Headlight Covers

[phantom]

Need some help...I am planning to install headlight/foglight covers by Stongard purchased through IPD. I have the bi-xenon lamps on our new '04 and am wondering if heat build-up and cracking of the glass lens can occur on either the headlights or foglights. IPD states that the material is 80 mil which seems quite thick to me. They say it has been tested to 200 degrees using high out put lamps without affecting the lenses. Anyone have experience with heavy film on the lights or know of problems? Could the lens warranty be voided?

[AGXC70]

I doubt its 80 MILLIMETERS thick... which is 8 centimeteres which is over 3 inches. ;)

-G

[tooberand]

80 mil vinyl refers to a specification used in the manufacturing process of the vinyl (I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I bet someone here does). The actual Stongaurd protectors are 1/16" inch thick.

[Art]

The unit measurement of 1 mil (milli-inch) is = to .001 inch. Thus making the Stongard product closer to 1/12". Wow, that's still pretty thick film. I've got 20 mil Ricochet (http://www.ricochetprotects.com/en/home.php) on the headlamps/foglights and find it to be sufficient. Haven't experienced any of the issues that Phantom's mentioned and film has been on since day one.

[Pennhaven]

I installed the Stongard covers on my head lights and fog lights and am generally satisfied. I do not have Xenon lights so can't offer any guidance on whether that would make any difference. I would not expect that heat from the lights would adversely affect the film, but I suppose there is a possibility that the film would raise the temperature inside the light assembly and adversely affect the life of the lights.

Some installation tips.
The installation is not that difficult - once you have done one light and get the hang of it - but it would be nice if Stongard supplied an extra light cover for you to practice on, as you will likely make a few mistakes on the first one.
At the time of my installation StonGard had detailed installation instructions on their Web Site (http://www.stongard.com/sgcontent/how_apply_sgl.asp) . These were more complete than the printed ones that come with the product. But I was unable to find those instructions on the site today, so hopefully the printed ones have been improved by now.
Work very slowly and carefully to avoid trapping air bubbles, and to make sure that you are aligning the film properly.
I found it worked better to start the film at one edge of the lens, not in the center of the light as the printed intructions recommended.
Peel the film back immediately if you do trap some air, but be very careful not to touch the adhesive side of the film with anything other than the backing paper.
Do the job after a rain when the airborne dust and static attraction are minimized.

I did my fog lights first, on a dry winter day, and was disappointed by the amount of visible dust and fuzz was trapped behind the film. I did the headlights after a spring shower and there was no detectable dust. The only other problem I had was that upper outer corner of the film did not adhere completely to one head light. I believe that this was because I got the alignment off just a tad and the film overlapped the edge of the lens. It is barely noticeable, but I suspect most people on this forum, like me, would prefer that the job to be 99.9 percent perfect, not just 98%. ;)