I bought the CERAKOTE kit with the van's exterior-care supplies. My exterior diary documents how much of a finishing job happened before the final coating went on.
My van with masking around the exterior areas prepared for coating.
The item in my kit
I bought CERAKOTE Headlight Restoration Kit as part of my camper van equipment.
I bought the CERAKOTE kit with the van's exterior-care supplies. My exterior diary documents how much of a finishing job happened before the final coating went on.
Where it fits my build
I taped the boundaries and covered the areas that would not be painted with plastic sheeting. I then sanded the exposed areas with an orbital sander and 60-grit abrasive, blew away the dust with a compressor, and cleaned and degreased the surfaces.
I mixed clear bedliner with white tint and sprayed the van. After it dried, I removed the masking. The tape and sheeting stage alone took around eight hours, and the finished edges still needed some touch-up.
The side of the van during the white-bedliner project.
My build notes
The most useful detail in my diary is the result, including the problems. Rust-Oleum pooled and dripped in places, and trying to repair one area with a paintbrush made it worse. I wrote that I would use a foam roller for touch-ups and preferred the more consistent finish I had obtained with RAPTOR.
Masking, preparation and application method each became a substantial part of the exterior-coating job.
Alternative products
Two alternatives to compare
Sylvania and 3M package their own abrasive and finishing stages for headlight lenses. The 3M 39008 system uses a drill-driven sanding setup, making the application tools a clear difference from the CERAKOTE wipe kit.
Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit
This kit supplies materials for preparing and coating headlight lenses. Its staged process combines surface treatment with a final protective finish.
This kit supplies abrasive and finishing materials for headlight-lens restoration. Its drill-mounted sanding arrangement differs from a wipe-based restoration kit.
