Guest
New member
Cleaning my car out today found a card which had been placed on my windscreen at Brands Hatch.
www.protocast.co.uk
www.protocast.co.uk
Clear lenses
- Thread starter Guest
- Start date
wolfie308
New member
And indeed, after much toiling over bubbling resin, I am proud to announce my own clear rear indicators.
Many were binned, but I can now say they are now the best I have seen. They're that good that only now am I going to fit them to my own car.
I will also fit them to your own lights if you're interested.
Richard
' 90 S.2
www.protocast.co.uk - Clearer by Design
Many were binned, but I can now say they are now the best I have seen. They're that good that only now am I going to fit them to my own car.
I will also fit them to your own lights if you're interested.
Richard
' 90 S.2
www.protocast.co.uk - Clearer by Design
Such modesty. And they say that self praise is no recommendation. [
]I don't know, a couple of years back you couldn't get clear indicators for love nor money. Now we have options coming out of our ears. It is good to hear though as the original offerings we shockingly expensive and not the best quality.
The rear light conversions do look quite swish though I'm not sure how the fog light would be received at an MOT.
Am I right in thinking lenses on cars should be E marked? I don't have too much of a problem with the front lenses as, if these become an issue, they can be readily swapped. The rear lenses are a different kettle of monkeys though. [
]
Diver944
Active member
Well done Richard [
] I have to say I do love it when one of our fellow enthusiasts has a spark of an idea and then starts making parts themselves for our own cars. Behold a small cottage industry is born.I imagine that in 10 to 15 years time it will become increasingly difficult to get standard replacement parts for some of the more uncommon areas on our cars. Hopefully someone will come along at the time to help us keep them on the road
wolfie308
New member
Yeh, I must admit I was blowing my own trumpet a bit [] but I was very excited when I produced the first pair of clear rear indicators that looked better than the Turnclear lenses.
I'm pretty familiar with those having fitted 3 sets and sold them all on eBay. Since everybody has been more than happy with the work I have done to date, I'm sure that people buying my lenses or conversions will not be disappointed.
In fact, if people who have bought certainly the clear rears check them very closely, I'm sure they'll find they're full of tiny bubbles. This is one ot the things I've been working hard to overcome.
The other crucial thing of course is how well you drill/cut out the original lenses and what you use to glue in the new ones []
I bought a pair of S.2 clear fronts off eBay about 15 months ago for £95 secondhand. These are 'E marked but I guess this is a copy off the original. Still have them fitted but have never been totally happy with the quality of these either.
Although they seem to be springing up everywhere, I wonder if all of them are made of suitable material as some have felt as if they would be rather brittle.
I will be making my own S.2 and N/A fronts shortly and trialling smoked, interested John ?
I reckon there's enough after market 944 front and rear clears out there which have been through more than one MOT for that hopefully not to be too much of an issue.
With regard to the clear fogs, I believed they'd be fine as long as they illuminate red. After all, you do have red indicators that flash amber ! Just a thought.......are fog lights tested on an MOT ? Could you disconnect them ? Be pleased to hear if anybody can clarify.
Richard
' 90 S.2
www.protocast.co.uk - Clearer by Design
] but I was very excited when I produced the first pair of clear rear indicators that looked better than the Turnclear lenses.I'm pretty familiar with those having fitted 3 sets and sold them all on eBay. Since everybody has been more than happy with the work I have done to date, I'm sure that people buying my lenses or conversions will not be disappointed.
In fact, if people who have bought certainly the clear rears check them very closely, I'm sure they'll find they're full of tiny bubbles. This is one ot the things I've been working hard to overcome.
The other crucial thing of course is how well you drill/cut out the original lenses and what you use to glue in the new ones [
]I bought a pair of S.2 clear fronts off eBay about 15 months ago for £95 secondhand. These are 'E marked but I guess this is a copy off the original. Still have them fitted but have never been totally happy with the quality of these either.
Although they seem to be springing up everywhere, I wonder if all of them are made of suitable material as some have felt as if they would be rather brittle.
I will be making my own S.2 and N/A fronts shortly and trialling smoked, interested John ?
I reckon there's enough after market 944 front and rear clears out there which have been through more than one MOT for that hopefully not to be too much of an issue.
With regard to the clear fogs, I believed they'd be fine as long as they illuminate red. After all, you do have red indicators that flash amber ! Just a thought.......are fog lights tested on an MOT ? Could you disconnect them ? Be pleased to hear if anybody can clarify.
Richard
' 90 S.2
www.protocast.co.uk - Clearer by Design
Guest
New member
wolfie308,
Congratulations on choosing the most difficult material to cast! and good to hear that you have mastered it.
If you look at what else is out there http://www.motormec.co.uk/e36wl.html they have no red lens. I'm 99% certain that as long as when the rear fog light is switched on and it illuminates red it will be ok. Rear fogs are a must by law and are definitely tested as part of the MOT.
I have clear fronts and passed the MOT.
Anyway have a look at this http://www.ukmot.com/1-1.asp and you can make your own conclusions.
ps.wolfie308, these aren't going to suddenly double in price are they?[]
Congratulations on choosing the most difficult material to cast! and good to hear that you have mastered it.
If you look at what else is out there http://www.motormec.co.uk/e36wl.html they have no red lens. I'm 99% certain that as long as when the rear fog light is switched on and it illuminates red it will be ok. Rear fogs are a must by law and are definitely tested as part of the MOT.
I have clear fronts and passed the MOT.
Anyway have a look at this http://www.ukmot.com/1-1.asp and you can make your own conclusions.
ps.wolfie308, these aren't going to suddenly double in price are they?[
]
wolfie308
New member
Thanks Paul,
Having found myself in a situation where I needed to take a change in career direction, I stared looking at the possibility of producing clear lenses where options did not exist in the market or where the cost / quality / delivery times could be improved.
As Flamingeye and others have told me, I chose the most difficult material to begin with! Add to this all the variables involved in the process which impact on the characteristics of the finished item, and you find it's a whole lot more involved than you realised.
However, I think this process opens up many possibilities and lends itself to ultra low volume production numbers, and who knows what rare parts I may be able to replicate in a year's time?
p.s John - What about a pair of smoked rear indicators for Beaky?[8D] Would look pretty good on your S.2 as well Paul.
Richard
' 90 S.2
Having found myself in a situation where I needed to take a change in career direction, I stared looking at the possibility of producing clear lenses where options did not exist in the market or where the cost / quality / delivery times could be improved.
As Flamingeye and others have told me, I chose the most difficult material to begin with! Add to this all the variables involved in the process which impact on the characteristics of the finished item, and you find it's a whole lot more involved than you realised.
However, I think this process opens up many possibilities and lends itself to ultra low volume production numbers, and who knows what rare parts I may be able to replicate in a year's time?
p.s John - What about a pair of smoked rear indicators for Beaky?[8D] Would look pretty good on your S.2 as well Paul.
Richard
' 90 S.2
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