Creation of clear lens - GTS clear cover transplant
Posted: June 14th, 2004, 1:46 pm
Since I got a couple requests for a write up, here it is. I do lack pictures for most parts though since I wasn't organizing for a write up unforutnately.
1) Allign the GTS clears and stock lens to decide where to cut out the stock lens. i left aruond half a cm all around on the front face for glueing.
2) Cut out the front face of the stock lens now that we've determeined where to cut. It'll look soemthing like this. I wasn't worried about smooth cutting since I planned on painting a black trim at the first place.
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/aishi/clearle ... plant2.jpg" alt=" - " />
3) Glue the GTS clear over the cut out. I used Goop's marine glue/sealant since thin/hard glue gave me some concerns with the two material dont' expand at the same rate when heated and stress or seperate might occur at the seam. Thick gooey glue will provide some padding when there's a slight offset due to thermal expansion. Process of glueing:
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/aishi/clearle ... plant1.jpg" alt=" - " />
4) More glue is rubbed into the cracks to complete waterproofing. Good glueing will allowing the lens to hold water in the "bowl" without letting any out from the seam.
5) For reinforcement and partialy cosmetic reasons I used bondo to join up the edge of the GTS lens to the stock lens. At this point I decided to cut the pull-over tab on the top of the GTS lens off.
6) For cosmetic reasons I decided to paint a black trim on the outer edge of the GTS to hide the glue. (both outside and inside). Masking is very important!!! A few speckles from the paint can be rubbed off with some acetone but when too much gets onto the lens it's game over and back to square one for us.
What the lens looks like now:
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/aishi/pictures006.jpg" alt=" - " />
7) I'm planning on putting an xpel film over the lens since GTS's acrylic seems a lot flimsier than the stock lexan ones.
Having said that any suggestions, comments and opinions welcome.
Cheers,
Eugene
1) Allign the GTS clears and stock lens to decide where to cut out the stock lens. i left aruond half a cm all around on the front face for glueing.
2) Cut out the front face of the stock lens now that we've determeined where to cut. It'll look soemthing like this. I wasn't worried about smooth cutting since I planned on painting a black trim at the first place.
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/aishi/clearle ... plant2.jpg" alt=" - " />
3) Glue the GTS clear over the cut out. I used Goop's marine glue/sealant since thin/hard glue gave me some concerns with the two material dont' expand at the same rate when heated and stress or seperate might occur at the seam. Thick gooey glue will provide some padding when there's a slight offset due to thermal expansion. Process of glueing:
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/aishi/clearle ... plant1.jpg" alt=" - " />
4) More glue is rubbed into the cracks to complete waterproofing. Good glueing will allowing the lens to hold water in the "bowl" without letting any out from the seam.
5) For reinforcement and partialy cosmetic reasons I used bondo to join up the edge of the GTS lens to the stock lens. At this point I decided to cut the pull-over tab on the top of the GTS lens off.
6) For cosmetic reasons I decided to paint a black trim on the outer edge of the GTS to hide the glue. (both outside and inside). Masking is very important!!! A few speckles from the paint can be rubbed off with some acetone but when too much gets onto the lens it's game over and back to square one for us.
What the lens looks like now:
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/aishi/pictures006.jpg" alt=" - " />
7) I'm planning on putting an xpel film over the lens since GTS's acrylic seems a lot flimsier than the stock lexan ones.
Having said that any suggestions, comments and opinions welcome.
Cheers,
Eugene