anyone taken apart the tail lights? Options

[match220]

I'm cutting into the tails to make my custom LED light boards that I'll be replacing the stock lights with. I was wondering if anyone has taken the lens off of the lights? I see some clips that seem to have glue under them. I kinda want to sand down the inside of the lens so it's flat and then polish it so it's clear. But I don't know if it will lose the red tint, and I don't know how thin it would be after I sanded it flat.

[stephen_lee]

i think the whole plastic is tinted, not just a layer.

stick the lights in the oven and heat then to 200 or so, the glue will get soft and u can pry off the lenses. there is one screw, though.

CAREFUL, the lense will deform at a slightly higher temp than the glue will let loose

[match220]

i think the whole plastic is tinted, not just a layer.

stick the lights in the oven and heat then to 200 or so, the glue will get soft and u can pry off the lenses. there is one screw, though.

CAREFUL, the lense will deform at a slightly higher temp than the glue will let loose

k, I heard some lexus guys would stick their headlights in the oven to soften the glue, so that was in the back of my head. I'm not sure if I want to put my tail light in the oven though. How long do you leave it in?

My idea is to sand it and then polish it back to be clear but I don't know if I want to do that much work just for a clear lens. It's just that the lens diffusing the light takes away from the brightness of my LED bulbs.

[stephen_lee]

i check them every few minutes. im doing the same as you

[match220]

i check them every few minutes. im doing the same as you

what do you mean? You're making LED tail lights too? Or you are sanding/polishing the inside plastic to be smooth and clear?

[str8thugginit4ya]

If you're too worried about "over-cooking" your tail lights, use a heat gun. I used a heat gun before to open up my signals, so it should be the same procedure since both of the signals & tail lights are sealed in sort of the same way. It MAY take a little longer, but not much.


-Ryan

[stephen_lee]

i check them every few minutes. im doing the same as you

what do you mean? You're making LED tail lights too? Or you are sanding/polishing the inside plastic to be smooth and clear?

LED tail lights

[ACCELICA]

heat gun or oven will work. I didn't do LEDs but i did remove the orange reflector and chrome the inside to make mine look more like aftermarket lights. My advice is be super patient and don't use anything too small to pry them apart. I started using a flatheaded screwdriver and it cause the lip I was lifting to chip in a few places. After that I slowed down, heated it some more and used a wide putty knife to pry with since it could disperse the pressure on the plastic.

[match220]

I finally got up the nerve to put it in the oven. I only had it in for 5 mins at a time and I would take it out and pry. I decided to change my plans a little bit. I'm putting in yellow LEDs for the turn signals and taking out the yellow diffuser. I'm also taking out the white diffuser for the back up lights. I kinda chipped the bottom of the light even though I was being careful. It's ok though, it's small enough, and I can use super glue to put it back, it's better than not having it on. I'm borrowing a dremel from my friend when he gets off work today and I'm gonna polish the red diffuser to a clear red. I already did some of it with sandpaper and polishing compound (160 grit, to 320, to 1000, to 2000, then polish) and I can read words through it, but it still diffuses a little, so I'm doing the rest with a dremel.