Originally Posted by onehundred80
You say I am wrong and then go on to point out what I was commenting on. He was leaving it in a sanded condition and relying on a clear coat to rectify the fogginess.
I didn't say you were wrong, I said sanding was exactly what needs to be done.
I think one of your eyes rolled under your computer desk. Take it easy on that stuff man.
If it's foggy under the clear coat the light will not be as sharply emitted as if was polished.
We obviously completely agree on this point.
I would not add clear coat to my lenses as the coating will chip and be hard to polish out. To refinish them again would involve removing the clear coat and then refinishing the plastic.
This goes either way. There is a UV protective coating on the lenses from the factory. When you sand, buff and polish to get rid of the cloudiness, you get rid of some or all of that coating. A high end clear, with a high solids content, will have a good amount of UV protection.
If you don't clear the headlights, they will cloud up again more quickly.
If you do clear them, use a good clear with built in flex additive, or add a flex agent, they shouldn't chip, and it should last a long time. I might even consider using a scratch resistant/self healing clear on them.
According to the 3M lab, it doesn't really make much difference whether you clear them or not.