Headlight Restoration / Clear Coat

[Reaper19]

Today I restored my 2009 Vibe GT headlights for the second time in a few years. I used a Meguiars Heavy Duty Headlight Restoration Kit the last time, the headlights turned out pretty good but yellowed over time. I believe the the headlight coating in the kit failed pretty quickly, clouded up and turned yellow. On this go around today instead of just using the 1000 and 3000 grit sandpaper pads in the kit I purchased and started with 800 wet dry sandpaper and 1000, then 1K pad from the kit, 2500 grit wet dry sandpaper, then 3K pad from the kit, followed by Mequiars PlastX with the polishing pad attached on a drill.

The headlights turned out like they just came out of the factory. So this time I don't want to try the Meguiars coating again, but have been researching online and youtube. Looks like several people suggested Rustoleum 2X Ultra Cover Clear Coat and some say to buy a 2K Clear Coat.

My question, has anyone completed restoration of their headlights and then used a clear coat? If so and you got great results what brand did you use?

Or should I just continue to apply PlastX or Mothers Plastic Polish to preserve the headlights?

Here are some pictures of the work on the headlights today. First having the drivers side completely sanded down, but not polished compared to the passenger side which has not been done yet. The other 2 are pictures after I sanded and polished both.

Thanks

Vibe Headlight Prior.jpg (141.37 KiB) Viewed 1078 times

Vibe Headlight Restored 1.jpg (135.71 KiB) Viewed 1078 times

Vibe Headlight Restored 2.jpg (126.64 KiB) Viewed 1078 times

[lexicon]

Ive used the 2K epoxy spray can and hoped it would be permanent..... it was put on a Lexus 2007 LS430. The coating lasted about 2 yrs and then started peeling. I dont know if its the heat from the bulb in the area closest to the surface of the headlight, but thats where it started peeling.
I have since used Meguiars headlight headlight coating and assume it needs to be done every few years.....