Veil Application (First Impressions) and a Question to Veil

[scrapser]

I just finished putting Veil on my 350Z and thought I'd share my take on the product.

First off, the 350Z has unusual headlight lens covers. They are about 8 to 9 inches wide and slope vertically towards the front of the car about 20 inches. This makes long horizontal brush strokes impossible. Applying with vertical strokes is easier but you lose the benefit of gravity helping to level out the coating.

Do not use masking tape to mask the paint around the lens. When the Veil soaks into the tape, it dissolves the adhesive and starts to raise the paint. Fortunately, I saw this almost immediately as the tape lifted off the paint and was in the way of my brush strokes. I stopped everything and removed the rest of the tape, Veil, cleaned the car and started again. I was able to buff out the effected paint area.

Veil looks like dirty paint thinner when it goes on (or diluted ink if any of you are artists and familiar with using pen and ink). It has about the same viscosity as well (maybe a little thicker but not much). I shook the bottle for several minutes and let it stand for just over 5 minutes before using.

I used half the bottle as it took me 4 attempts to get it on looking anywhere close to acceptable. I used the same poly brush from Lowe's Home Improvement mentioned in another thread. The Lowe's brush has a much denser poly foam which is why it works so much better than those supplied with the kit (it's also wider). It did make a difference but there are still some visible streaks. To be fair, part of why I used so much Veil is because I tried experimenting with a mini-paint roller with a short nap to see how that would do with the application (it goes on with a mottled appearance instead of streaks).

Given that this stuff is so hard to apply, I think the manufacturer should be more generous with how much they supply for the price. I can't imagine anyone putting it on in the first two attempts with complete success, so it would be more fair to give enough for a couple practice runs (no pun intended). I also question if it really is that expensive to manufacture but it's a novelty item, so I guess marketing equations account for some of the pricing.

I really hope the product can be made to apply as a spray...perhaps thin enough so several coats would be required to achieve the necessary coat thickness. Either that or impregnate it in flexible plastic film that can be put on the lense much the same way as window tinting kits are done.

My experience was a pain in the butt. I hope it's worth it and while working on it kept thinking, "Maybe I should just slow down and save myself this headache." The fourth coat still has some streaks but is about as good as it's going to get I think. I don't look forward to putting it on again.

Here are some pics...







Look closely and you can see the streaks on each headlight.

My question is whether my Nissan emblem should be coated? It sits at a low angle relative to the ground so I figure any light that hits it is going to reflect upwards.

Thanks,
scrapser

[edweird]

That's a nice blue color.

Please post your observations on how light output is affected once you drive your car at night after the application.

Ed

[Veil Guy]

scrapser,

We're sorry to hear that you had some difficulty applying Veil.

Temperature is critical. If the temps are in the 70s, you should find that VEIL goes on much easier. Generally to minimize or eliminate streaks its best to start heavy with horizontal brush strokes on the top of the lenses and let gravity do the work.

We are alway looking to improve the product so your feedback is valuable.

The costs of materials to make VEIL are too prohibitive to allow us to really provide more for the current selling price...Most people (oh this forum) we believe generally fell that we provide too MUCH!

Keep us posted on your progress and experience. One good laser encounter will make a believer out of you, trust me.

Veil Guy 8)

[scrapser]

scrapser,

We're sorry to hear that you had some difficulty applying Veil.

Temperature is critical. If the temps are in the 70s, you should find that VEIL goes on much easier. Generally to minimize or eliminate streaks its best to start heavy with horizontal brush strokes on the top of the lenses and let gravity do the work.

We are alway looking to improve the product so your feedback is valuable.

The costs of materials to make VEIL are too prohibitive to allow us to really provide more for the current selling price...Most people (oh this forum) we believe generally fell that we provide too MUCH!

Keep us posted on your progress and experience. One good laser encounter will make a believer out of you, trust me.

Veil Guy 8)

Hey there,
Sorry if I sounded negative. I was really just trying to convey the effort level involved. I'm sure this varies depending on the car but for the Z, it's a b*tch! I was also experimenting with different application techniques.

I'm also a perfectionist and have gone out and looked at my car at least 6 times in the past few hours. The weather was around 82 with moderate humidity. I worked in the shade and did it around 10 AM (it was partly to mostly cloudy then but right now bright sunshine). Since taking those pictures, the coating has darkened quite a bit and taken on a dull, almost flat appearance. The streaks are not as noticeable either.

I do hope you guys figure a way to apply it as a spray...I think that would be the icing on the cake!

Thanks for your reply and I will keep you posted...I know where the laser traps tend to be located and will be making a 500 mile trip next weekend (which is why I got this stuff having been nailed with a $200 ticket the last time).

scrapser

[Gregor]

First off, the 350Z has unusual headlight lens covers.

Ya, those are some tough ones. If its not to hard to remove the lens assembly, you could pull them out and lay it on its side. That would also take care getting it on your paint.

Do not use masking tape to mask the paint around the lens.

I used the 3M blue tape and didn't have any problems.

It did make a difference but there are still some visible streaks.

Judging by the pictures it looks like the lens may need more prep before applying. I had a similar problem on one section of my lights, the rest of the light was fine, but there was bad streaking only in this one section. I removed the Viel, cleaned and re-cleaned with alcohol. On the final cleaning, I keep rubbing until the "slippery" feeling started to fade. After that it went on much smoother.

[scrapser]

First off, the 350Z has unusual headlight lens covers.

Ya, those are some tough ones. If its not to hard to remove the lens assembly, you could pull them out and lay it on its side. That would also take care getting it on your paint.

Do not use masking tape to mask the paint around the lens.

I used the 3M blue tape and didn't have any problems.

It did make a difference but there are still some visible streaks.

Judging by the pictures it looks like the lens may need more prep before applying. I had a similar problem on one section of my lights, the rest of the light was fine, but there was bad streaking only in this one section. I removed the Viel, cleaned and re-cleaned with alcohol. On the final cleaning, I keep rubbing until the "slippery" feeling started to fade. After that it went on much smoother.

You made some good points...the thought of taking out the headlight assembly never occurred to me. I'll look into it for the next application. Another thing that hit me was my prep work. I did clean the headlights thoroughly (twice) and again each time I re-applied. But I'm wondering if the alcohol was enough to clean the Klasse sealant glaze that I put on the car two months ago. That may have also been a factor.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Update: I checked what it would take to remove the headlight assembly. Oddly enough, you must remove the nose of the car (which is also the bumper) because the assembly is bolted inside the nose housing and must be pulled straight forward to unplug it.

scrapser

[scrapser]

That's a nice blue color.

Please post your observations on how light output is affected once you drive your car at night after the application.

Ed

I just went for a spin and the light (which is HID) now has more of a yellowish hue to it. It used to look like bright white light and when it hit the grass on the lawn in front of me where I park, the grass would look blue-green. Now the light looks just like the old style headlights produce.

I tried the high-beams which seems to bring back more of the bright white light. Both highs and lows appear adequate in range and intensity but I definitely lost some of the lumen output (I'd say about 25% on low beam and maybe 15% on high). I'm not dissatisfied with it.

I don't know if it's a rumor but I thought I read that Veil was working on making a clearer formula. Anybody know if this is true?

scrapser

[ob1 canola]

The costs of materials to make VEIL are too prohibitive to allow us to really provide more for the current selling price...Most people (oh this forum) we believe generally fell that we provide too MUCH! Laughing

I would have to agree .Half the amount for 40 bucks you would probably sell more..

[Veil Guy]

scrapser,

No need to apologize as I understand your frustration. And no, it didn't come off too negative - just honest.

That suggestion earlier was a good one. If your headlights have a build-up of some sort of polymer/polish that would certainly affect the final appearance.

With a nice car like that, I don't blame you wanting to get it right.

3M's Perfect-It is great for removing the polmer build-up and allowing a much better flow-out. If you run out because of this issue, we'll hook you up with something to make up for it.

VEIL should provide about 8-10 applications, so you should have enough...and as I said earlier we are always looking for ways to improve aesthetics.

Most importantly we want your experience to be a good one...

So, please keep us posted and good luck.

Veil Guy 8)

[scrapser]

Look at the Nissan emblem on the front of my car. It's about 3 inches in diameter and sits at about a 45 degree angle to the road. Should that be coated with Veil as well? It seems like it's too small and at that angle, any laser light would reflect upwards and only the edges might reflect "some" light forward.

Has this sort of thing ever been examined in testing?

Thanks

scrapser