not been done in our ownership (10 years).

I am finding it near impossible to get a consistent finish to the surface. I t looks like there is a 'wave' across the headlight at about the mid-point like something has been allow to sag like paint.

Does anyone know if 10 years ago dealers were 2K painting headlights? This has effectively made polishing them impossible and I don't want to get too aggressive and damage them further.

Thanks,

Neil.

Post by **vtl** » 12 Apr 2022, 21:57

You see the remnants of the factory UV coating. It is very sturdy, so, yes, prepare for some pain the first time you polish the headlights.

Once the coating is gone, the headlights will dull and yellow in no matter of time unless re-coated immediately.

Herb Goltz · Post by **Herb Goltz** » 13 Apr 2022, 09:32

Hi Neil,

If you have friends in Europe, you can order replacement lenses from vparts.se:

https://vparts.se/de/volvo-xc70/xc70-00 ... 62401.html

185 Euros for a pair with a 5 year warranty, there's a video showing the replacement process involving a dremel and a heat gun:

I wish they had stuck with the glass lenses-- my 2004 still looks great, my 2006 not so much!

Post by **abscate** » 13 Apr 2022, 09:56

Can one replace the UV coating with a known good product?

Post by **vtl** » 13 Apr 2022, 10:09

abscate wrote: ↑13 Apr 2022, 09:56 Can one replace the UV coating with a known good product?

Lamin-X?

Post by **cn90** » 13 Apr 2022, 18:24

Do you have link to Lamin-X seller(s)?

Post by **matthew1** » 13 Apr 2022, 18:41

Here's an Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Lamin-x-V009CL-H ... s_li_ss_tl

It looks to me like Lamin-X sells through Amazon, like they have a seller account.

Post by **scot850** » 13 Apr 2022, 19:52

Is that a newer product? I was looking for a set (maybe I have a set??) of headlight guards but as the headlights were so dull I never fitted them. Different brand which no longer sells them. A local ex-Volvo sold them to me.

Finally got the headlights coated with Meguires HD headlight restoration product. Started yesterday and got to the last stage to find the applicator for the protectant was missing from the box. Maguires cannot easily be contacted as their phones are not being manned because of Covid? They said to e-mail or message with them, except they have no message facility on their website.
They were quick to respond and offer to send a replacement...............Hm............!
Product is out of stock nearly everywhere here and good old Amazon (sorry Matthew) charge $15 more for it!! Finally got from Canadian Tire who just got a shipment in today. Yay! Shame the one they sold me did not have the applicator in it.

Still believe there was some clear lacquer on the headlights. When I removed the plastic filler piece around the top of the headlight unit, the material that was on there stopped at the edge of the seal and was peeling. Anyway, they look way better than they were!

So hopefully tomorrow I can re-assemble the car once the sealer has fully hardened. I have to replace all the minor bulbs and then put the car back together, but only once my friends 98 V70 is fixed. I'm getting like some of the other guys on here where this is becoming a job!

I like the idea of the replacement covers. Shame they don't ship to North America or UK. I might have to call on my brother is Sweden to ship me a set!!

Neil.

Post by **Skymongrel** » 22 Apr 2022, 18:25

I've done a few of my cars by aggresively sanding down with wet sandpaper (best to remove headlights), 400, 600 and 800 grit. Didn't go too fine as I wanted to leave something for clear coat to stick to. Test your sanding by putting water on it to see if you've missed spots.

Then I used a two part auto clear coat, name was something like Clear 2K and an activator in bottom of spray can. Work very well, on close inspection you can detect a bit of orange peel but that could be my technique. Lenses were bright and shiny, like new.

Make sure to get the very edges with sanding and clear coat because if it is gonna peel that's were it will start.

Post by **jonesg** » 23 Apr 2022, 07:56

the coating is harder than the plastic, like ditzler clear on top of a car paint job.

When the plastic is molded the crystals that contact the mold are forced to lay flat to the mold by capillary action, this produces the shine and gloss on the surface, below the surface the crystals are a jumble, like jumbled straw.
When the surface is refinished the flat crystals are removed and the jumbled ones form the new surface, they are very prone to weathering.

You can see this in a choc candy bar, the top surface is shiny but when snapped in half the inside is dull and uneven.