Remove amber film on headlights

[gtsvectra]

Hello All.
Now I'm after installation bi-xenon




I have a lot of pictures of the installation. If anyone needs.
regards m.

[BruceH]

Originally Posted by gtsvectra

Hello All.
Now I'm after installation bi-xenon




I have a lot of pictures of the installation. If anyone needs.
regards m.

That looks great! Nice job

[PCC010]

Well its been a while, but I can provide some feedback on my black LED headlights supplied by Jeffrey at Xtreme.

Some may not know but I had some major dramas with the original model (One of the first to get the black coated model). Issues included:

- Cracked lens due probably caused by the heat of the halogen globe;
- Lens fogging;
- Fog light coating melted; and
- LED's orange indicator playing up.

I had to wait some seven months for the updated version and at this point thank Jeff for providing re-assurance that the lights would be replaced.

When the new one's came I'll be honest they looked the same although I understand the projector has been lowered slightly and 27w glove fitted to the fog lights.

I then waited another 6 weeks for some projector HID's, which managed to arrive in bits!

Anyway, finally found some time to install the HID's (see pics) and I can now confirm the lights are looking and working perfectly (except for some minor adjustment issues, which I'll sort out some dark night).

They get plenty of favourable comments and certainly update the whole look of the car.

Its almost a totally LED car now with rear lights, brake lights, interior lights etc all LED.

Oh - and HID's are a must for the Projectors.

Apologise for some of the pics as the sun was pretty bright

[PCC010]

And one more pic

[mack73]

Curious how these lights held up over the years? Are the 2nd Gen any better?

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by mack73

Curious how these lights held up over the years? Are the 2nd Gen any better?

That depends on what you mean by "better".
They seem to have addressed some of the issues with the lens melting and fogging, but that's about it.

If the price were ~$300, they might be worth it. Otherwise, purchase at your own risk

[mack73]

Originally Posted by particlewave

That depends on what you mean by "better".
They seem to have addressed some of the issues with the lens melting and fogging, but that's about it.

If the price were ~$300, they might be worth it. Otherwise, purchase at your own risk

Well that is a start I guess what are the issues that remain?

[particlewave]

Halogen bulbs, plastic projector (fire is hot), LEDs are low quality (burn out), they don't actually fit in/on the car, the alignment pegs break off due to low quality brittle plastic, foam rubber surround gasket holds water and rots sealant between outer lens and headlight body allowing water and dirt infiltration, "chrome" flakes off, paint flakes off, full of "cooling holes" which also let dust, dirt and water in.

[tommy583]

Originally Posted by particlewave

They look cheap, halogen bulbs, plastic projector (fire is hot), LEDs are low quality (burn out), they look cheap and I wouldn't put them on my Dodge Neon, they don't actually fit in/on the car, the alignment pegs break off due to low quality brittle plastic, they look cheap and very "Walmart", foam rubber surround gasket holds water and rots sealant between outer lens and headlight body allowing water and dirt infiltration, "chrome" flakes off, paint flakes off, full of "cooling holes" which also let dust, dirt and water in.
I'm sure that I'm missing something. Did I mention that they look cheap?

I'm shocked and amazed that anyone would ever even consider putting this junk on their car.

At least they don't look cheap .

[particlewave]

I guess I came across a little strong, there

[tommy583]

No I don't think so. They look like something from walmart for sure. It's hard to believe they charge that much for them. I guy around me bought a pair. He loves them, but I don't. I may be a little biased

[BruceH]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I guess I came across a little strong, there

Not really. They ARE expensive for what they are. Fred's kit with your install makes a much nicer product for less

[steved0x]

There was a guy at RRR with a yellow boxster that had them, they actually looked pretty good on his and matched his theme, which had a lot of mods, badges, spoilers, etc. It looked good on his.

[mikesz]

I am trying to de-amber with a belt sander. I tried Particlewave's technique with a dremel but didn't work for me.

[Krazy_Kameleon]

Originally Posted by mikesz

I am trying to de-amber with a belt sander. I tried Particlewave's technique with a dremel but didn't work for me.

I have just done the same thing. started out with a 'MOUSE' sander and resorted to a belt sander with 80grit. what a job! that amber stuff has to be the toughest plastic I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

I then gradually worked up with finer and finer grit until 600. I used this all over the light as there was a lot of yellowing and some scratches that I wanted to remove.

The trouble is that the standard indicator it not 'smoked' so it doesn't match the cleared/ smoked headlight corners.

I am going to have to split the lens from the housing now and then spraypaint he insides black/ gun metal.

I have taken pics of this process and will post them when I have completed the job.

This is not a job for the fainthearted

Rich

[jbryshun]

Originally Posted by Krazy_Kameleon

I have just done the same thing. started out with a 'MOUSE' sander and resorted to a belt sander with 80grit. what a job! that amber stuff has to be the toughest plastic I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

I then gradually worked up with finer and finer grit until 600. I used this all over the light as there was a lot of yellowing and some scratches that I wanted to remove.

The trouble is that the standard indicator it not 'smoked' so it doesn't match the cleared/ smoked headlight corners.

I am going to have to split the lens from the housing now and then spraypaint he insides black/ gun metal.

I have taken pics of this process and will post them when I have completed the job.

This is not a job for the fainthearted

Rich

How did you manage? Pictures?

When you sanded the amber off did you get to a clear lens under it?

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by jbryshun

How did you manage? Pictures?

When you sanded the amber off did you get to a clear lens under it?

Yes, he did. They are all clear underneath the amber.

See here - http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/51810-our-amber-headlights-can-de-ambered.html

[Krazy_Kameleon]

It's surprising how thick the plastic is - just keep sanding.

I have since sold the first pair I did and bought a 2nd pair of amber lights to de-amber.
Things I learned from the first time around:
1. Mask off the rest of the headlight before sanding the amber section - this makes it a whole lot less work when you need to polish up the headlight at the end
2. Sand off the amber slowly allowing time to cool - I used a lot of water. If you apply too much pressure the plastic melts and liquifies. this heat can cause distortion that blemishes the entire lens right through the clear underneath.
3. make sure you use the 'sealer' in your lens restoration kit afterward. I didn't do this and lenses yellowed again very quickly

hope that helps