Clear Rear Turn Signal Lens -- DIY

[tweetdriver63]

Ok. Call me cheap.

I was surfing last night and I found a write-up by somebody on a Z-owners forum where he explained how he made clear rear lenses. I was intrigued. I'm not going to start by saying how he did it. I'll leave it a slight mystery for later in this post.

Here's a photo of step 1.

[tweetdriver63]

Here's the new lens on the tail light. The spots of glue holding it in place were still setting when I took the pic, therefore the tape.

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Finally, here's the new lens fully installed and on the car.

[tweetdriver63]

Now that you've seen the result, I'll spill the beans.

What the guy had done was go to Lowe's/Home Depot, where he bought a sheet of replacement diffuser cover for a flourescent fixture. I got mine at Lowe's. They have it in 2'x2', and 2'x4' sheets. Get the kind that is clear and has the small dimples.

The material is easily flexible enough to handle the bend around the corner of the light. It can be a little tricky to cut. You have to be careful.

1. I took the original lens as a template. I laid it face down on the clear material, lining up the pattern in the dimples so that it would be vertical where the new lens butts against the red section (the part with the reflector built in). I used a sharpee and outlined the original piece, rolling it to keep it flat on the new material. The outline is just to help make sure the two pieces stay properly alligned in the next step.

2. Using an exacto knife, and the original piece as a guide, carefully make several scoring cuts in the new material around the old piece. (the material should be bumpy-side down)

3. Carefully go around the scores gently popping the material. You should get a pretty smooth break if you're careful. (I bought a 2x4 piece of material so I would have plenty if I messed up) The new piece being slightly larger than the original is desired.

4. check the fit. I used a drill with a sanding wheel to smooth and shape the edges to get a really good fit.

5. Use the new piece as a template for the other side. Do it the same way you did with the first piece.

6. I used a heat gun to warm up the new piece so that it would hold its shape around the bend without tension. You don't really have to do this, but it seemed to make sense to me.

7. Glue the new piece onto the tail light cluster using whatever glue you choose. Just make sure it's something that will set quickly (so you don't have to hold it too long) and will dry completely clear.

8. Put the smoke cover back on and install on the car.

VOILA!!

[F1 LOTUS]

Looks quite effective - well played
The material you mentioned tends to yellow rather quickly and become brittle - perhaps the smoked cover will protect it?

[tweetdriver63]

Looks quite effective - well played
The material you mentioned tends to yellow rather quickly and become brittle - perhaps the smoked cover will protect it?

I think it will. i can always go back to the original if there's a problem.

BTW, the whole job (one side on the car, the other one cut) took less than 1 hour, and the total cost when I'm done with both will be less than $20 US. I did have to buy a pair of red 1157 bulbs.

[tweetdriver63]

Just thought I'd toss up a pic of the lights at night. Both are finished now.