IMPORTANT: Please READ About Newer HID Headlights

A couple of things happened yesterday that were related and I think it is important that I share them with all Veil users or would be users.

I was made aware of a TSB from GM concerning headlight cracking and crazing and issues related to same.

The bulletin warned against using the following materials on headlights, as they may contribute to causing damage.

These include:

Dust Removers
Rubbing Compounds
Touch up Materials
Oil Removers
Tire Cleaners
Prep Solvents
Alcohols
Car Wash Soaps at Too High of Concentration


Given this, if these materials are going to be used in general or in preparation for Veil application, be sure NOT to leave them on for an extended amount of TIME! Just play it on the safe side and be careful.

The second part of their TSB stated do not operate headlights during anything that is covering headlights and I assume that is liquid material or solid material, such as shop cloths.

Now the related issue that I experienced was on my 5 series. I was cleaning my headlights and I used a combination of isobutyl alcohol (not common, though) and ammonia and water to thoroughly clean-off the lights. It was cooler last night when I did this and the car was running with the headlights on.

As I applied my cleaning materials, the heat of the low beam lights was causing the fluid to evaporate quickly and "smoke off" as it was drying. To my shock and surprise, my headlight started to craze/crack precisely in the center area of the focused projected light beam. And it is pretty noticeable now. Given this experience and the GM bulletin, whenever you clean your lights, prep your lights, or apply Veil, make certain the LIGHTS are OFF and not cooking the materials. It is possible that the different temperatures that occur during drying may contribute to the crazing/cracking. Before operating lights, make sure Veil or any other material applied is COMPLETELY or nearly COMPLETELY DRIED, so there would be no evaporative temperature differences.

The issue with headlights may be more related to the higher intensity HIDs and projection type systems that likely generate more focused heat than anything else. As a result, I think it is prudent that I make these issues known, and I believe I should also include some notice about this in our future packaging.

What do you guys think?

Veil Guy

you should put it on the label to protect the customer's lights and YOU (sorry im IT at a big law firm and "whos at fault" is 2nd nature now)

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Originally Posted by The Veil Guy

What do you guys think?

Veil Guy

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It sucks that headlight casings are going to be this sensitive.

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Originally Posted by GreenRadar

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Originally Posted by The Veil Guy

What do you guys think?

Veil Guy

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It sucks that headlight casings are going to be this sensitive.

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I was very surprised that GM is pointing to car wash soaps. I mean, come on, wouldn't that be expected that someone would actually consider using car wash soap to wash their car?

At any rate, I think its better for people to be aware of this whether they are Veil users or not. It's good info to know...

I have been browsing other forums of late and have found a good number of similar issues.

These issues are not just related to GM, but other mfrs too. These examples are from owners that don't even use Veil. If you google "cracked headlights" there are posts on a good number of car forums:

Lexus, nothing used in particular
Honda S2000, Lamin-X
Hyundai Genesus, Lamin-X
Nissan/Infiniti and Corvettes
BMW's (X5s)

Perhaps there is something going on with newer material and/or headlight combinations. Older lights used to haze and yellow, it appears newer ones crack and craze...