Removing and re-sealing S1 Headlight Covers

[Pumpkinheeed]

The time has come to get round to this.
Any suggestions on the best way to get them off and what to reseal them with?

Cheers

[Tin Hat]

I used a silicone to reseal mine and it buggered them right up!

I would guess that new ones would probably be the way forward, I think that they are availible with the special adhesive tape already applied.

[rfoster]

Eliseparts sell a mastic on a roll with their headlight covers which works very well. They may sell it seperately.

[tlracing]

You can buy double-sided adhesive foam tape from any R/C model shop (used for mounting servos) or if you look for "adhesive foam tape" on eBay it'll come up!

Have a look at item no: 200098072527

I used the 'heavy duty' grade 12mm wide x 1mm thick stuff which is narrow enough to curve around without creasing and is hidden behind the trim tape on the outside of the covers.

It comes off cleanly too, if you need to remove it again.

Edited by tlracing on Thursday 24th January 14:18

[Pumpkinheeed]

Thanks!

Have ordered the eliseparts stuff.

Now whats the ebst way to get the buggers off without damaging the either the covers or the body work?

Cheers

[noodleman]

Thanks TLRacing, that looks perfect. Just ordered some.

I assume it's strong enough that they won't fly off at 130 mph?

[fatwomble]

Pumpkinheeed said:

Thanks!

Have ordered the eliseparts stuff.

Now whats the ebst way to get the buggers off without damaging the either the covers or the body work?

Cheers

depends what they are stuck on with at the moment, if it is the same sort of stuff as the eliseparts goo, they will just pull off, if it is sikaflex (sp) it will take a lot more effort and may cause some damage.

[tlracing]

noodleman said:

I assume it's strong enough that they won't fly off at 130 mph?

It's always been okay on my Exige, even through a season of sprinting and plenty of road use. Run a continuous strip all round the cover so no air can get under it and it'll be fine.

Being thicker than ordinary tape, the material takes up any minor gaps between cover and body. Make sure the bodywork is dry and grease-free before fixing too.

Getting the stuff off is straightforward - easiest on a warm, sunny day (see, global warming has its uses...) and then carefully lever off the cover using a blunt (plastic) implement so you don't damage the paintwork.

You might need to go around a couple of times - better to do that than try to rush - and if the tape splits through the centre, any bits will simply peel off without damaging the paintwork.

[Andyt25]

Mine have two allen screws holding them on which is great as I take them of and clean behind them when cleaning.

[noodleman]

Thanks TLRacing.

Mine were fitted as standard. Should they be easy to remove?

[tlracing]

Should be easy enough, just don't use anything sharp that might dig into the paintwork and damage it. Also, the adhesive will soften if it's warm, so go borrow 'er indoors' hairdryer

[noodleman]

Cheers mate. The tape's arrived this morning so i'll let everyone know how I get on.

[Pumpkinheeed]

Reet!
The goo has arrived this morning from EliseParts. Have taken one cover off (the one that was leaking. Was very loose at the top) and discovered two types of material. One white strip that looks like the EliseParts goo and then a harder black rubber.

Question is... as well as removing the white stuff do I take the black rubber off too?
If so how?

Cheers

[wacattack]

tlracing said:

You can buy double-sided adhesive foam tape from any R/C model shop (used for mounting servos) or if you look for "adhesive foam tape" on eBay it'll come up!

Have a look at item no: 200098072527

I used the 'heavy duty' grade 12mm wide x 1mm thick stuff which is narrow enough to curve around without creasing and is hidden behind the trim tape on the outside of the covers.

It comes off cleanly too, if you need to remove it again.

Edited by tlracing on Thursday 24th January 14:18

You into RC racing then? If so what class do you race? I do 1/10th offroad

[noodleman]

Job done. Headlight covers came off with a hairdryer and brute force. No tools required.

Resealed with the ebay tape and all seems fine. Stayed stuck at 100 mph (on a private road of course) and i'll test at higher speeds asap.

If I did it again, I'd probably go for slightly thinner than 12mm as it does crease a bit on the inside edge and is tricky to keep within the black edge of the cover (which is probably only 13-14 mm). The 1mm thickness is perfect though. It's quite a bit thinner than standard and means my headlight covers now fit flush to the body.

Thanks for the steer TLRacing.

[tlracing]