Polished/Restored 3rd brake lense - Looks New!

[Henceforward]

Sorry I don't have any pics yet, but I got tired of having a dark maroon 3rd brake light lense. The light output was horrible. Looked almost black. 50resto wanted $100 for the Convertible taillight assembly so I decided to do it myself.

Here's what you need and the steps taken. I followed this guide basically. http://www.nseconsulting.com/bmw/hpt.pdf

1. Sandpaper 600 grit, 800 grit, 1000 grit, 1500 grit, 2000 grit etc.
2. Rubbing compound
3. Cleaner Wax
4. Water

I wetsanded using 600, then 800, then 1000, then 1500.
After the 1500 I used rubbing compound with a polishing pad
After that I washed it with water, and let it dry.
Then I waxed the crap out of it, and it looks brand new, and very clear.

To make the restoration worth a flip I sanded the entire reflective surface inside the housing with 600 and proceded used blue painters tape and taped off the lense inside the housing, taped off the outside of the lense, and then hit the plastic housing with chrome spray paint, 2 coats, let dry over night.

Then I removed the tape, put the bulbs back in and it looks sharp.

I even ordered a set of 9LED brake lights that fit in the 912 style socket. I don't know if these are gonna work too well, but the regular 912 bulbs over time had burned a rather large dime sized hole in the housing from the heat. LEDS will be much cooler temperature wise, but might not light up as bright as I want.

921-x9 LED Wedge Base Bulbs from http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html

Keep in mind that Red plastic lenses require RED LEDS.

Which Color LEDs should I use ?
For best results the LED color should be the same as the lens color. As an example: a red lens will filter out all but the red portion of the light so if the light is all red, none or very little light will be blocked by the lens. The light from a White LED contains very little light in the red portion of the visible spectrum so most of the light would be filtered out by a red lens.

As noted I will snap some pics, and when the LEDS come in I will update this thread too.

Next I am gonna polish the license plate light covers so that they are clear. I ordered a set of wide angle Single LED Wedge Base Bulbs for the #194 sockets so the plates light up white.

Hopefully the wide angle bulbs don't light up like this. If they do I won't run them.
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=580742&highlight=LEDs

 

[Darkwriter77]

I've played with LED replacements in the past with a Fox. They don't seem to work well enough, unless you can find a way of re-aiming them or something. The third brake light bulbs are pointing straight up, which doesn't work with the 192 style LED replacements I've tried in the past - the light goes straight up into the housing instead of out toward the lens, and the reflector doesn't bounce enough of the light out to make it usefully visible.

Same problem with the brake lights with which I tried to replace the 1157's, but in a backwards way: the light goes straight out, so it's pretty bright in the middle of the lens, but the rest of it doesn't light up and it winds up being not as visible.

I always thought it would rock if someone came up with a way to rig up a couple of those LED trailer lights inside an LX lens - big fat packs of many, many LED's that put out a TON of light, and they do so much quicker/cooler/efficiently than a standard bulb. I'm sure it's do-able, but it would probably involve hacking up the lens housing and/or the metal behind it to fit those suckers behind the lens. That, and I'm not sure if the amount of draw with an LED light would be the same as a regular one, thus it might cause it to think that you've got a light burned out so that it won't blink (or it blinks really fast).

However, you have inspired me to go clean the crud out of my third brake light and polish the painted-on gunk from my license plate lights...

 

[Henceforward]

The convertible 3rd brake light housing has the lights positioned horizontally facing straight towards the following motorist at eye level.

So in theory I think the 9 buld LED setup might stand a chance. It will look kinda like two 1" inch red dots, but will engage quicker, burn cooler, and might be brighter.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Ah. Thought it was the same as on a notch. Very well, then, onward with the project!