 About 25 years ago . . .
I am not sure what year it was when I changed the headlight on her car. The day the lady came to my fathers paint and body shop to pick up her car after I changed one of her headlights is the exact day my quest for a solution began. It was very apparent to my father and me that the headlight that we changed did not look like the other light. The headlights simply didn’t match. After a long conversation with her we finally told her, “The only thing that you can do is to buy another new headlight to make them look the same”. That was over 25 years ago and that day changed my life forever.
From then until 1998 . . .
From that day 25 years ago in my career in the automotive collision repair business as an employee for major and minor collision shops in the Greater Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia Area I had to repeat those word thousands of times, “The only thing that you can do is to buy another new headlight to make them look the same”. However, like my father (and his father before him) I had been very good at making things work without many resources. I was always subconsciously reminded of this by a quote from Dad, (who said with a ever present chuckle), “We the willing, led by the unknowing, have done so much with so little, for so long, that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing”.
1998 . . .
After having become the owner of a small paint and body shop in Eatonton, Georgia (East of Atlanta) in 1998, I was able to start working on my dream of being able to restore headlights. Matching headlights was becoming a bigger problem than I could have imagined. We could not replace just one headlight and make the customer happy. The car’s headlights that had never been involved in an accident were becoming so faded that they made the car look terrible if we did not replace both of them. After repainting hundreds of cars a year I was still saying,“The only thing that you can do is to buy another new headlight to make them look the same”.
Experimentation begins . . .
After a couple of years, I had a small area in my shop that was dedicated for headlights that had nothing wrong with them except they were ugly and faded (the leftovers from buying my customers new headlights). In 2001, I began the experiments searching for a method that could be the solution to the dilemma (although I found several ways of making a headlight look good for a short period of time, nothing made them look like they had when they were new). There would be no easy fix. The “headlight kits” that are still available today couldn’t be modified to produce the desired result (in other words, “sandpaper, buffing and paper towels will not restore headlights that look new, improve visibility or stand the test of time).
The discovery is made . . .
One day after an accident of dropping some two-part epoxy resin made to adhere fiberglass parts (to one another) I had without knowing made the discovery of the ultimate headlight restoring system. While gluing a part to the bottom side of a hood one afternoon I let a small drop fall onto a customer’s headlight, knowing that it would melt the plastic lens I decided to let it dry rather than try wiping it off and making a bigger mess. The next morning, I tried to cut it off with a razor blade. I realized that this composite was very hard; so, I left it alone and delivered the car to my customer who did not notice it (although, if he had he would not have cared as his lights were in need of replacing). About a week later in a dream, I remembered that the little spot of epoxy had dried to a crystal clear finish! Eureka! In the following weeks, I had composed a solution that was thin enough spray on the headlights. I called my daughter Mollie and explained how my discovery had taken place to which she exclaimed, “Dad, maybe you have figured it out!”. A couple years earlier, Mollie had bought a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the headlights needed replacing. I asked her bring her Jeep to the shop and let me restore the headlights (we had made several earlier attempts using old techniques and we were not overly enthusiastic about their results). I prepared the lights knowing that there was no turning back now, we were going to definitely going to have buy new lights after this attempt of sanding them with a very course sandpaper. We mixed up the solution in a paint gun and I sprayed the headlights . . . when the fog cleared we both were speechless until she excitedly said, “Dad I think you’ve finally figured it out!”. Well, my knees shook and I felt a little dizzy . . . it had finally worked! Still seeking confirmation of my new discovery, I tried some old lights I had and began testing them to see how they would hold up. Over a period of time, I used every possible scenario to prove that the product would fail. Success after success was the result; indeed, I had “figured it out”!
Today . . .
Years later, I operate a successful business restoring headlights and most importantly our product saves people hundreds of dollars each time a restoration is done! I have sold several others dealerships and now HEADLIGHTS MADE NEW can get your headlights restored any where in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina or Alabama within a few days. There is great demand for this service anywhere there are cars and the sun shines. We are seeking to expand into all 50 states and are currently seeking dealers in every state to fill the demand. Contact us today!
Thanks for reading the story of HEADLIGHTS MADE NEW!
Robin Gulley, Creator/Owner
HEADLIGHTS MADE NEW
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