POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

[Just for fun]

Practicing my TIG welding. Made a drip pan for my lathe. I painted it this afternoon but failed to get a photo of it.

 

[GoceKU]

Last month i've been so busy i haven't even visited my garages, anyone who works in education know why. But today i had a job that could not wait any more. I needed to do something to improve the headlights on the White elephant No:2. Drivers side was worse by the looks someone has clearcoted it and that coat had failed worse. It had Octavia written on it so its a junkyard part. I spent more than 2 hours sending it and polishing it but that coat is very thick. I made an improvement but it needs both headlight replaced.

 

[WobblyHand]

@GoceKU My car recently failed inspection. One of the lights was close to that. I used a plastic polish and it looked like new. The polish is like a liquid wax with some very fine cleaner. Apply like wax, let dry a minute and wipe off with a towel. It took me longer to find the polish in the garage than to use it. Maybe next time you can find some. Since you maintain a lot of vehicles, it could be a good time saver.

 

[GoceKU]

@GoceKU My car recently failed inspection. One of the lights was close to that. I used a plastic polish and it looked like new. The polish is like a liquid wax with some very fine cleaner. Apply like wax, let dry a minute and wipe off with a towel. It took me longer to find the polish in the garage than to use it. Maybe next time you can find some. Since you maintain a lot of vehicles, it could be a good time saver.

I use P600,P1000,P2000,P3000 sandpaper, then paint polish on a drill and finally 2-3 coats of carnauba wax. This vehicle has over half a million Km on the clock and in my country headlights are required even in daylight, its not only baked from the sun is also from inside.

 

[wachuko]

@GoceKU My car recently failed inspection. One of the lights was close to that. I used a plastic polish and it looked like new. The polish is like a liquid wax with some very fine cleaner. Apply like wax, let dry a minute and wipe off with a towel. It took me longer to find the polish in the garage than to use it. Maybe next time you can find some. Since you maintain a lot of vehicles, it could be a good time saver.

I had to do this on two of my cars… but I first started with sandpaper… different grits until finishing with 3000. All wet sanding.



Then the last step was with plastic polish. And right after that I installed Xpel clear film… Problem solved.

 

[WobblyHand]

I know what I did was temporary, but it worked well, with minimal effort. The right way is to do it the way @GoceKU and @wachuko did it. What prevents my approach from lasting is there's no UV barrier. UV light is the primary agent of the fogging, unless you live in an area with sand storms. I have yet to figure out a good UV barrier for my headlights. You can buy lots of overpriced stuff, but it is difficult to find a product that works and is not full of meaningless marketing talk.

Anyone know of a fairly priced UV coating that works? How long does it last? How is it applied, just wiping on, or sprayed? If you use it once do you have to keep on using it, due to incompatible chemistry issues? My current solution is to redo the lights every few years. I'm still using the same bottle of polish for about 10 years. Might need to get some more in 4-5 years.

 

[wachuko]

I know what I did was temporary, but it worked well, with minimal effort. The right way is to do it the way @GoceKU and @wachuko did it. What prevents my approach from lasting is there's no UV barrier. UV light is the primary agent of the fogging, unless you live in an area with sand storms. I have yet to figure out a good UV barrier for my headlights. You can buy lots of overpriced stuff, but it is difficult to find a product that works and is not full of meaningless marketing talk.

Anyone know of a fairly priced UV coating that works? How long does it last? How is it applied, just wiping on, or sprayed? If you use it once do you have to keep on using it, due to incompatible chemistry issues? My current solution is to redo the lights every few years. I'm still using the same bottle of polish for about 10 years. Might need to get some more in 4-5 years.

The previous coatings I used still ended up degrading after awhile... Using the Xpel film was the only thing that worked for me... It was around 50.00 for each headlight pre-cut kit. But pretty sure you can use any UV resistant clear film with the same results.

This is the brand I used...

XPEL | Headlight Protection Film | Pre-Cut Kits | Find Your Vehicle

Keep your headlights from fogging, yellowing, cracking, and damage free with XPEL pre-cut headlight protection.

www.xpel.com

 

[GoceKU]

I've used acrylic clear coat, it yellows. I've also used PPF film it also fails, best i've found is carnauba wax, last 3-6 months depends winter or summer.

 

[WobblyHand]

@GoceKU that's interesting. Funny you you mention carnauba wax. I have a block of solid 100% carnauba wax. Might be 1/2 kg, maybe more. It is the hardest wax I have ever seen. Wish I knew how to make it into a high grade wax. I have an ancient Chemical Formulary book, but the recipe uses materials that are hard to find these days. Does anyone on HM know how (and could share how) to make your own carnauba wax from raw materials?

 

[Karl A]

Carnauba wax is a natural product -- from the leaves of palm trees that grow in Brazil. Making ones own carnauba wax from raw materials would be quite a trick.

POTD: Holder of 1/4-inch square HSS tool bits, to make honing on diamond stones easier.


I started with 5/8-inch square 6061 aluminum stock, 5 inches long, in lieu of 5/8-inch round stock because I have not yet made a jaw with a V for my mill vise. I milled the slot first, followed by forming the 10-32 threads for the two set screws. The third step was turning the square cross-section to round. This was the first time that I turned a square bar to a round bar on a lathe.

This was a gratifying little project.