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PROJECT: Making custom clear reflectors for headlights.

35K views 147 replies 21 participants last post by  mikedyk43 
#1 ·
If anyone here has ever tried to find 02-06 Escalade headlights without that hideous orange reflector, than you know that they don't exist. The closest I ever found was an archived thread here about someone in the process of making their own clear reflectors, but had his vehicle stolen along with his custom molds. After buying a set of LED taillights from user sfv41901, I realized that he was the very same guy that was creating the clear reflectors. After a lengthy discussion, he agreed to help me through the process of finishing what he started. Here is a picture from his thread of what the reflectors looked like, just imagine having these instead of the stock amber:
Yellow Rectangle Glasses


REQUEST: I am looking for someone that has cleared their headlights and still has the amber reflectors. I need OEM reflectors with the tabs still intact. I would be more than willing to buy them or take them in exchange for the first produced clear ones. If anyone has their reflectors still and is willing to part with them for this project, please either respond here or PM me.
 
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#50 ·
Question about headlight disassembly.

I don't plan on changing out the orange reflectors but would like to know how you get the housings apart without destroying them. My headlights have the haze on the inside and I'd like to be able to use some of that headlight restore on the inside of the lens to remove the cloudiness. I see the tabs along the perimeter but it also appears to be glued around the edges.
 
#52 ·
wake said:
Question about headlight disassembly.

I don't plan on changing out the orange reflectors but would like to know how you get the housings apart without destroying them. My headlights have the haze on the inside and I'd like to be able to use some of that headlight restore on the inside of the lens to remove the cloudiness. I see the tabs along the perimeter but it also appears to be glued around the edges.
If u want, u can pm me so we don't thread jack
 
#54 ·
It's eaiser than u think.

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mikedyk43 said:
The modeling clay was not as easy to work with as I had hoped. It was too dense to just be able to press the reflectors into it, so I wound up taking hours trying to get the shape and contour just right.
I told u the molding clay would be firmer. Looks like u did a good job. Hats off to u :)
 
#64 ·
Great. I see the keyholes. That's a plus. Make sure to use wood or ur acrylic to sandwich the molds together. This will make sure they don't form uneven........but be careful not to over do it as that will also create a problem.

Where are u going to fill the molds from?
 
#65 ·
I was planning on cutting 2 channels into each lens cast on the rear mold (one channel for filling, the other for air to escape). I figure the rear mold so I won't deface the visible part of the reflector when I have to cut off the tabs that are left from the resin in the holes.
 
#67 ·
Well, the first run was a failure. The resin didn't get into any of the tabs and was still very tacky in places making me think that I didn't thoroughly mix the resin and activator. I also might need to find a way to thin the resin a bit so it will fill the tab holes.
 
#69 ·
I do have a vent hole, but not a syringe. That sounds like it should help. Question: I waited almost two entire days to pull the reflectors out of the mold and they were still very sticky, did you have this at all or do you think I just need to mix the resin better?
 
#71 ·
That does make sense. I ordered some resin curing spray that is supposed to help cure and harden the outer surface.

Yes the vent is on the same side as the fill hole, anywhere else and it would be a drain. I just went and got a syringe to so we will see how the next batch turn out.
 
#73 ·
I did a little searching on how to thin the resin and found that the best method was to heat it. So I put the can in a pot of hot water for a while then poured some into my measuring cup and stirred in the catalyst. I thought I would let the bubbles work their way out while I prepped the molds. They said that heating it reduces the working time with the resin and they weren't lying. The entire mixing glass was solid as a rock in less than two minutes. I tired it a second time and this time I hurried to pour it into the already prepped molds. I think I might have succeeded in the first side, but I'm pretty sure before I got half way through the second I was pouring the consistency of toothpaste. Oh well, I'll try it again tomorrow and only mix enough for one side at a time. By the time I've gotten two usable reflectors, I will already be close to $300 into this project! I guess there is no turning back now.
 
#74 · (Edited)
Sometimes on the first casting some of the silicone mold release is still on the silicone and can cause some sticky areas for the first 1 or 2 castings. I usually leave my molds open for a day or 2 after I make them before the first casting and that sometimes gets rid of it. Did you heat cure the casting?

A picture would really help me see where the plastic is not getting. But on fixing that its about trying different pouring methods. From the looks of the molds I would leave them open and pour the liquid plastic into the smooth side then place the side with the reflectors ridges on top of if squishing it out. If the tabs the hold the reflector in stick down into the portion of the mold I would put some plastic in there before I flipped it on to the smooth half.


Damn 300 is not too bad I had about $1500 before I could get my production line up and running. Trial and error is a bitch.
 
#77 ·
I found some on ebay about 8 months ago made by Depo. They sold them as "Off Road Use Only" but I haven't been stopped by the police yet. They also blacked out some of the chrome in the housing and look awesome.
I tried desperately to find something similar to these and apparently the DOT has cracked down on selling these cause they can't be found anymore. It would have been cheaper to buy these just for the reflector than make them from scratch!
 
#83 ·
Thx B2B. That's a nice find.

I guess some how their still making them.

mikedyk43 said:
If I don't have a usable set of clear reflectors made before this auction ends, there is a very good chance I will buy these and abandon my project. I will still have to take the housings apart since I want chrome with clear reflectors.
If u end up going that route, id like dibs on the molds so that I can still finish up my S2K retros.
 
#85 ·
If u end up going that route, I'd like dibs on the molds so that I can still finish up my S2K retros.
Of course if I quit this project, they're yours. I honestly don't know that I want to just go and buy them since I have already invested so much time and money into this. I have thought of many changes that would have made the molds better and easier to use and am even considering redoing the molds from the beginning.
 
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