Leaky headlight cover

[MarkWebb]

Whilst cleaning my car today using some very white soapy bug remover I noticed an unsavoury looking line of it running down the inside of one of my headlights. Is it possible to remove and refit the cover? Removal is necessary due to the appearance of the inside of the cover.

[Pb3]

That would be messy. Could you not go in from the back, remove a lamp unit and get your hand in with a rag?

[MarkWebb]

OK so thats the easy bit. How do I make a neat job of sealing the leak? The cover is bonded into place so very difficult to remove yes?

[Pb3]

Yep, if you pull the covers you may find the black etching peels away in places and will look horrid.

A few years back when I did a screen replacement I used clear silicon sealant to fill the gap around the covers. That worked pretty well and if you do a good job you will not really know that it is there.

[MarkWebb]

yeah I was thinking either black or clear

[k wright]

If you do have to remove it use foam tape with single side adhesive to seal it when you bolt is back on.

If I had to do it over again I would use a good vinyl tape to make the black borders on the cover, allowing easy replacement if ever needed.

[MarkWebb]

?????? it's glued in with windscreen adhesive as far as I am aware

[MarkWebb]

?????? it's glued in with windscreen adhesive as far as I am aware

[MarkWebb]

?????? it's glued in with windscreen adhesive as far as I am aware

[DHGTR]

Mark, is it glued in with windscreen adhesive

[Steve_D]

It's a well known technique....
If you are not sure of the answer be assertive.

Steve

[MarkWebb]

clear siliconed looks good.

[JoulesCanAm]

I had this problem, the painted black edge lifted away from the lexan in a few spots and allowed dust and water to get inside the headlight housing. When I removed the covers more paint stripped away and stayed with the adhesive.

I cleaned both, repainted the black surround and mounted them back on with silicone, but alas they are lifting again after about 6 months. I think the answer is to get paint that etches into the lexan and adheres better so that's going to be my next move.

Julian

[spatz]

I had seen this problem already at stoneleigh hence never clued my light covers at all.
If you do not want to do this again use 2 small stainless screws that is all that is necessary to hold them in place.

[YIIHAA]

JoulesCanAm said:

the painted black edge lifted away from the lexan in a few spots

It shouldn't be a painted black edge. There is a special "betaprime" for plastics that etches prior to bonding with windscreen adhesive. Paint will peel, plastic betaprime won't.

When I built mine the manual said to "paint" the edge, that peeled off. I removed the covers cleaned them up and then primed them (and the body) with the correct product. They have now been in place for 10 years with no leaks.

Afraid I can't remember the exact product code for plastic betaprime.

[Pb3]

I thought the glass primer had always been speced. Ultima told me to use it when I did mine and it lasted years before beginning to lift. To tidy up I put black vinyl around the edges on top to hide it before Stoneleigh last year!

[spatz]

actually betaprime is the only one that is sticking there slightly better with prior sanding but still i see leaks on the side windows already.......a never ending story
i tried other primers with no success.
What is really working is black colored epoxy which i am going to use when i redo the side windows, i have made tests.,

[YIIHAA]

Did you use the betaprime specifically for plastics, rather than the more widely available glass primer?

[YIIHAA]

Scratch that, just checked in my workshop and the product I used is called "betawipe 4002" and is referred to as "Adhesion Promoter for Plastics". It's black and is applied in the same way as betaprime. Mine came courtesy of a nice man at Auto Windscreens. He used it on the gel coat around the screen before fitting the screen, left me the rest of the rather large bottle

[JoulesCanAm]

Okay I'm all ears on this now. How do you get a clean black edge around the lens cover with betaprime and using the black adhesive?

Thanks,
Julian