New challenge - anyone had warped tail light flanges before?

[BTF/PTM]

Good news is, the tail light gaskets on my 72 are in very good shape, they look just as good as the brand new ones I ended up leaving in their wrapping.

Bad news is, the lights aren't as fortunate. Anyone dealt with this before?

Any advice would be good, be it replacing the lights, using some sort of filler between the flange and gasket or just about anything else. The metal overlay trim that fits over the lights is in great shape so I'm not sure how they got so bad, but speculation won't get me anywhere. Thanks, everyone.

[hls30.com]

I would remove the lenses,and wiring, turn a couple of rectangular cake tins upside down, place the reflector assembly on the tins(the back of the warped sides are the point of contact)facing up- and heat the pieces in the oven starting at 200 degrees. check on them regularly and they will drape out, bump up the temp slowly if necessary.

[BTF/PTM]

Yikes...

So basically I want to bake the housings (without colored lenses and wiring) such that the mounting surfaces flatten out? I guess it's worth a shot, not like I could make them seal any worse, eh?

p.s - how does one go about getting the colored lenses out of the housings? Do we have a thread already?

[hls30.com]

The lenses are essentially glued into slots in the reflector housing with three speed nuts on the chrome trim that extend through the reflector housing. The glue is an off-white viscus non-hardening goo much like dumdum Normally you can simply(it is kind of hard to separate them) pull the lenses out-a little warmth will help here as well. If you are careful, you can put them right back together with the same stuff!

If you pry, use a wood or plastic utensil to minimize your chances of damaging the lenses.

There are several threads on taillight restoration and they cover the removal in detail.

I would say this heat treatment would be your best chance at straightening out the parts-if it doesn't work, I'll send you a set of useable reflectors for the price of shipping, PM me.

Edited May 16, 2010 by hls30.com

[hls30.com]

E had a good Taillight write up here...

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4040&highlight=taillight+restoration

[Zs-ondabrain]

Remove the pressure clip washer from the center pin in the rear of the taillight assembly's. BE CAREFULL as it will try to break the plastic rod.

Run the Taillights under HOT water (Not Boiling) in the sink. The glue will soften and all you need to do is apply seperating pressure to lift the lens away from the body.

Use a metal polish on the reflectors. Glue some tin foil onto the inside area of the reverse light for better light output.

[BTF/PTM]

One of the center nut rods was already broken, and the other broke as I was using a toothbrush to scrub away the grime which suggests it was already cracked and just waiting for that last tidbit of force to fail it.

On that note, though, it seems like a good sealer like the aquarium type would hold plenty strong since my one headlight without that center rod was holding up.

I opted not to fight with the rods holding the chrome strip to the lens, but I do have a question in that regard; has anyone tried doing away with those little rods altogether and using some sort of epoxy to hold the chrome piece onto the lens? I'm not worried about having to take them apart a second time, I figure by the time that situation arises, I'll be able to pony up the dough and get replacement light assemblies (or will have already done it).

Center rods aside, the lenses pulled away from the housings without a fight after a soak in steaming hot water. Was a pain scrubbing and picking and shaving all the old adhesive off, but the lenses look worlds better after just a good scrub with dish soap. Amazing how grimy even the insides have become after the decades. I think I'll use the 3-step polish kit recommended in Escanlon's write-up since I've already got everything apart.

[Zs-ondabrain]

I use a 6" spiral sewn pad on my bench grinder with Maguires Plastic polish. Most of my customers will agree that it leaves a beautiful shine on the lenses. Just keep it moist and keep it moving.

I also use 600 grit wet-sand paper under running water to cut thru the crap and eliminate all the scratches of 40 years of time. Then the polish and reasemble.

As for your Rod question. If I can't get the compression washer off without breaking the rod flush with the inner lens surface, I drill a 1/16" hole into the rod center, then screw in a very small screw with a washer. This expands the plastic rod to hold the rod in the hole and the screw also holds it in place.

I doesn't matter what kind of glue or adhesive you use as long as it's Weather resistant, Light in color (white, yellow or clear) Dark colors will make the lens apear to be darker than it is. It you weren't able to remove the compression washer from the center pin without breaking it, then the glue will need to be compatible with the plastic of the lens AND the rear housing. Notice what a Bitch it is to remove the factory glue from the lens? But much easier from the rear housing?? Not a multi-purpose glue.

I use a 2" long skinny machine screw. drill a hole thru the chrome strip, taper the sides of the screw head so it'll fit in the channel, glue the lens and bolt it down. A little low gloss Black paint on the head of the screw and people will likely never know it's even there.

Dave

[pwd]

To remove the speed-nut on the trim strip center post, I use a 1/16" drill bit and drill into it as close to the rod as possible. This makes it a bit easier to get a dental pick in to lift back one of the speed-nut spring fingers. Once one finger is back the others are easier to access. For the lens post speed-nuts, if you can lift the edge enough to get some tin-snips underneath, they're pretty brittle and will break with the first cutting action.

If you do snap a trim strip post, JB Weld works very well for the repair and can be sanded to shape.

To clean the old yellowed sealant off the lens edge, I use Naptha (not lacquer thinner!). The Naptha does not attack the plastic (or is much less agressive than thinner) and after repeated wipings will remove all the old sealant and clean the lens.

To repair the warped housing, sandwich the edge between two small pieces of steel flat iron and use small metal C-Clamps to hold it in place (use your imagination on this). Apply a heat gun about 8-10 inches from the warp being very careful to only do enough to "relax" the material. It is possible to get it too hot and melt the "lip" of the housing. Move along one warp at a time until it's complete. I recommend against putting the housing in an oven, as you'll probably get movements you didn't want.

On my original set of tail lights the Back Up Lamp compartments are badly deteriorated from heat (PO must have had a bad backup switch at one time). I'm considering laminating pieces of 1/8" white ABS plastic to provide strength and enhance reflectivity. At the same time, I'll add it to the tops and bottoms of the other chambers, while polishing up the reflectors. Might do LED bulb replacements, not sure yet.

Good luck!

[BTF/PTM]

Thanks for the continued feedback, guys! I hadn't thought of the metal pieces with small clamps, that's a pretty good idea. I did learn right away that the oven trick is risky at best, it seems like making a custom jig is the only way to really have that done right becuz the flange needs to be flat all the way around. I opted to take HLS30.com up on his offer to ship me usable housings (see previous post in the thread) since my housings are missing a couple of the cap nuts as a result of them having pulled through the plastic.

I think I'll use the old housings as test beds, I can learn some of these techniques on junk parts so I don't trash good ones while learning.

Also, it sounds like getting by without those tiny plastic rods inside the lights and their associated tin retainers is very doable. I like the idea of using small screws or bolts. Guess it's time to invest in a power drill

[Oiluj]

The rod broke-off on one of my tail lights during dis-assembly. I removed the chrome strip and drilled two small holes in the lens under the chrome strip. Counter-sunk the holes and used long 4-40 machine screws to capture the lens to the housing. Applied a little adhesive to the srew heads to prevent them from turning and to make them water-tight.

Worked great.

[Daluvian]

Mine look similar did the heat method work? Mine look great besides the warped flanges. Anyone else have any suggestions. I was thinking remove the lens and I have access to a laser I could cut a jig out of 1/4 steel and gently try and clamp it slowly while it heats up? What you guys think

Edited January 31, 2022 by Daluvian