Best way to open fog lights? (1 Viewer)

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Hi,

I want to paint the inside of my fog lights yellow. My plan is to drop them in a bucket of gasoline to soften the adhesive so I can pull the lights apart. Any of you Mudders have a better idea?
This is what I am doing......


This was written by Daniel Stern the lighting guru......

If you want selective yellow lights for whatever reason, applying a coating to an optical element is a more permanent, optically cleaner option that eliminates the need to find and get special bulbs. Good results have been obtained by removing the lamps, cleaning the lenses thoroughly and making sure they're warm, then spraying them with several wet-but-not-drippy coats of Dupli-Color Metalcast yellow, a transparent yellow paint product with good adhesion and durability. Let each coat "flash off" (dry most of the way) before applying the next, and use thin coats so you don't get drips and sags in the wet paint. With each successive coat, the yellow tint will grow deeper. Make it about 2 shades deeper than you think looks right, and it'll turn out well in the end. Of course, the coating needs to be permitted to dry and harden completely before you take the fog lamps out on the road, otherwise dust and grit will become embedded in the still-tacky surface. In the case of lamps with removable lenses, by coating the interior surface of the lens obviously answers questions of coating durability against pitting and scratching.

fog lights.jpg
 
Gasoline would be best for a permaseal lamp. I haven't tried to open the 100 Series fog lights, I would assume it uses permaseal to due size and heat from the bulb. I would bake them and try first. Look for any symbols on the housing to signify the type of plastic. I would apply a little bit of gasoline to part of the housing and lens (in the corner) to see if it melts the plastic. On another assumption, most fog lights that I have seen are LLDPE or LDPE plastic. If the gasoline doesn't harm the plastic soak them for 24-48 hours and they should come right apart. However the chrome on the bowls may come off. So you may want to hang them on a hanger and only have the lens sitting in the gasoline so it doesn't fill the entire assembly.
 
Hi,

I want to paint the inside of my fog lights yellow. My plan is to drop them in a bucket of gasoline to soften the adhesive so I can pull the lights apart. Any of you Mudders have a better idea?
This is what I am doing......

Reading what others have done on the hid upgrades and projector installs for the main lights, baking in the oven seems to work for separating. Also works with door actuator housings. I know this firsthand.

Gasoline might works, but sounds like it might be a big mess.
 
Reading what others have done on the hid upgrades and projector installs for the main lights, baking in the oven seems to work for separating. Also works with door actuator housings. I know this firsthand.

Gasoline might works, but sounds like it might be a big mess.

Headlights are sealed with a glue known as butyl glue. It softens when heated (similar to hot glue) above 225*F. Headlights are much larger housings and dissipate the heat much faster than fog lights. Fog lights are much smaller units and cannot dissipate the heat as quickly, therefor they are commonly sealed with permaseal. Permaseal is a type of glue that requires ~800*F to soften and at that point you will melt the plastic. The only solvent is gasoline or something that will eat the glue, unfortunately gasoline will also dissolve plastics. LLDPE and LDPE will not deform or dissolve in gasoline. I am not sure if the 100 fog lights are LLDPE or LDPE. They should have a symbol somewhere stamped on them, and if not, one has to find out the hard way and risk it. The alternative is baking the housings at 275*F and then applying a heat from a heat gun (750*F-1,250*F) which can soften the permaseal, but you run the risk of melting the housings taking the plastic up to that temperature if not done properly and slowly. At that temperature the plastic is so soft that trying to pry the lens off will simply destroy the edges of the plastic and not get it apart. I wish I still had my OEM fog lights, otherwise I would of already tried. Does anybody have any OEM fog lights they would like to give up that they are not using? It would be nice to find out before SR. Gringo tries on a good pair that he needs. I have only successfully gotten one pair of permaseal housings apart with heat, it was not pretty nor easy. I still have burns on my hands/arms from the plastic and metal.
 
Headlights are sealed with a glue known as butyl glue. It softens when heated (similar to hot glue) above 225*F. Headlights are much larger housings and dissipate the heat much faster than fog lights. Fog lights are much smaller units and cannot dissipate the heat as quickly, therefor they are commonly sealed with permaseal. Permaseal is a type of glue that requires ~800*F to soften and at that point you will melt the plastic. The only solvent is gasoline or something that will eat the glue, unfortunately gasoline will also dissolve plastics. LLDPE and LDPE will not deform or dissolve in gasoline. I am not sure if the 100 fog lights are LLDPE or LDPE. They should have a symbol somewhere stamped on them, and if not, one has to find out the hard way and risk it. The alternative is baking the housings at 275*F and then applying a heat from a heat gun (750*F-1,250*F) which can soften the permaseal, but you run the risk of melting the housings taking the plastic up to that temperature if not done properly and slowly. At that temperature the plastic is so soft that trying to pry the lens off will simply destroy the edges of the plastic and not get it apart. I wish I still had my OEM fog lights, otherwise I would of already tried. Does anybody have any OEM fog lights they would like to give up that they are not using? It would be nice to find out before SR. Gringo tries on a good pair that he needs. I have only successfully gotten one pair of permaseal housings apart with heat, it was not pretty nor easy. I still have burns on my hands/arms from the plastic and metal.

You really know your stuff! :cheers:
 
Headlights are sealed with a glue known as butyl glue. It softens when heated (similar to hot glue) above 225*F. Headlights are much larger housings and dissipate the heat much faster than fog lights. Fog lights are much smaller units and cannot dissipate the heat as quickly, therefor they are commonly sealed with permaseal. Permaseal is a type of glue that requires ~800*F to soften and at that point you will melt the plastic. The only solvent is gasoline or something that will eat the glue, unfortunately gasoline will also dissolve plastics. LLDPE and LDPE will not deform or dissolve in gasoline. I am not sure if the 100 fog lights are LLDPE or LDPE. They should have a symbol somewhere stamped on them, and if not, one has to find out the hard way and risk it. The alternative is baking the housings at 275*F and then applying a heat from a heat gun (750*F-1,250*F) which can soften the permaseal, but you run the risk of melting the housings taking the plastic up to that temperature if not done properly and slowly. At that temperature the plastic is so soft that trying to pry the lens off will simply destroy the edges of the plastic and not get it apart. I wish I still had my OEM fog lights, otherwise I would of already tried. Does anybody have any OEM fog lights they would like to give up that they are not using? It would be nice to find out before SR. Gringo tries on a good pair that he needs. I have only successfully gotten one pair of permaseal housings apart with heat, it was not pretty nor easy. I still have burns on my hands/arms from the plastic and metal.

Nick,

Here is the info stamped on the light.

Lens >PC<
Housing >PP-T20<

Koito 114-76677 Japan

02 BPL

E13
0363
60-68 JAPAN SAE F97 F-103

Thanks,

Jason

I do have a heat gun. The light has 6 "tabs"
 
Polycarbonate/polypropylene ?
 
Is this what you're trying to achieve? http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2181400

I think the easier solution would be to paint the outside and protect it with a transparent film OR use yellow tint film on the exterior of the bulb (eg: lamin-x).

Although gasoline may work to loosen the adhesive, I wouldn't mess with that stuff. Like others said, it may damage the plastic or it may de-chrome your internal reflectors.

When the time comes, I'm gonna try the lamin-x route on my fogs.
 
Seems like a Dremel tool with a small diameter cut off wheel would make a fine cut thru the glue seam.

A short length of 2x4 locked in a vise could be used to strap or duct tape the housing down. With the lense over the end of the 2x4 cut around the light with the cut off wheel.
Of course this for straight cuts and not curved lens.
 
I'd be intersted in seeing the fog lights taken apart. I bought a set of the matchbox projectors to install in them (or I'll throw them in the H4 square headlights I bought for my YJ wranger)
 
Is this what you're trying to achieve? http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2181400

I think the easier solution would be to paint the outside and protect it with a transparent film OR use yellow tint film on the exterior of the bulb (eg: lamin-x).

Although gasoline may work to loosen the adhesive, I wouldn't mess with that stuff. Like others said, it may damage the plastic or it may de-chrome your internal reflectors.

When the time comes, I'm gonna try the lamin-x route on my fogs.

The clear film might be an easy idea... I'm impressed nobody on Mud has opened these yet.
 
Decided the easiest route to take with the Yellow fog lights was to paint them on the outside. :)

P1070577.jpg
 
The clear film might be an easy idea... I'm impressed nobody on Mud has opened these yet.

I have the Nokya 55W Yellow Tinted Bulbs and have been very happy with them (2 years now with no issues). I used them a couple of times driving through WVa in the dense fog and they do seem to be better than the stock ones. Got them from Amazon also. I think they are the same size bulbs as the low beams so you could potentially put HIRs in there.
 
dogdaysindurham said:
I have the Nokya 55W Yellow Tinted Bulbs and have been very happy with them (2 years now with no issues). I used them a couple of times driving through WVa in the dense fog and they do seem to be better than the stock ones. Got them from Amazon also. I think they are the same size bulbs as the low beams so you could potentially put HIRs in there.

Good call.

I put phillips new version of the HIR...they fit fine. Also purchased at Amazon. These new HIR's are different technology compared to the Toshiba's with the infrared coating.
 

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