Stan’s repro tail light lenses reassembly in their frames

deQuincey

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@Stan

the highest recognition for his extraordinary job in providing us with these necessary parts
as bayerische is no more interested in our hobby and as they left us in the dark alone with our own problems and efforts to keep alive these extraordinary machines, we have become the keepers and saviours of some of them

with the help of Stan


these we have, lenses and frames, plastic and metal, question is how to put together,

originally the plastic itself was melted over the frames, but now it is not possible,

so an adhesive is needed

here the question, which is the correct one ? specs:

must be transparent
it must adhere to the plastic and also to the frames
it must stand temps over 60ºcels,
UV,
and vibration

any good ideas?
 

Cornishman

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Something like this, I’ve never used it but it reads like it will do the job.

I think I would stick two similar surfaces together, let it cure then see how it performs when you shake and try to disassemble it.

 

Stan

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From an earlier post::
Tail Light Lens Installation

The manufacturer has told me to use Liquid Fusion to attach the lenses to the frame.
Run a bead on the inside then on the outside. It seems that sometimes the lenses do not fit perfectly.

Scott Wilson recounts the following story about the lenses he bought from me

Anyway if you held one side flush the other stuck out probably 1/8 inch or so, just too big a gap to fill with the urethane cement (Liquid Fusion). So I used 5 min epoxy and glued one side down tightly and left to set over night. The next day I took a propane torch and heated the underside of the lens, that is to say the textured face. This was done very carefully with the end of the flame maybe 10 inches away watching to ensure no melting, etc. Within 30 seconds or so I was able, with a gloved hand, to simply push down and hold the other side of the lens to make a perfect fit. After holding in place until cool then quenching with water it held the perfect fit shape so as to epoxy it down. I then flowed the urethane cement you suggested to give the lens the "bead" around the edge to essentially match the look of the other lenses. It turned out REALLY well.
 

mark99

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Maybe there are different types, but my experience with urethane glue, it is not clear, and it expands a lot as it cures, usually an uncontrollable mess
 

mark99

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I believe the original Gorilla glue is a urethane, great for gluing when you want to fill gaps
 

autokunst

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I have not installed these lenses yet, but think I recall someone else successfully using E6000 glue. Does that ring a bell with anyone? I actually bought some, and have used it for other reasons but not this project yet.
 

deQuincey

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if we can confirm that they are made of PU
there is an interesting candidate, NURAL 92 a bi component adhesive for plastics

Product features:
Mixing time: 2 minutes to mix and apply the product.
Handling time: 10 minutes.
Hardening time: after 1 hour withstands 100 kg/cm2.
Tensile strength for shear (according to en 1465): 115 kg/cm2 (4 hours, 23 ° C, steel) / 50 kg/cm2 (4 hours, 23 ° C, plastics such as rigid PVC and ABS).
Temperature resistance: from -30ºC up to +150ºC.
Liquid resistance: water-resistant to oil and solvents usual. Also resists acids and dilute alkalis.
Contains No solvents and does not alter its volume when hardening.
Color of product: translucent.
Areas of application:
Pattex Nural 92 glue, repair and fill permanently. Once hardened can be sanded, polished, coated, and machined.

Tips and tricks:
Adheres to PVC, ABS, acrylic, formica, bakelite, polyurethane foam, polystyrene, skay, nylon, rubber and fabrics laminated. Also adheres to other materials, metallic, wood, ceramic and glass. It is not suitable for polyethylene, polypropylene, or teflon®.
 

Stan

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Scott Wilson is/was an E9Coupe.com member to whom I sold lenses in 2017.
I believe he is from southern California
His instructions live on
 

tferrer

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It might be preferable to use something that is removable at some point if you want /need to rechrome the frames?? The lenses aren't subject to really any forces so you shouldn't really need anything super strong, I would think...
 

deQuincey

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It might be preferable to use something that is removable at some point if you want /need to rechrome the frames?? The lenses aren't subject to really any forces so you shouldn't really need anything super strong, I would think...

everything is subject to forces in a car, different type of forces
probably mass is not that much, but
i will be worried about vibrations, combined with temperature, and UV effect
you do not need something super strong, and maybe not super rigid
but to choose the right glue is not a simple task
and no, i will not consider it to be removable, enough will be to find a glue that stands all the above mentioned conditions, and that sticks to metal and to plastic
and it refrains Stan to supply you one set a year :)
 
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