RC - 1st Gen (2015-present) Discussion about the new Lexus RC model

Inside door lighting

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Old 04-03-17, 03:39 PM
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bfrd
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Default Inside door lighting

I did my first mini mod to the RC. I am not 100% sold on it yet. Really hard to get a good picture, but here is what I have.



Inside the door is a single led with a long light pipe. I used Blaze orange plasti dip and put on a single generous layer. Let dry and reassembled.

It is a nice subtle touch for a Molten Pearl RC. I think.

Thoughts?
Old 04-04-17, 05:57 AM
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tfischer
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That strip of light is low intensity and very subtle; with the extra color filter on yours, do you get much light shining through (not that it's used for illumination)?
Old 04-04-17, 08:54 AM
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bfrd
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Originally Posted by tfischer
That strip of light is low intensity and very subtle; with the extra color filter on yours, do you get much light shining through (not that it's used for illumination)?
The amount of light isn't that much different. A single layer of plasti dip is fairly translucent. However, I think I am going to go with a different method. I found some translucent colored tape on amazon and I will try that instead. There is a minor variation in the thickness of the spray that changes the intensity a little. The tape will be much more consistent. If that fails to produce I will just wire in an orange led.
Old 04-04-17, 09:02 AM
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You might want to check with a theater supply house and get some "gel." Usually made by Rosco, it's the colored translucent material used on the front of stage lights, and it comes in a thousand colors and only costs a few dollars for a fairly large sheet. Depending on how the light pipe is set in the door, you might be able to just slide a strip of this in there.
Old 04-04-17, 09:10 AM
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bfrd
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Originally Posted by tfischer
You might want to check with a theater supply house and get some "gel." Usually made by Rosco, it's the colored translucent material used on the front of stage lights, and it comes in a thousand colors and only costs a few dollars for a fairly large sheet. Depending on how the light pipe is set in the door, you might be able to just slide a strip of this in there.
I was originally thinking of using gel, but I couldn't figure out a good way to attach it to the light pipe.
Old 04-13-17, 07:26 AM
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happy1977
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Originally Posted by bfrd
I did my first mini mod to the RC. I am not 100% sold on it yet. Really hard to get a good picture, but here is what I have.



Inside the door is a single led with a long light pipe. I used Blaze orange plasti dip and put on a single generous layer. Let dry and reassembled.

It is a nice subtle touch for a Molten Pearl RC. I think.

Thoughts?


Tried taking a pic. Not that hard.
Old 04-23-17, 12:55 PM
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Pretty creative and I think it would compliment the paint too. Nice work!
Old 04-25-17, 03:01 AM
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bfrd
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A few updates...

I didn't like the highlighter tape as the color was off with just one layer. It got better with two, but still not quite right. I moved on to the LED method. I picked up various LEDs and began testing for color. The best colors came from the through-hole type of LEDs, but those will require a custom 3D printed enclosure. I removed the existing SMD LED from the factory board and tried replacing with an orange SMD led, but didn't like the color. Also, if you have ever tried hand soldering SMD components you know the pain this can become. What I ended up with was to re-install the factory white LED and placing 2 layers of orange highlighter tape and 1 layer of pink tape just to the end of the light tube (should have thought of that sooner). The pink layer helped with the color and just putting the tape on the end makes it super simple to make the layers consistent. I will get them back in the doors this weekend and get pictures.

Now, what to do with all of those left-over orange LEDs...
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