mikekaz1 Posted November 29, 2015 Posted November 29, 2015 when i bought my truck it came with these "bro" tail lights. i didn't like them, they were ugly and blotched, and its illegal in MA anyways... so i decided to cannibalize them and see what i can come up with. with some careful prying and a tiny bit of heat gun, i was able to pop the covers apart with no noticeable damage! the inside edge (tailgate side) was actually incredibly easy to separate, just a twist of a flat head screw driver popped each end and a slide of the blade cracked it open, then the top and bottom aren't held by anything. lastly the outside edge (bedside) was a little more stubborn; where the inside edge is more surface mounted, the outside is pressed in 1/8", light and careful prying around the top and bottom towards the screw holes cracks the seam. then about 30 seconds of heat gun (watch out the lens discolors and "fogs" very easily) across the whole edge and then just grabbed the reflector base in one and and lens in the other and "can opened" the two pieces in small repetitive tries till they slowly cracked apart. and wala! i have a couple ideas on what to try, 1) cut out the flat portions of the cover keeping the raised section lines, and molding clear/fogged plastic to create a factory style clear lens tail light. 2) scrap the lenses all together and create one smooth plastic lens. 3) open for other ideas... any out there?
Doc. Posted November 29, 2015 Posted November 29, 2015 Do you have a photo of the back side of the lens? Is it flat in there to allow the ribs on the out side to be shaved off leaving a smooth surface?
mikekaz1 Posted November 29, 2015 Author Posted November 29, 2015 The inside isn't smooth, its grooved with the outside and not level.
Doc. Posted November 29, 2015 Posted November 29, 2015 Bummer, that's what I thought. Has to be a creative way to make smoother, "updated" to look more like the 97 up XJ, tail lights.
dunnc1991 Posted November 30, 2015 Posted November 30, 2015 Option 1 would be cool, if you painted the raised area black, or matched the paint on the truck. I think a clear tail light would look good on a black truck.
zetabird Posted November 30, 2015 Posted November 30, 2015 what was left of mine were tinted like that, i use brake clean to get it off then use a plastic buffing compound on the lenses to bring them back to gloss. it might be an option
mikekaz1 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Posted November 30, 2015 I have multiple sets of good tail lights stocked up so full restoration wasnt/isn't a necessity. I have used acetone and a green scuff pad on other lights I've had that worked pretty well. I black and white filtered a picture of my truck and it just looked way too awesome with clear lenses so I really want to try it
dunnc1991 Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 ^ those came out better then I thought. Awesome work
Doc. Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 Color me confused. I assumed the red tint was all the way through the plastic. You're saying it is only red on the surface and can be cleaned off !?
The_Anvil_Grey_Comanche Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 Pretty sure that pic is edited to look B&W.. However those would look awesome if you could execute it!
91Pioneer Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 I don't like the clear look. You'll need to have a red reflector to be legal.
mikekaz1 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Posted December 1, 2015 that picture is just a color photo shop, but that is what I hope to come close too, inside the light there is about 1/8 clearance between the lens and housing dividers so it shouldn't be too hard to incorporate a solid clear lens to the inside of the light and have everything mold together properly too.
mikekaz1 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Posted December 1, 2015 You'll need to have a red reflector to be legal. correct you do, there are multiple clear reflectors inside the light that you could tint red to stay 100% legal
mikekaz1 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Posted December 1, 2015 Color me confused. I assumed the red tint was all the way through the plastic. You're saying it is only red on the surface and can be cleaned off !? sorry for the confusion, the scuff and acetone post was for getting the lens tint crap off. the red dye is infused with the plastic and not removable. (atleast I wouldn't have the slightest clue on removal)
shelbyluvv Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 I made clear tails for my Rampage years ago. I used the cover for a fluorescent kitchen light. A little heat, hot glue and some LED bulbs can go a long way.
mikekaz1 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Posted December 1, 2015 I made clear tails for my Rampage years ago. I used the cover for a fluorescent kitchen light. A little heat, hot glue and some LED bulbs can go a long way. that actually was one of my ideas. as it has the small diffusers or whatever you want to call them to scatter the light. BTW those old rampages are sick, I think ive only actually seen maybe one in person.
mikekaz1 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Posted December 2, 2015 Got one lens cut out! Still need to do some filing and sanding. But I think they cut out pretty decent. And a test place over the housing
zetabird Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 good start, I'm gonna keep an eye on this to see what you come up with
Mj4life Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Also going to follow, the tails look sick already.
Pete M Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 when you're done, you should tally it all up in a DIY thread. :thumbsup:
mikekaz1 Posted December 9, 2015 Author Posted December 9, 2015 will do pete! sorry, been busy the last week haven't made much progress, but have a sheet of 1/8 plexi to play around with. so I should have something thrown together soon
mikekaz1 Posted January 2, 2016 Author Posted January 2, 2016 so here's what i got so far, nothings attached or perfected yet, but have everything mocked ontop of each other. went with 1/8" acrylic glass for the lens, and used a heat gun to mold it to the correct shape, i still need to get some rotary bits to do some precision grinding/trimming inside the lens' to get the acrylic to sit perfectly flush against them
tugalo Posted January 3, 2016 Posted January 3, 2016 wonder if Gen 1 Dakota taillight lenses would fit over your frames? Look very similar.
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