ok, i searched for an hour now and nothing has come up with working links so i'm gonna ask again...

I want crystal red tail lights but since they dont make em i am gonna try to make my own. I got a full altezza tail light set for free so even if i mess up ..no big deal.

I need to know how to crack the lights open, then i'll spray em with a clear red and reseal. the main quesiton is i know your supposed to bake the lights to crack em open but for how long and at what temp? can anyone help???

somebody will have to verify this, but I think I heard putting them in the oven at $275 for 20 minutes is enough to loosen up the silicon so you can pop them open. Then reseal them, put them in the oven for another 20 minutes to mold all the sealant and whalah, install.

what flyin said is true for OEM headlights. I wouldnt try it with those cheap altezzas. I've heard stories of them melting/warping due to the heat and their crappy materials/quality...

Evan B
92 TSI
97 GS- sold
90 GSX-sold
Stamford CT
EvMan2345@aol.com

ya i tried it with the center piece last nite at 250 for 7 min and it pulled it apart but warped the shit out of it...oh well..maybe i'll just paint the outside and see what it looks like anyway

Originally posted by solareclipsegurl
ya i tried it with the center piece last nite at 250 for 7 min and it pulled it apart but warped the shit out of it...oh well..maybe i'll just paint the outside and see what it looks like anyway

for altezza's, i did mine at 175 degree for about 5-8 minutes. no warpage or anything.

i was using a screw driver to pry open my center piece, but mine are OEM. you gotta extremely gentle thou

i thought nopi sold the crystal red tails? i know they used to, dunno if they do anymore. as far as taking them apart...yeah, you need to be REAL carefull and use lower heat or else youll warp it bad. i tried it on a junker light i had...didnt take much time at all. id just stick it in there for a little bit (1 minute or so) at a time and keep pulling it out and only get it hot enough to BARLEY get it to opening. work slow and you should probably get it done without any probs

Headlights lenses are made of a different plastic compound than taillights and also are thicker so they can take the extra heat in the oven and can also take the extra tugging and prying to open them.

Taillights are much more prone to damage in the oven as they use much thinner plastic since they don't need rock impact protection and thus are easier to melt, warp or crack while pulling them apart.

On both headlights and tail lights I play it safe and heat the oven to 200F without the parts inside. After the oven has reached temperature, I turn off the heat and insert the part for about 5 minutes. Gently try to pull the lens from one end. I use small popsicle sticks to slowly let it pull apart a tiny bit at a time. Do not pry aggessively or it will crack. The glue should yield slowly to your pressure. I usually re-heat the part in another session or two. Go slow or risk ruining the part. NEVER have the oven heating while the part is inside. The radiant heat from the burners/elements is much higher than the plastic can take and it will distort the lenses.