DIY – GS300 – clear tails – amber removal
#17
Lead Lap
iTrader: (2)
think I'll save my money and just do this instead of updated tails. it wouldnt be a bad business venture for someone to buy several pairs and de-amber them and sell em online somewhere or just offer the service . Charge folks lets say $50-60 or so plus shipping both ways. Still ends up bein way cheaper and better lookin then led's or 01+
Its funny u say this, there is already a guy on ebay doing this. I dont remember his price tho. To the poster: Great writeup. I think im going to give this a try but wait until i have some backup LED tails in case anything goes wrong.
#18
I might have to take you up on your offer. Im just too busy to fool with it myself plus I wouldnt wanna fuq up one of my lights. All Im worried about is what if you damage it in the process, then Im short ya know. Very tempting...
#19
Okay, so I did this tonight and it came out okay for the most part. There were a couple of boo-boo's but that's why I bought an extra set of lights to play around and experiment with. It's nothing I can't live with but the next time I do it I'll know better. I took some pics right before my batteries died and I need to go buy some more so I can post the pics. In the meantime here are a couple of pointers:
1) I had to heat my oven to 200 degrees as 170 & 190 didn't seem to help much.
2) The first lens I put in for 15 minute increments starting at 170 degrees and would try to gently pry w/the screwdriver. It wasn't until leaving it in longer at 200 degrees that it loosened up. The second lens I left in for 20 minutes and started prying in a couple of areas, then put it back in for another 20 minutes and the lens came off pretty easy. Next time, I'd put it in for 1/2 hour to start with.
3) TAKE YOUR TIME when prying w/screwdriver and BE GENTLE!! Work slowly and if you hear it start to "crackle", back off and stick it back it the oven.
I'll post later this weekend w/pics after I get some batteries for the camera. Thanks again to the OP for the helpful tips!!
~Jonny
1) I had to heat my oven to 200 degrees as 170 & 190 didn't seem to help much.
2) The first lens I put in for 15 minute increments starting at 170 degrees and would try to gently pry w/the screwdriver. It wasn't until leaving it in longer at 200 degrees that it loosened up. The second lens I left in for 20 minutes and started prying in a couple of areas, then put it back in for another 20 minutes and the lens came off pretty easy. Next time, I'd put it in for 1/2 hour to start with.
3) TAKE YOUR TIME when prying w/screwdriver and BE GENTLE!! Work slowly and if you hear it start to "crackle", back off and stick it back it the oven.
I'll post later this weekend w/pics after I get some batteries for the camera. Thanks again to the OP for the helpful tips!!
~Jonny
#20
Lead Lap
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good job jonny i forgot to mention if you hear any crackling sounds to stop, i managed to only put one little spider crack which is not visible with the lights in place
#21
I know, I know....i shoulda known better and stopped when I heard the crackling, but I wasn't patient enough on the first light. A couple of spider cracks but they're on the fringe and you have to really look for them. The 2nd lens came out much better. I think I had the same issue you did: one lens came apart easier than the other.
Thanks again for posting this thread, JRiggs....this is a mod I've wanted to do for a looooong time!!
Thanks again for posting this thread, JRiggs....this is a mod I've wanted to do for a looooong time!!
#22
looks like imma be gettin a sport design gs now and tradin in the '00. But still I think I might try this look on my sport design. I'll prolly just pick up a pair of 98-00 tails for cheap and try and do it myself. If I mess em up I still got the nice updated tails anyways right
#23
Yeah, you should really give it a try. IMO on a difficulty scale of 1-to-10 this mod would rank at about a "2". It's not difficult at all but the most challenging aspect of doing this mod is exercising patience.
#29
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (17)
Nice write-up, it's about time somebody took the time to put up a good guide. I was actually a little surprised by how sharp they look. Patience is huge, I'd done this on other cars before and this glue is much different from my old ES300, it doesn't really melt apart very well. I put a few tiny spiderweb cracks along the edge of one of them too but backed off before they went all the way through the lens. I did this a few weeks ago with the intention to sell them since I replaced with LED's, I gotta get off my rear and get pics uploaded so I can put up a FS thread.