Friday, November 17, 2006 - 11:35 am, by: Lew Radbourn(Marlew)
Yer Me to gregg I would like to know how that was done. I pulled a head light apart the other day to clean it up. and the cogs started turning (get rid of the ribs) and it took me about 10 sec to sit the light down and move on to some thing more important.hahahahaha
Friday, November 17, 2006 - 01:50 pm, by: Gregg Holden(Xzotic)
Well I'd like to know also how it was achieved so I'm hoping Kanchana can shed some light on the ones that were posted...
THe guy I know who does headlight work just cleaned up a set for me which I thought were throw aways. They were newish lights that had been wrecked by the Spoiler shop a couple years ago when they made up some custom eye lids for me. What ever they used to get the mold ate into the lens and left it pitted and discoloured.
I was going to bin them but my contact took them and brought them back looking brand new. I could't believe it. I will be giving him another set which is discoloured with age (like 99% of all Soarer lights) and see what he can do with those. If the results are good then he'll start offering a cleaning service.
His services could also include making these smooth finish lenses if I can pass on some info from someone who knows how they were achieved (What tools specifically). He may also be able to do internal painting in the colour of your choice etc...but we need to test the cleaning of the typical old set of lights first to see the result.
I'll obviously let people know his contact details if and when he offers such services for those that are interested.
Friday, November 17, 2006 - 02:45 pm, by: Perry Morgan(Uzz32)
I did a set of them Greg. You'd be surprised how fast those ribs come off with 1500 grit wet n dry. 2000 grit to smooth them out again and they were as clear as could be. They were for a mate and I never bothered to take pics of them though.
Friday, November 17, 2006 - 03:33 pm, by: Gregg Holden(Xzotic)
OK, so you just hand sanded them out without using any tools?... The ribbing seems quite thick - it must have taken a while surely if done only by hand?...
no worries gregg, been working on that spare headlight of mine.
i used 360G sand paper, and sanded by hand until all the lines were gone.
then used 800G and sanded for ages, then 1200G then finished in 2000G.
BY hand of course.
your suppose to use a rubbing compound after that and finish with plastic polish.
i didnt have the plastic polish or rubbing compound so i used metal polish and it became clear. ill post some piks of the test headlight. its not perfect, as i just wanted to see if it can be done.
And it can be done. one of those mouse palm sanders might help
owe sorry my bad, yee wet. thats 360, 800, 1200, 2000 Gritt wet and dry sand paper. available at bunnings, bunnings didnt have the 2000 but super cheap auto will.
Aaron that be perfect, autobarn had the rubbing compound aswell made by turtle wax
i put about 50 ml of water and sanded away.
once i perfect the spare one using the proper rubbing compound and plastic polish and get it perfect, ill attempt my one. my exams finish on wednesday so t weeks from then you will all have picks.
Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 01:08 am, by: Joe Radisic(Joe)
Hi guys sounds awsome will be doing mine too! Also Kanchana i read all about your angel eyes ordeal to only end up with overheating problems, did you get any further with that? It would be nice to set it all up at the same time.
Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 02:18 am, by: Geoff Smith(Geoffu)
Brasso. If you can get it in Aussie, try that for slight scratches and discolouration on the outside. Not only on headlights, but watch glass and anything like that. Depending on the damage depends on the elbow grease to put in.
well i finally finished the prototype headlight. Dont mind that spot with the cracks, thats the reason i replaced my headlight, and experimened with the one you see before you. let me know what you think
Monday, January 22, 2007 - 05:58 am, by: Sean Fair(Sean_fair)
That looks great!!
I know how hard it was to take those ribs out, I tried it on my light over the break and stopped with the projector area because the ribs were taking forever and my fingers were no longer capable of bending
hahah tell me about it sean, my finger joints were locking up and were sore for days.
the funny thing is ive started on the proper headlight, not even half way there. i cringe when i think about it. i guess slow and steady wins the race.
thanks guys. hopefully soon i can show you the proper thing, with both headlights done
Friday, January 26, 2007 - 03:55 pm, by: Aaron Mead(Aaron)
I chucked one of mine in the oven last night. Before doing so, I ran a stanley around the outside just to give the heat a chance to penetrate. Set it at 100c, used a baking pan lined with gladbake, pre heated, non fan fored, for about 10mins. Pulled it out with ma silicon gloves, and started to pry it at various points with a butter knife, it started to come apart, but I figured let it go for a bit longer. Another 6 mins, i pulled it out and it seperated nicely, lots of grey everywhere!
The glass focusing lense in this one was in very good nick, needed only a little polish with some synpol. Could use any decent polish really. Meguiars etc...Even toothpaste works well if its got actual scratches.
For the indiator bulb area, I am planning on removing the plastic orange socket and replacing with a chrome domed colored bulb from autobarn. (They are appear silver unless turned on)
The area that reflects the indicator, I will leave chromed at the rear only, as there is a seperate ribbed cover that clips in with three tangs.
As I plan to go for black headlights, i will only tint the inner ribbed cover so it doesnt let the chrome become visible. That way, with the indicator on, it will still be a visible bright orange, but black otherwise.
I think the main beam bezel needs to be left chrome as well, it really sets it off like the ones in this pic.
Im not sure wether I will get rid of all the ribbing either, in fact I like the ideas from ClubLexus.com where they have removed only the light ribbing from directly in front of the optic lense:
Will post some pics too, and maybe even a step by step thread. Any further progess Kanchana?
Hey Aaron, good luck with that. I was determined on getting through most of the ribbing since i had a day off on tuesday and let me tell you my fingers blistered...bloody painful anyway here is an update, just finishing the edges. Been taking pictures along the way for a detailed tute aswell if anyone interested.
Well i decided to show everyone what the clear lens looks like with just the chrome backing, so did a swop with the black one and took some photoes.
Well am nearly there with the proper headlight. will be updating on progress
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 02:02 pm, by: Sean Fair(Sean_fair)
You are a madman. I don't know how you can still bend your fingers.
I honestly still have my fingers lock up occasionally. I think I am going to put the sandpaper on one of those pot/pan scrubbers so I don't render my good hands useless!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 03:02 pm, by: Will Adams(Draco)
How does removing the ribs affect the light output? I'm just thinking that the ribs were put there for a reason, so wondering if removing them could affect the way the low beam is seen from the outside.
However another me says it would be fine, as the lights are projector. So any thoughts on this?
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 03:24 pm, by: Tim Appleton(Timbo)
I'm with the other you on this one. The general styling out of the factory on these cars was not particularly extroverted. Sleek, but not extroverted. So I guess they didn't want the headlights standing out too much.
The ribs will diffuse the headlight and park light a bit, so removing the ribs should have a positive effect on the headlight. The park light will appear as more of a point source of light.