EJ333
Well-Known Member
How much would it cost approximately to have a tail light assembly for an e9 to be rechromed ? Do they need to
Remove and reinstall the lenses ?
Remove and reinstall the lenses ?
Cost to rechrome tail light
- Thread starter EJ333
- Start date
as you figured out, yes, you have to remove the lenses prior to any rechroming, and exactly that is the problem, it is not easy,
it has been done, you may find the thread here in the forum, someone did it using a dremmel to cut the glue that fixes the lenses in the frame
good luck !
one of the other comments that i have read is that the re-chroming added thickness, and the lenses didn't fit so good afterward. finding decent chrome and lenses is getting hard to find. i have a few that have good lenses, but bad chrome, some with great chrome with a few minor cracks in lenses ... and a couple of right sides that have both. finding a great left side (above the exhaust) is relatively hard to find ones with good lenses.
EJ333
Well-Known Member
I have a decent left tail light , but it has a cracked red lense. Now your explanation of being exposed to the heat from the exhaust makes sense. Has anyone successfully taken a good lense and replaced a cracked one with nice results ?
Reproduction chrome?
So there is a market for reproduction chrome trim provided it is precisely the correct dimensions and the lenses would be easily installed.....
So there is a market for reproduction chrome trim provided it is precisely the correct dimensions and the lenses would be easily installed.....
Tom P
Well-Known Member
Swapping lenses is possible
Hi there... Yes, its possible to swap the lenses out with success. I changed out a good set of lenses on a pitted frame and the results were very good. I used a dremel and took my time. Lenses were epoxy'd back in place on a better frame like new. Photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom_p_pics/sets/72157601976709489/
Good luck!
Hi there... Yes, its possible to swap the lenses out with success. I changed out a good set of lenses on a pitted frame and the results were very good. I used a dremel and took my time. Lenses were epoxy'd back in place on a better frame like new. Photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom_p_pics/sets/72157601976709489/
Good luck!
Last edited:
jmackro
Well-Known Member
I hate to always be the skeptic, but...
1) While chrome plating can be breathtakingly expensive, reproducing a complex part with tight tolerances and still having to chrome plate it will also be costly. Especially when short runs are involved.
2) If high-quality repro metal parts were available, users would still need to remove the lenses from their pitted frames, and re-install them in the repro frames.
So I'm not getting how repro metal taillight frames would make it cheaper or easier than just restoring the old parts.
Tom perhaps you could share which tips you used on your dremel tool - with success.
Tom P
Well-Known Member
Dremel tips
It's been a while (7yrs) since doing that part of the project - hard to believe I'm just now finishing up my restoration on the car but that's another story!
If I recall I started with a thin cut-off wheel but I switched to a thin grinder wheel for more control - tip shown in the photo. The trick was to simply "push" back the retaining edge of the plastic in order to release it from the metal frame. Technically I wasn't pushing anything - more like melting the leading edge of the plastic from the inside of the metal frame with the edge of the grinder wheel. It was messy since the plastic melts and builds up again where you're working but at that point the plastic has gone through a heat cycle so it's really brittle/easy to chip off along your cutting edge.
I'd suggest trying both tips to settle on what you prefer. I think I felt the cut off blade was just too risky / too easy to "travel" or cut through the plastic entirely which is why I leaned on the grinder instead.
It was slow going but nothing too difficult.
It's been a while (7yrs) since doing that part of the project - hard to believe I'm just now finishing up my restoration on the car but that's another story!
If I recall I started with a thin cut-off wheel but I switched to a thin grinder wheel for more control - tip shown in the photo. The trick was to simply "push" back the retaining edge of the plastic in order to release it from the metal frame. Technically I wasn't pushing anything - more like melting the leading edge of the plastic from the inside of the metal frame with the edge of the grinder wheel. It was messy since the plastic melts and builds up again where you're working but at that point the plastic has gone through a heat cycle so it's really brittle/easy to chip off along your cutting edge.
I'd suggest trying both tips to settle on what you prefer. I think I felt the cut off blade was just too risky / too easy to "travel" or cut through the plastic entirely which is why I leaned on the grinder instead.
It was slow going but nothing too difficult.
The bumbl bee doesn't know it can't fly
1. I can see your point. You saved me many hous of searching and asking questions.
2. Correct, but if the frames were exact, then one could dramatically upgrade tail lights.. or it would become a post-retirement cottage industry! I see reproduction turn signals and euro fog lights out there, why not tail light lenses?
Question: Can old frames be treated somehow such that all the old, cracked, pimply chrome is removed and replaced with new chrome of the same thickness?
1. I can see your point. You saved me many hous of searching and asking questions.
2. Correct, but if the frames were exact, then one could dramatically upgrade tail lights.. or it would become a post-retirement cottage industry! I see reproduction turn signals and euro fog lights out there, why not tail light lenses?
Question: Can old frames be treated somehow such that all the old, cracked, pimply chrome is removed and replaced with new chrome of the same thickness?
If it's real chrome on steel, yes you can strip and rechrome without changing the thickness by any significant amount. THis isn't like building an engine where where tolerances are under a thou.
I've got the answers I need. If the lenses can be removed and reinstalled (per the previous post), then it's possible to restore the frames. And in that case, the need for repro's might not be there.
John
plastic not chrome
Hey, you guys are talking about the wrong piece of the tail light assembly to reproduce. What we need to have reproduced are the plastic lens pieces. Then for restoration you can simply break out the old plastic, get the metal part rechromed and finally snap in the new lenses.
Hey, you guys are talking about the wrong piece of the tail light assembly to reproduce. What we need to have reproduced are the plastic lens pieces. Then for restoration you can simply break out the old plastic, get the metal part rechromed and finally snap in the new lenses.
+1!
rb1971
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know if it's possible to use 3D printers to print parts such as the plastic lenses? Maker just released a scanner so it would seem relatively straightforward otherwise to reproduce the plastic pieces.
jmackro
Well-Known Member
Well, that would be a whole lot cheaper than paying for the molds to make the lenses the way the factory did. Three questions:
- Since 3D printing applies material in layers, would there be some optical effect where each layer joined? I.e., would the lens look striped when illuminated?
- Is red, transparent plastic available for 3D printers?
- How UV and heat tolerant is the plastic used in 3D printers? Remember, these parts must not only be sized correctly, look right, and conduct light properly - they also have to stand up to sunlight.
my guess is they can do it. if not now, soon. i saw on the news where they are making flexible body parts - like an ear on a 3d printer. kinda scary what they can do now.