Warning to anyone trying this. Do not use any xylene-containing products on the headlight assembly after using this vapour kit. The glass layer that is formed by the vapour is a very high stress, high shear shell. It will not stand up to the stresses created by products like certain panel prep solutions (with xylene inside), or practically all clear coat sprays. Furthermore, the surface will rapidly degrade if left unprotected. I saw a noticeable difference in my test lights after only a few weeks in the British springtime sunlight. While the results from the vapour process are immediate and stunning, they are very short-lived. I have a test underway using a clear PPF wrap which is so far holding up very well in the sun, but only time will tell if it really holds.
i do this for a side job and i use the vapor kit with acetone it has no uv in it nothing is permanent add a ceramic coating on top it will last a while 👍
I've tested with acetone and found it to work well but you need to keep the headlight warm throughout the process in order to minimise condensate formation on the surface of the headlight. The mystery blue liquid in the kits did not suffer from condensation at all in my tests, but with acetone in ambient temps of less than 15c, condensation was awful and any amount of it quickly warps the polycarbonate.
I'm surprised they started at 180 but the end results look pretty nice. I found myself wondering the blue liquid is acetone based or some other chemical that can dissolve plastic.
I agree, the 180 seemed pretty dang aggressive. Next time I do it I'll likely skip the 180. I think you're right about the acetone. I don't think it was heat alone that got these results (as it never got very hot).
It has almost no smell. If you accidentally spill it on the headlight, it will immediately dissolve into the light causing severe warping. And its vapour reflows PC just like acetone does, but it is definitely not acetone. I suspect it is another methyl ketone but pretty confident it's not acetone.
