glass lense update

[marshmallow15]

ok im just waiting for the guy to call me up in about an hour because he said he'll be out of the shop until 1. in the meantime, i took out the headlight assembly which is held in by 4 bolts, not 3. then i washed everything inside and out (after taking the bulb and unnecessary screws/plastic pieces out) and after dried up, i preheat the oven to 200 degrees...yes thats right the oven. then pop your headlight assembly in there with everything else removed and just let it bake literally for about a minute. then flip it leave in for another 30 seconds. careful when taking the headlight out because it'll be warm. i then pried the lenses apart from the assembly which took me a while because i didnt heat up the silicone enough. once removed, cover your assembly with a towel immediately because you dont want any dust getting in there. the sillicone is black and is very visible from the outside, thats why you can see a black strip on the boarder of the headlights.<P>i also conducted a test to see if the ridges inside the lens and the nipples were necessary. i held up the lens in front of a flashlight and pointed against the wall. those little ridges inside just help fade and blur the brightness, but it doesnt spread it...so i guess those things are used to help regulate and restrict the brightness of the bulbs. the nipples on the lens didnt do much. i sanded them off and still no change so im guessing its used to help the light aim or something. i will keep you guys posted when i return. <P>if all goes well, i will set up a group buy, with permission from the moderators and the approval of the guy making the lenses.

[marshmallow15]

oh yea im guessing that after the experiment, it's the chromed housing inside the headlight assembly which determines the projection of the light and the ridges blur it out. i'll see if i can get him to ridge the inside of the lenses for free, if not, i'll have really sharp night vision with some unblurry light....not much of a problem if you ask me.

[DVH]

so in total, there are 4 bolts holdin the light in????? are they all easy to get at ???? let me know asap! thanx!

[justin h]

If I remember right I only had to take out three. I guess you could take out 2 different ones on the bottom and bring an extra plastic bracket with it. <BR>The top two are easy to get to, but the bottom one is just hard to find. Not hard to take out. It's easiest to come from underneath in front of the tires (kinda from the side of the car).

[Wildman640]

i had to take out the turn signal so that i could get to the last screw. it is pretty far inside the bumper

[marshmallow15]

its pretty simple. take out the front turn signal and you can easily see the bolt in front of you. you'll need an extension to reach it, but it can be reached. after taking that out, i thought i could pop out the assembly, but there was one more olding a plastic piece which was screwed to the assembly. it's located to the right of the hood latch and you'll see a bolt there holding it in. the top two are pretty obvious to find.

[mx34u2nve]

Definitely in on a group buy if all goes well. [img]shrug.gif"%20border="0[/img]

[rwstud427]

it would be fine w/ me to not have the ridges then people will see me coming and i will see where im goin

[monty73741]

i'm up for a group buy....<BR>think how bright with a HID upgrade<BR>jason

[marshmallow15]

ok i talked to the guy. to add the nipples the total per lense will be $32...yea seems a bit pricey but worth it IMO.<p>[ November 15, 2002: Message edited by: marshmallow15 ]

[marshmallow15]

UPDATE: well i just came back from picking up the left lens. yep i only had one made. havent tried installing it yet, but looks really good. he added the nipples on the very spots on the oem piece. there arent any ridges on them which is a down. i held it up against the assembly while the light was on and i must say the light is much clearer and sharper. i wasnt able to test the projection of the light because i was too tired. i will take pics with a 36mm camera and have wal-mart put the images on a cd (tnx jarid for the suggestion) and the roll should be finished when i have the other lense made and when i install my 100/80w ultra white bulbs. ill have pics hopefully sooner when my friend returns with his digital camera. the left lens alone was approximately $32.85 and took 45 minutes to make.

[Guest]

wow man sounds pretty promising, Im gonna try clear coating mine first, but if it doesnt work out id definately be down for a group buy! I think without ridges would look good assuming they are perfectly smooth.

[anjin1982]

im waiting on pics... im in on group buy!<BR>

[VizualXTC]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by marshmallow15:<BR><STRONG>he added the nipples on the very spots on the oem piece. </STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>What nipples are you talking about? The ones on the outside of the light? on the top and bottom? I believe that is just where the holes were in the OEM mold for the air to escape. Some people use vacuums to extract the air, some use holes. I don't think the nipples have any use whatsoever post production.<BR> Not worth paying extra for IMO.<p>[ November 18, 2002: Message edited by: VizualXTC ]

[Marlon]

there to aim the beam of light