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How to make clear turn signals

13K views 35 replies 20 participants last post by  SUPRAFAST 
#1 · (Edited)
So you think you want clear corners huh?:cool:


Introduction:
After getting a few PM's asking about how to make them I have decided to create a tutorial on how to make clear corners. Let me frist give you this warning. If you have perfect OEM turn signals don't break them and turn them into clear corners. It's getting harder to find good condition turn signals these days.

What you need:
1) Before starting this project you need to find a set (both left and right, they are not interchangeable) that already have the orange/amber plastic cracked or broken. A junk yard is the best place to find a set. At least here in Washigton they are fairly abundant. It will cost you $10-$15 each at the junk yard I got mine from.

2) Now, you need to find some good clear plastic. I got mine from the school janitor who was just going to throw some broken bits away. My school is fairly old so we have the good stuff. The good stuff is fairly thick and bends well when heated up.

3) I've found that pliers work very well for busting and riping out the old orange/amber plastic. You need to remove all of it. It's hard to get it out from around the corners because it's held in by heat sensitive glue. It's a bit like tree sap. It's easier to remove if you have... (see next item)

4) A heat gun. They're like hair dryers on steroids. I got mine from an RC airplane store a long time ago when I was into RC planes. The RC plane guys use it to shrink the wing covering material onto the balsa wood wings and fuselage. You will be using it to heat up the glue that's holding the plastic to the black turn signal housing. You'll also be using it to heat the clear plastic so you can bend it to fit the turn signal housing.

5) Dremel tool. I use a dremel tool to remove some of the black plastic on the turn signal housing so the clear plastic will sit flush with the forward facing surface of the black turn signal housing. I also use it to cut the clear plastic to the right size. I have several different dremel tool cutters and grinders. I use a diamond dust/sand coated cutting wheel to cut the clear plastic to the right size. A metal cutting wheel might work better.

6) Sand paper or a grinder. I use a grinder to trim my clear plastic to just the right shape so that it squezes into the black housing tightly

7) Paint. I use primer, black, silver, and clear coat paint. This really makes them look sharp in the end.

8) Hot glue gun. A hot glue gun with the clear plastic sticks is what I use to hold the new clear plastic in its place in the turn signal housing.

9) Patience. This job takes a lot of fine tuning but hopefully this tutorial will keep you from having too many head aches.

How to do it:
Start by Taking out the screws in the corners that help hold the plastic in. Then begin riping out all the orange plastic with your pliers. Use the heat gun to heat up the bits that are still held in by the glue. Be carefull not to melt or deform the black plastic though.

Now you need to use the dremel tool to remove some of the plastic on the inside of the turn signal housing. I go all around the inside edge evening everything up and grinding down the bumps. I also remove some of the plastic where the bend in the housing is.

Get out your sheet of clear plastic and cut out a piece that's about 3/4 of an inch larger than you think you need. This 3/4 of an inch of extra plastic will be ground down to make it fit just right. So, off you go making the clear plastic fit just right into the black housing without any gaps in the corners. This is the most time consuming part. Once you get the two pieces of plastic to fit into their turn signal housings you're on the home stretch.

What yours might look like at this point

Test fit the lights into the black housing and make sure there's enough clearnace. Uh oh! You just found out that the side marker light hits the clear plastic! This is because the new clear plastic sits much farther in than the old orange/amber plastic. You can solve this problem by grinding off some of the black plastic on the back where the light goes in and bend the light fitting closer to the car side of the turn signal housing. It's hard to describe but with the removal of some of the plastic and the heating of the plastic that's left the light fitting will bend and stay there. It usually opens up a hole in the plastic which I carefully fill with glue from the hot glue gun.

Now you're ready for paint. Mask of the inside reflective part with tape and newspaper or whatever you like and prime the back and front edge. Let it dry a while and then use your black spray paint on the whole thing. Use a couple coats to make sure you don't miss anything. Let it dry a couple hours before picking it up again. Test with a finger on a part of the turn signal that will not be seen after it is installed to make sure the paint is completely dry.

Remove the masking on the inner reflective part and mask of the parts you just painted black. Prime and then spray with silver. Same thing with the drying times inbetween as on the black paint. Remove the masking on the black parts and it should be looking pretty good now.

Carefully test fit the clear plastic into the housing. If it fits and looks good get out the glue gun and quickly shoot a layer on the parts of the housing that the plastic touches. While the glue is still hot put the clear plastic into the housing. Keep it pressing into place with your hands or a paper weight or something. It takes about 20 mins for the glue to completely harden.

Spray the turn signals with a coat or two of clear. This also helps hold the clear plastic in place. Put the lights in and then mount the signals on your car.

Finished, but not on the car yet

Finished, and on the car

I'll add more pictures or anything I forgot later.

-Dave
 
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#27 ·
If I may,
Looks like that plastic is from overhead flourescent lights (diffuser) used in industrial buildings. You get the added bonus of already being bent in a close to 45 degree.
Although I like originality, I would like to see some in a smokey lense

Guess I'll need a Hustler for that
 
#30 ·
I would like to update this thread with new picture links because all the old ones are broken. I have taken the time upload new pictures to Photobucket. Here are the pictures in order.







If a Mod could put these pictures under the links in my first post that would be awesome :)

-Dave
 
#31 ·
Here are a few shots of mine with Da Thugish Grill.





A couple pointers to anybody trying this, be very carefull not to brake the plastic pieces that hold the ball joint from the corner light housing, also make sure you drill the holes in the clear plastic before you glue them in place (I almost screwed myself by forgetting to do so).
 
#34 ·
I am just now starting to do this mod to my turn signals and Im also trying this on my fog lights. I know they are already clear but the glass cover is broke so before I just toss them im going to try this mod and see if it works. BTW thanks for the write up!!
 
#36 ·
It wouldn't be so much for usefullness but more so to make it look clean, to tell you the truth im not entirely sure if the fogs even work. If it doesn't work of look good I may replace them with new ones or just get rid of them and make a custom grill from turn signal to turn signal.
 
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