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Headlight Cover seals? Other options...?


Sparks280zt

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Hey did a search on headlight covers and I know the fitment on these things are iffy at best. Anyways there was a post on here, cant find it now, of a guy who bought a diferent kinda of weatherstripping to use on his headlight cover seals. I am assuming it was a thicker seal. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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I suggest you forget about the seals. None seem to work and you eventually have to remove the covers and clean inside. I ran just the clear covers with no seals and would remove the covers when washing and waxing the car. Personally, I think the covers look better without the seals.

 

otc04_sears_coffey_grid.jpg

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I'm with John on this one. The seals don't work well. I use mine without the seals also (looks better). If you haven't installed them yet, just make sure you don't really crank down on the headlight cover bolts, because the plastic covers are prone to cracking. Just snug the bolts down.

 

!M!

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If you already installed the seals, then leave them be. You will probably damage the covers removing them. If you are unlucky like the majority of us, you will see dirt and debris inside. Even the morning dew will make them fog up and have dirty runs from water inside.

 

!M!

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I would like to say acetone... but I'm not sure if it will eat the plastic and make it foggy. Honestly, I would just leave them on, or put them back on if you took them off. If you screw them up trying to fix them, it's a $50 whoops! I did that when I tightened my headlight cover bolts down to much. :wink:

 

If you really wanted the "no gasket" look, just sell the ones you have and get another set.

 

!M!

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Whoa! Wait a minute... see what acetone would do to the plastic first. Test in a inconspicuous spot first...if there is one on the covers? Please don't mess up you covers on my account. It was just a suggestion. Maybe wait for a better reply... please.

 

!M!

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Try crazy gluing over the entire edge of the covers after you remove the seals to hide the remnants of the old glue or just try sanding down the edges to remove the crazy glue remnants. It might even look cool if you paint the cut edge of the covers with a paint pen or magic marker to match the color of your car.

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Being I'm always having to "glaze" 1/4" plexiglass at work I have become good at it. Taking plexiglass and running it through a table saw naturally leaves a very burled up edge even using the best in negative pitch triple chip blades. Sanding the edge with 100 grit and then glazing it with heat leaves a perfectly smooth edge, if done properly.

If you need to remove the glue remains then I would suggest to lightly sand them out with some wet 2000 grit and then break out your propane torch and ever so lightly start heating the plastic up where you have sanded. When I say lightly I mean, just brush the flame across the area to be glazed. Take your time, but sweep fast. You'll start to see the sanding marks disappear slowly as the plastic starts to melt. If you go to slow you can either warp the plastic or cause air bubbles in it, which then needs to be sanded back out. Ofcourse the more sanding you do the more waves you can put in the plexiglass.

Go to your home depot, lowes, handy man hardware store or the like and pick up some 1/8" plexiglass off-fall for pretty cheap(if not free) and practice on it to get the hang of it. It's not that difficult to get it looking like new again.

As for acetone, that is what we use to bond plexiglass to plexiglass. It will eat most plastics, but can be used to "wash" a plexiglass surface melting some of the material as it dries. Often times the surface is left wavy.

Good luck.

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Yehaw. I get to feel like I know something here..

 

I bought the headlight covers from MSA, and as many of you have stated, they don't fit very well to the shape of the headlight bucket.

 

There is a trick..

 

Heat.

 

I used a hairdryer on the parts, and warmed them up till they were soft enough to bend a bit. Bolt them in place first ( used the screws.), use the hairdryer to soften them up, and have someone else hold them against the body, and let them cool.. Wala. Nice fit against the body.

 

Hope it helps!

 

Scott

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