[timothy]

Update ....

I decided to jump in and do the second headlight but this time took a few extra precautions. Reducing the soldering iron temperature eliminated much of the smoke and lowering a piece of foil in front of the reflector helped block what did arise.

Either the first reflector looks better now or the second is equally worse. It could have been a buildup of condensation that took time to evaporate. The overall light output is definitely less, maybe half, but this could be the result of removing the diffuser. A chromed bulb doesn't help light output either.

Despite this I am glad the last vestiges of amber are gone and it looks really good on a black car. One last task is to use compressed air from work to blow out a few small bits of melted plastic and at the same time I'll reevaluate the reflector and decide whether to attempt some sort of cleaning.

If you are going to try this mod, be committed. Once the soldering iron touches the plastic there is no going back, and completing one light is only half way done. But the result, c'est magnifique.