Clear Headlight Project - CJ & Dreamer

[peddy]

I'm more or less ready to start this, but not sure exactly what tools I'll need.

I believe I need a Dremel, which i don't have at the moment, so can anyone recommend a good one and a site/place to get them from please?

Anything else?

CJ, do you, by any chance, have any detailed instructions on how you exactly done the AE bit? especially the wiring up part?

Thanks!

 

[sk93]

The best dremel is... a dremel

Got mine from B&Q.. for less than Amazon is offering it currently:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dremel-F0130300MR-Multi-Tool-300-30/dp/B002LARRQC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=diy&qid=1260806288&sr=1-1
i initially went to Wickes for it, where they told me Dremel had gone out of business.....

You'll also need a rotary cutting set I'd imagine.
I again got mine from B&Q, as they have hundreds of bits to choose from.

 

[cj10jeeper]

Mine came from Aldi as a Dremel is a Dremel. It came with a 2 foot flexible drive into which I used a 1" cutting disk. That gave raw cutting power and ease of use.
The skill is the cutting and separating of the light and not the tool used. Chop the perspex lens off one and then cut the remaining lip out of the housing. That's a good start.

In terms of the wiring. No guide - The project is somewhat on the edge using years of experience at DIY, custom builds, etc. I could not even begin to put on paper what I did and needed to cut up the internal housings find suitable CCFL tubes. It's the sort of thing that once you have the light open you'll start to see what can be dismantled internally, where wires need to go, etc.

Tip one - do not under any circumstances touch the silver inner housing of the light. Rubbing fingerprints off will likely leave visible scratches.

 

[Dreamer]

Not sure how much help i'll be. All i did was change around the internals. As far as handling a Dremel goes, take it very slow they can get very hot and start to melt things very quickly

If you have the clear set, what do you need to change? The inner black section to a chrome one?

 

[peddy]

Thanks for the info so far guys!

If you have the clear set, what do you need to change? The inner black section to a chrome one?

I have the clear set, but they have black inners and, more importantly, they are from a facelift. I'll be constructing the headlight with the internals and chrome inners from the headlight you're kindly giving me, obviously the indicator lens will be coming from the clear headlights and the plastic cover from whichever set that is in a better condition.

Tip one - do not under any circumstances touch the silver inner housing of the light. Rubbing fingerprints off will likely leave visible scratches.

Dreamer, is the chrome inners in your headlights ok in regards to CJ's Tip about not touching them, etc?

CJ, why is this so important? are the chrome inners really that delicate?

 

[Dreamer]

They look fine to me. I didnt think they scratched that easily, but then i never had them out of the case.

 

[cj10jeeper]

They were never built to ve handled and do scratch easily.
If you start getting then dirty with careless touching then even the fibres on a normal fabric cloth can scratch them. (I know from experience) If you do put scratches or leave fingerprints they will be very obvious through the clear poly lens cover.

Same goes for fingerprints on the inside of the lens cover. I recall someone posting that they rebuilt their lights only to find prints that would not remove as they are on the inside.

While at it ensure the inside od the lamp is 100% dirt free. All the plastic and sealer you cut up, jumps around and one day will end up somewhere visible.

 

[peddy]

What did you use to glue it back together?

How did you check to see it was perfectly sealed and no chance of leaking, etc?

 

[cj10jeeper]

What did you use to glue it back together?

How did you check to see it was perfectly sealed and no chance of leaking, etc?

Black silicone sealer
Put a first bead in the join to hold it and then added a second bead for clean finish. Examined the bead all around by eye. No leaks after several months

 

[peddy]

Mine came from Aldi as a Dremel is a Dremel. It came with a 2 foot flexible drive into which I used a 1" cutting disk. That gave raw cutting power and ease of use.

like this one... http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9288252&fh_view_size=150&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB&fh_search=dremel&fh_eds=%C3%9F&fh_refview=search&ts=1261315611092&isSearch=true

if so, then is it a good price?

 

[cj10jeeper]

Looks very expensive to me, but does include the flexible drive. I only paid £14.95, but that's a typical Aldi price fro their 'Craft' brand, when they have them in.

Try Ebay for a non branded version

 

[peddy]

Looks very expensive to me, but does include the flexible drive. I only paid £14.95, but that's a typical Aldi price fro their 'Craft' brand, when they have them in.

Try Ebay for a non branded version

what did you get exactly for £14.95? I have been looking around and the dremel machine on it's own is £30. e.g. http://www.dremel-direct.com/acatalog/300_Series_Machine_Only.html

unless i go for something like this...? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hobby-Multi-Purpose-Tool-Sanding-Grinding-Polishing-Set_W0QQitemZ130337476162QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM?hash=item1e58b80e42

 

[cj10jeeper]

You get the 'Dremel', flexible driveshaft, some sort of bench stand and a selection of cutters and wheels. I spent another £5 and got the huge selection box of cutters, grinders polishers, etc. As I said Aldi are cheap.

The one you reference looks better value than real Dremel

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Hi Peddy,

Not sure if you've bought the Dremel yet, but I was just in Halfords picking up a few things and they had on of these (not showing on the Halfords web site)...
http://www.myhobbystore.com/product.asp?p=22996
Bought it for £14.99!

I was going to buy a Dremel later this year, but at that price I thought I'd bag it now and buy a cutting disks later.

Don't know if this was a local promo, but it may be worth a look if you're passing a store.

I did a quick check online, when I was in store, and it seems the RC18 be compatible with Dremel... if not the same thing CJ mentioned. You may want to double check.

 

[peddy]

Hi Peddy,

Not sure if you've bought the Dremel yet, but I was just in Halfords picking up a few things and they had on of these (not showing on the Halfords web site)...
http://www.myhobbystore.com/product.asp?p=22996
Bought it for £14.99!

I was going to buy a Dremel later this year, but at that price I thought I'd bag it now and buy a cutting disks later.

Don't know if this was a local promo, but it may be worth a look if you're passing a store.

I did a quick check online, when I was in store, and it seems the RC18 be compatible with Dremel... if not the same thing CJ mentioned. You may want to double check.

Thanks for that... I've still not bought it. The weather is not ideal, so though to just wait.

So is that price include all the bits shown in the link or just for the rotary tool itself?

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Thanks for that... I've still not bought it. The weather is not ideal, so though to just wait.

So is that price include all the bits shown in the link or just for the rotary tool itself?

It includes the accessories... found it on the Halfords site - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_157303_langId_-1_categoryId_165572#dtab
You can put in your post code and check local stock.

Ironically mine didn't work and I had to take it back... they didn't have another To add insult to injury a chap saw what I had and proceeded to tell me how brilliant it was and that it has been a lifesaver with jobs on his motorbike! Going to another store after work

 

[Rudd]

hey peddy, what are you doing with the amber indicators you take out? just chucking them? if you are i'll have them off you :wink:

do they just kind of screw in? i take it they are not moulded into the headlight

 

[peddy]

You can have them once I'm done. I'll also have my own headlights for sale at that point as I'm converting another set of headlights. With the weather and being busy recently I've not had a chance to even look at the headlights properly. From what I could tell they were probably screwed in, but CJ will probably give the definitive answer to that.

So what are you planning to do with them?

 

[cj10jeeper]

Not sure what 'answer' yo want here, if at all, but once the clear lens is removed a set of plastic legs with tabbs on and torx srews are released that allow the inner silver or black surround and the amber indicator lens to be removed. The lens is in turn fastened to the surround with another 2 or 3 torx that kep them as a single piece.

 

[Rudd]

You can have them once I'm done. I'll also have my own headlights for sale at that point as I'm converting another set of headlights. With the weather and being busy recently I've not had a chance to even look at the headlights properly. From what I could tell they were probably screwed in, but CJ will probably give the definitive answer to that.

So what are you planning to do with them?

iv been toying with the idea of blacking them out with spray and refitting to the already black inners. i think done properly and with a little care it could work out quite well, what you guys think?

id just like to be able to spray a set of indicators off the car so i have the option to go ahead, and if it looks crap i have a backup