The saving of a 99/01 cobra tail light.

[03sm3341]

I recently bought this 99/01 tail cheap just to see if I could bring it back to life. It has the common black splotches all over it. And the lens was in very bad shape. I heated in in my oven to help get the bond loose from the lens to the hosing. I then wet sanded the lens and buffed it to a high gloss finish. Now I need to save the reflector. I'm going to try chrome paint and hope its close.

Here are the reflectors. the first one is from the 99/01 light its trashed. I have another reflector from a regular light im going to use in its place.

 

[99cobra907up]

Pretty cool!

 

[SuperMarioSVT]

Awesome job so far!

 

[97snakebite]

What grits did u use? Looks good

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[offroadkarter]

Good call on just replacing the reflector, painting it just won't have the same reflectivity as the factory coating.

you did an awesome job on the lens to.

 

[T0RCH3D]

Nice work on the lense, curious to see the finished reflectors.

 

[Comp_04]

Looks really goid

 

[SonicBlur2003]

great improvement man. still keeping my eyes open for a set

 

[MachME]

Curious, what do those little red squares in the middle of the lens look like on the other side? Possibly sand those off and buff it out too for a even cleaner look.

 

[03sm3341]

Here's the light done. I used chrome paint on the reflector. I'm not super thrilled with it. I think i'll wait until I can find a good light dirt cheap and put its reflector on my lens. The sand paper I used is....800,1000,1500 then megs 105,205. I needed to used some 2000 git paper so I wouldn't have to work the 105 polish as much.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

[03sm3341]

Curious, what do those little red squares in the middle of the lens look like on the other side? Possibly sand those off and buff it out too for a even cleaner look.

There the reflectors. They need to stay. There shaped like little pyramids.

 

[05satinGT]

How did you reseal the lens back onto the light itself? I might snag a beat up set of these.

 

[frijol79]

They look great

 

[gabe1530]

great job OP.

i would use a super lite bead of silicone

How did you reseal the lens back onto the light itself? I might snag a beat up set of these.

 

[jake01cobra]

I have the passenger side tail light that looks EXACTLY like this (GOT IT OFF OF EBAY) and I think I"m going to use your method to bring it back to life. Thanks man for the motivation I'm thinking I might take the reflector to get re-chromed at a shop

 

[03svtwantob]

Looks great op! How does the chrome paint look/reflect at night with lights?

 

[soccerman002]

Did my father-in-law's headlights on his Trailblazer a few weeks ago - wet sanded with 1000 grit & 3000 grit, then went over them with Ultimate Compound, Polish, and a coat of NXT wax using assorted pads and my DA. One on the right is finished, the difference was amazing. Ended up saving him $400+ b/c he was ready to order replacements from the dealer.

 

[deremer71]

Kind of an old thread but what did you heat the oven up to(degrees wise) and how long did you leave them in there before you could seperate it?

 

[03sm3341]

My oven's lowest setting is 150. So 150 was used. The time I let them in for was 8 min. But be very careful and watch it like a hawk! I honestly would find some junk lights and test what works best for you before you put your prized 99-01 tail in there.

 

[Hunter9003]

I have an 01 RH with bad reflectors I think that im trying to sell. It has a tint to it I cant remove is why im thinking bad reflectors.... def not bad tho