taillight lenses

rsporsche

rsporsche

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Guys,

as many here might remember, our friend Stan has been trying to get some replacement taillight lenses made for people in need. before the trip to Amelia, he sent me some really nice looking lenses to show some of the guys - the first test. i took a chrome frame in very good shape with me so that we could test the fit ... and show them off.

First, the look of these lenses is perfect - all of the embossed numbers are cast into the lenses ... the colors look very good. the fit isn't quite there - at least in relation to the frame that i had. Stan and another NE couper are trying their hand at getting them to fit into frames that they have ... so i know they will update us with their success / progress. I will tell you that all of us that looked at them in Amelia are encouraged.

so here's the question, anybody have any taillights with good lenses and bad chrome? i will tell you why i am asking - it would be good to see how different the frames actually are (from a fit perspective), and maybe to get a few other lenses that might make a better mold from. if anybody has good lenses in bad chrome, would you be interested in me taking the lenses out and returning the chrome ... so you can have it refinished and await the replacement lenses? we don't necessarily need every light to have all good lenses ... a couple of decent lenses make the 20+ minutes of removal worthwhile per side.
 
I have a set of taillights with ok frames and lenses (nothing broken/cracked). Stan asked me to give it a try, and I told him I'd be happy to sacrifice my spares to give it a shot. I wonder if it'd be better for me to send you an assembly so you could give it another try?

BTW, can you expound a bit more on
(1) removal of the old lenses: did you dremel them or heat the plastic and push?
(2) issues you had with the fit. Were the new lenses too big, small, was the shape of the flange or something else off?
(3) What are your suggestions for securing the new lenses? If they are made with a sufficient shoulder and flange, might it be possible to soften within a micro-torch or heat gun with a wide slit tip and fold/press as the factory did when making the originals. How about a UV rated silicon caul/adhesive?

John
 
John,

a dremel tool will take a while and you spend a lot of time moving plastic that has been heated, then cooled around. if you heat the entire lens, you will run the risk of deforming the main lens - rendering it unusable. i cut the lens out very carefully with a specialized hot knife

you have to be careful on reinstalling the lens as it could show thru the lens if you aren't careful ... and you want it to fit tightly to the chrome on the outer side. further work is required with this process. this is why i am trying to get a set of lenses where i am able to save the (currently) folded over lip. so we get a really good lens to make the mold from.
 
if anybody has spares with a few decent lenses - that you want to sell (reasonably) ... let us know
 
I can donate for the cause. I think the trick as I remember is making the plastic lens with a little extra plastic on the sides (jutting towards the inside) so the plastic can be heated and bent over. And yes, the 12.00 heat knife from harbor freight is the tool for the job. The dremel takes longer, smells more and can make marks in the plastic that you can see from the outside when removing the old ones.

Let me know if I can help.
 
Peter,

you got it in one ... exactly the right idea about removing and reinstalling.

the harbor freight knife is junk - didn't make it thru 1 lens before it went POOF + stopped working ... not worth the 20 bucks.

got a much better knife ... and also looking at some other ways to heat and lift the plastic lip.

what we need is more lights with good lenses - bad frames ... got any?
scott
 
Scott are you looking for perfect lenses, the spares I got from Germany have some heat marks near the bulbs but are not cracked. But I wouldn't consider them aesthetically good. Would these help?
 
Peter,

i sent an email to the email address i have ... with my home address. thanks!!!

Steve, i don't think the lenses have to be perfect - just not cracked all the way through. the heat cracks generally are small and wouldn't disturb the molding.

scott
 
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