Warning for those considering Camaro clear corners...
05-12-2007, 10:13 PM
#1
Warning for those considering Camaro clear corners... I'm hoping this saves some people hassle in the long run. I read a bunch, tried everything proactively, and still ended up removing foggy clear corners this afternoon...
If you search, you'll find many different threads about clear corners, some people having them fog or get water, some people having no problems, and many people making various recommendations from drilling holes to sealing them up.
After having taken mine out a year or so later and given them a good look, I have some overall tips for those of you dying to get clear markers. I loved the way they looked but am just not willing to hassle with them fogging. But now I know how to prep them at day 1.
1.) If you want the smoke look, absolutely smoke your stockers with VHT or film. Skip this entire thread and get on with your life. Factory ones hold up much better.
2.) Aftermarket, they are all the same. Smoke or clear, they are the same parts whether from ebay or whereever. Therefore they all have the same design flaws. Thus, without some active work, they will all eventually fog or end up as fishtanks if you drive your car in wet weather and/or wash it with pressure.
3.) Use the correct bulbs. Most bulbs (including ours) have different part numbers, that are the same physical interface/size, but different power levels. Using the wrong bulb can create more heat and melt/deform them.
4.) Check that the reflector is properly installed. There is a small heat shield/reflector that should help keep a little heat off the bulb interface. On my parts originally, it was knocked loose, and I had to reinstall it.
5.) Use clear RTV on the outside perimiter where the clear plastic is bonded to the gray/silver plastic. Just do it, and let it cure. Take care not to scratch it off or chip any corners while installing. You can use black, because it won't be visible when they are installed. But you might as well use clear and be safe.
6.) Check that both of your bulb factory rubber gaskets are intact and good (flexible, not cracked or rotten). If they are missing or bad, replace them. You need that seal.
7.) Use more clear RTV around the outside of the large bulb socket AFTER you seat the bulb socket (on the car). After a year of use, this is where my markers failed. The plastic around the bulb seat melted, deformed, and no longer gave a good seal. If I would have sealed them up at day one, it would have been ok. It took about 9 months before mine started fogging, and eventually became fishtanks.
7.) If you don't do all this up front, and they are all foggy, it is not too late to fix them. But fix them! Water/fog in there will rust out your sockets and or make the bulbs fail / brittle.
Here are a couple pics of mine after I took them out today, including a close up of the large bulb seat. It is kinda hard to see in a pic but you can see the sealing seat is no longer flat. The stock lenses have a thicker seat in this area.
If you search, you'll find many different threads about clear corners, some people having them fog or get water, some people having no problems, and many people making various recommendations from drilling holes to sealing them up.
After having taken mine out a year or so later and given them a good look, I have some overall tips for those of you dying to get clear markers. I loved the way they looked but am just not willing to hassle with them fogging. But now I know how to prep them at day 1.
1.) If you want the smoke look, absolutely smoke your stockers with VHT or film. Skip this entire thread and get on with your life. Factory ones hold up much better.
2.) Aftermarket, they are all the same. Smoke or clear, they are the same parts whether from ebay or whereever. Therefore they all have the same design flaws. Thus, without some active work, they will all eventually fog or end up as fishtanks if you drive your car in wet weather and/or wash it with pressure.
3.) Use the correct bulbs. Most bulbs (including ours) have different part numbers, that are the same physical interface/size, but different power levels. Using the wrong bulb can create more heat and melt/deform them.
4.) Check that the reflector is properly installed. There is a small heat shield/reflector that should help keep a little heat off the bulb interface. On my parts originally, it was knocked loose, and I had to reinstall it.
5.) Use clear RTV on the outside perimiter where the clear plastic is bonded to the gray/silver plastic. Just do it, and let it cure. Take care not to scratch it off or chip any corners while installing. You can use black, because it won't be visible when they are installed. But you might as well use clear and be safe.
6.) Check that both of your bulb factory rubber gaskets are intact and good (flexible, not cracked or rotten). If they are missing or bad, replace them. You need that seal.
7.) Use more clear RTV around the outside of the large bulb socket AFTER you seat the bulb socket (on the car). After a year of use, this is where my markers failed. The plastic around the bulb seat melted, deformed, and no longer gave a good seal. If I would have sealed them up at day one, it would have been ok. It took about 9 months before mine started fogging, and eventually became fishtanks.
7.) If you don't do all this up front, and they are all foggy, it is not too late to fix them. But fix them! Water/fog in there will rust out your sockets and or make the bulbs fail / brittle.
Here are a couple pics of mine after I took them out today, including a close up of the large bulb seat. It is kinda hard to see in a pic but you can see the sealing seat is no longer flat. The stock lenses have a thicker seat in this area.
Last edited by todddchi; 05-12-2007 at 10:40 PM.
05-12-2007, 10:46 PM
#3
The original note had a comment about using rubbing alchohol to clean them out... but I looked at them while boxing them up and there were some small cracks in them. I'm not sure if they were there before or not but the alchohol could have chemically caused them, they look like stress cracks. So I deleted that part and added this comment for extra caution.
