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Hey everyone,

I'm really enjoying restoring a pair of used foglamps I purchased.  Plenty of corrosion outside, but the mirrors and lenses are perfect.  They are off a 80,000 mile car that was Chicago-based (too bad I couldn't convince the owner to pull the PERFECT navy leather interior before he sold it for scrap for $40).

Two questions:

1.  I need one new bulb - anyone have a spare they'd like to mail me for a few dollars?

2.  What type of sealer should I use around the lens?  The original rubber is in good condition, but I'd be a fool not to supplement it with something....  I'd like something that won't adhere too tightly when I go to service the lamp again.  Of course, if it works well, I'll never have to again separate the lens from the reflector.....recommendations?

John

PS:  FUN 1 day project.  I'm using zip-strip (spray), duplicolor sandable primer and rustoleum wrinkle enamel.  They look wonderful!

Here they are!



Don't they look great?

What a satisfying project!  I can't tell you the improvement in appearance - even the one that was "clean" had internal corrosion - and the mirror was starting to spiderweb with progressive decay.

Now they are painted inside and out, sealed and lenses polished, outer lenses cleaned thoroughly (not as easy as it sounds - the little ridges in the glass are inside and required a thorough scrubbing).

I sealed the wire inlet internally with silicone waterproof caulk, and used "marvel mystery oil" (an ancient and respected automotive light oil with magical properties) to lube the edges of the glass lenses where they meet the inner rubber liner.

Total time invested probably 3 - 4 hours -

Materials/tools used:

1.  duplicolor sandable primer / spray
2.  Krylon textured satin black / spray
3.  One brush from a fingernail polish bottle
4.  fine-grit sandpaper
5.  Dremel tool with a small grinding bit
6.  Silicone Caulk
7.  Marvel mystery oil

Be sure you thoroughly grind the grundgy old sealer off the lower non-mirrored portion of the reflector with the dremel, and paint it with primer.  This surface attracts moisture as that old sealer is porous.  If you really want to do it right I suppose you could use header paint to be sure it will take heat....  I used the primer.

Lube the rubber gasket for the wire and the glass lens before installation - this will assure easy disassembly and seal the mating surfaces

Fun fun FUN!

The minty fresh smell of the marvel oil (it must contain menthol oils as well as petroleum) is an added plus.

Now....  the waiting for big Max to hit my driveway becomes just that much more difficult to bear.



John

Do you have photos of your handywork? Even better, did you take any photos of the process to attach the lights?

Have the lights made much of a difference to your vision at night?

Still waiting....

Big Max is to hit the driveway in about 3 weeks.  Owner is wintering in Florida.



(one of the many pictures I received in January before sending my deposit)

I'll be curious about mounting myself - I notice the mounts on the lamps appear to take bolts of some kind.  Fortunately there are a couple of parts cars nearbye so I can match the hardware.