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I've seen a few threads on some photoshopped tail lights and how cool it would be but I can't seem to find any ideas on how you could mold or form a new tail light using an old lens.
Well that's exactly what I'm interested in doing. And am asking if it would be better to cast a taillight mold and fill with resin or maybe try to heat up some lexan and form it around the tail light lens. Or if it is even possible to do either of these.
Does anyone have experience in this type of work and could maybe point me in the right direction? I know removing the honeycomb is impossible so the only other alternative would be to create a whole new tail light.
The look I'm going for is a blacked out tail with two led circles. I've found the material to make the circles and how to wire it all up, the only thing that's got me stumped is how to go about actually making a new lens. stole this from BirdsSince16 hope he doesn't mind
Last edited by BamaBird22; 06-22-2017 at 11:22 AM.
i like that top pic as well. I have been thinking about this for quite some time. I have the tail lights from a 2010 GMC Acadia and a bogus rear tail light off a 2002 Fire bird. I was gonna play with epoxy and what not and try and merge the two together somehow.
well there was a former sponser that actually made the outer lense replacement in clear, though im not sure what he used as the material maybe lexan. You could use a two part silicone to make a form for the outer part of the lense and then heat and shape lexan. Keep in mind that it will likely deform a little so it may have some odd spots where the light would pass through like distortions depending on the amount of heat/shaping. then just cut to the excess off and glue it on to the OE housing. this would give you working room inside the housing to do your circle lights.
as far as casting goes, yes its doable just depends on the amount of money and effort you want to put into the casting. Makeing a good reproduction requires a bit more than making the molds and then filling them and letting them cure. You will need either Vacuum or Pressure setup to make clean casts with no air bubbles. Better off reaching out to our old sponser and see if he has some availible. For some clear lenses if I remember correctly (assuming he has any left) it was less than the cost of materials and effort it would require to make the same product.
i like that top pic as well. I have been thinking about this for quite some time. I have the tail lights from a 2010 GMC Acadia and a bogus rear tail light off a 2002 Fire bird. I was gonna play with epoxy and what not and try and merge the two together somehow.
like i said - just thinking out loud about it.
Acadia tail light
Yea. I have only one shot at making this work cause if I eff up the lens it's the only one I have and buying another would just add to cost. The lighting and wiring isn't hard for me at all but I know nothing about casting and molding, i.e. What would stick/adhere to the lens and what wouldn't. Is lexan the best to use or would it even work. I was hoping someone could chime in that knew a bit about casting objects.
well there was a former sponser that actually made the outer lense replacement in clear, though im not sure what he used as the material maybe lexan. You could use a two part silicone to make a form for the outer part of the lense and then heat and shape lexan. Keep in mind that it will likely deform a little so it may have some odd spots where the light would pass through like distortions depending on the amount of heat/shaping. then just cut to the excess off and glue it on to the OE housing. this would give you working room inside the housing to do your circle lights.
as far as casting goes, yes its doable just depends on the amount of money and effort you want to put into the casting. Makeing a good reproduction requires a bit more than making the molds and then filling them and letting them cure. You will need either Vacuum or Pressure setup to make clean casts with no air bubbles. Better off reaching out to our old sponser and see if he has some availible. For some clear lenses if I remember correctly (assuming he has any left) it was less than the cost of materials and effort it would require to make the same product.
Do you know his name or is he still a user of this site? Maybe I could pm him and chat a little.
I don't know if something as dense as lexan/plexi would catch the same amount of detail as the thin stuff that guy was using. Also, our tail lights are more than not a "U" shape which I fee like would make them more hard to create a vacuum around.
This might be a dumb question but I've always been curious. In a custom project such as this, could these tail lights covers be modified and used in the place of lenses? The shape and the tint is already there, could they be directly sealed to the housing?
This might be a dumb question but I've always been curious. In a custom project such as this, could these tail lights covers be modified and used in the place of lenses? The shape and the tint is already there, could they be directly sealed to the housing?
They might would work if it were the whole lens. It's missing the end where the reverse lights are which is part of the entire tail light. I would imagine if you were good at plastic welding and could get your hands on a machine it would probably work like a charm.
Those blackouts cover the entire lense including the reverse light , it covers the dimpled section for the reverse light giving it a smooth look all the way across.
Those blackouts cover the entire lense including the reverse light , it covers the dimpled section for the reverse light giving it a smooth look all the way across.
Ah. Then it would probably work. Idk how thin the covers are. It might be a very brittle (easy to break) plastic but I don't see why it wouldn't work
06-22-2017, 11:17 AM
Custom tail light questions/ideas 
stole this from BirdsSince16 hope he doesn't mind 
stole this from BirdsSince16 hope he doesn't mind 
