Hey guys, my 89 has some gunk building up on the inside of the lights. Whats the easiest way to get under that lense and clean it out good. Also, while I'm in there, is there any gasket or anthing that is leaking and causing the buildup in the lights. Or is there any gasket I should change for good measure while I have the lights out?
cleaning brake lights
- Thread starter mkIIIman089
- Start date
dude i got the same problem, i got a bunch of shit in there, last owner let it build up, now i cant even get the junk out...i let it stand in water for a while, tried getting to it, but its weirdly built light, 2 layer light kinda thing.
HOpe theres an answer to this
HOpe theres an answer to this
the 89+ tails tend to separate at the seams. i took some clear RTV (silicone sealant) and pushed some into all the seams of the tail light assemblies, no more leaky tail lights, no more shorted out bulbs when it rains, no more water hanging out in the spare tire well. this was done along with the replacement of the tail light gaskets.
I replaced the gasket on one of my tail lights recently b/c it was always full of water and the lense was disgusting. One you pull the bulb assembly out and remove the lense you can take it to the sink and wash it out pretty well. I just filled it with water/soap/a little bleach and shook it up. You can't really scrub it b/c of the way its built, but I got all the mold and nastyness out. It still gets water in it with the new seal, but not nearly as bad.
if you put the taillight itself in the oven (yes in the house oven... like you're makin cookies) put them in there for like an hour or so... maybe less at like 300 degrees F, what that does is turn that glue that holds the lens to the casing to goo. when you pull them out of there, you can separate the two. then you can clean the inside of the lens and when you're done, you can buy that same glue at any place that carries body shop supplies. or you can use black rtv. aint nothin wrong with rtv.
Yep, i painted my old 2002 civic si front headlamp housings black ( same with my brothers old 2003 RSX-S)...for that ultra clean JDM look....took me a day LOL...
anyways...this is a good idea! I think i may try this tommorow! cleaning out all that junk ETC...
-Jonathan
anyways...this is a good idea! I think i may try this tommorow! cleaning out all that junk ETC...
-Jonathan
shaeff said:
That actually looks pretty cool, mine left side ones are filled with water, I should try that oven thing and clean them out.
whatever you do, dont put your tail in the oven for an hour-they will melt. try 7 mins at most! i did mine the other day, put it in there for 4 mins @ 350 degrees, could have used a little more time, but the came apart with some prying and pulling-just be careful not to break it in half. i will put some pics up tommorow.
lol 1 hour 
ya i doubt its 1hour, more like 10minutes if you ask me.
But ya..didnt think of that, great idea, ill do that, mine is full of brown/green roten 5year old maple leafs :S yuck.
Anyways you can make me look like new again?? get the red all new looking and shit...sanding with high grit paper....like a polish kinda thing ?? anyone know on plastic what it does..maybe just compound..
Thanks
ya i doubt its 1hour, more like 10minutes if you ask me.But ya..didnt think of that, great idea, ill do that, mine is full of brown/green roten 5year old maple leafs :S yuck.
Anyways you can make me look like new again?? get the red all new looking and shit...sanding with high grit paper....like a polish kinda thing ?? anyone know on plastic what it does..maybe just compound..
Thanks
That oven business sounds like its a little risky. In an hour I think that the light itself would become goo. I'll give them a shot in for a couple minutes though. Need to pick up some more RTV it looks like. I have the red stuff, but its really more designed for high temp right?
If it is black junk in there i had the best results with mildew remover. It will break up the balck goo wihich i believe is mildew. Is the passenger side giving you the most amount of junk. I think the top right bolt hole does not go out enough to meet the light. This is the one at the top that the lift back drains over. I had to fill in the space between the back of the light and the body with rtv. Now no water goes in there. Anyone else have this problem?