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Author Topic: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?  (Read 6369 times)

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Offline ophidia31

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Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« on: August 05, 2011, 09:59:20 PM »
The black backing, not the clear headlight lense. I didnt see any markings like you usually see on processed plastic products leading to what kind of plastic it is when I looked at my lights unless I missed it.
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Offline NormSky

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2011, 10:14:46 AM »
PVC plastic. The base model is chromed but it can be removed and painted black to look like a Resline headlight.
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Offline ophidia31

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2011, 07:21:34 PM »
Thanks for the reply. I need to attach an abs spacer to the back of it to be able to fit the right size/bright enough led bulb into the housing and unsure if i should use an epoxy or an abs cement. I used epoxy right now on a simple adapter plate, but the new one is going to be almost an inch off of the back of the light. Im just not sure epoxy bond will hold at the light, with the spacer being that far off and prone to more vibrations. Here is a picture to show you want i mean, just think instead of the .125" thats there now, its going to be .8".


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Offline Wartie

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2011, 04:35:20 PM »
Actually the "Housing" is made of Polypropylene with 30% talc filler (PP T30). In the picture there is lettering on each housing listing all the components of the head light assembly and the plastic material used to mold each part. There are also date wheels to tell the month and year that the housing was molded. The lense is Polycarbonate, reflector is Polycarbonate HT I believe is for high temperatures, I am not sure about the reflector material. I did notice that mine was molded in Korea.  :mad:

To make a long story short, your epoxy should be fine.




Offline TomatoSoup

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2011, 08:52:23 AM »
Wow!  This forum really IS a wealth of information! Thanks Wartie.

I would've said probably polypropelene too, but thought the housings too stiff.  Didnt know about the possibility of a talc filler.  Really interesting.
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Offline Sly Bob

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2011, 09:19:15 AM »
Wow!  This forum really IS a wealth of information! Thanks Wartie.

I would've said probably polypropelene too, but thought the housings too stiff.  Didnt know about the possibility of a talc filler.  Really interesting.
:agree: What he said...   :D
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Offline Critterman

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #6 on: August 08, 2011, 09:29:01 AM »
And here I thought it was just plastic.  go figure
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Offline Wartie

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #7 on: August 08, 2011, 09:56:52 AM »
And here I thought it was just plastic.  go figure

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Offline Gentleman Jack

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #8 on: August 08, 2011, 11:55:36 AM »
Wartie,

You have a polypropylene roof over your head?  Cool! 

Kidding... just kidding....


Some sand paper to scuff up the smooth surface prior to adhesive is always helpful... unlike myself.

GJ
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Offline Wartie

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #9 on: August 08, 2011, 12:04:46 PM »
Wartie,

You have a polypropylene roof over your head?  Cool! 

Kidding... just kidding....


GJ

 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Offline ophidia31

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2011, 02:35:02 PM »
Thanks for the info wartie.

Some sand paper to scuff up the smooth surface prior to adhesive is always helpful... unlike myself.

GJ

Yep, thats what i did with the original adapter. With how much of a :censor:  it was to get that adapter off of the light with just epoxy, I think wartie is right in saying epoxy will be more than good enough.  :thumbs:

Should have just made the bigger spacer and bought the more brightest more expensive led lights and have been done with this weeks ago. Lesson learned.
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Offline kgschlosser

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #11 on: October 05, 2021, 12:47:41 PM »
I know this is an old thread but new information is always helpful.

adhesives do not work really well with plastics even more so if the environment is extreme. Because of the large temperature changes seen in automotive applications glues and adhesives are not the best thing to use on plastic. It's almost 100% that the glue is going to fail.

There is a solution and it makes a much better bond. friction welding!! Plastic parts in a vehicle will have identifying marks as has been pointed out in a previous post. All plastics  can be welded to the same plastic. Sometimes you can weld 2 different plastics, you can look this information up in the internet.

The process is easy. Tools needed are a Dremil tool and patience. Supplies needed are 1/8" rod that is the same plastic as what you are welding. Cut the rod into 1.5" long pieces. Put a piece into the end of the Dremil tool and hand tighten  the chuck on the Dremil. Turn the Dremil tool onto low speed and touch the  now spinning rod to the seam where you want to weld. Hold it in place until it melts. Work your way down the seam. You will have to stop and feed more rod out of the chuck and also put new rod in fairly often which is where the patience comes in.

I would practice on some scrap before working on the final product. There is a learning curve with how hard you have to press and how fast you can move the rod and keep the plastic molten as you go.

When done correctly you will end up with a seam that looks just like a weld on metal and the joint will be as strong as a single piece that wasn't welded. If you need a smooth repair use a razor knife to trim off any excess and sand smooth. You can use a heat gun after sanding to return the shiny/smooth finish that plastic has after being molded.

This process can be done to fix cracked bumper covers, cracked interior plastics and things of that nature. You can also build up the weld to fill in some pretty decent size openings is doing a repair and a piece is missing from the original part.

Offline Sly Bob

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #12 on: October 05, 2021, 03:04:10 PM »
Great information on welding plastics. As parts for our rides get harder to get, plastic parts especially, this kind of information may well come in handy.
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Offline kgschlosser

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #13 on: October 05, 2021, 09:13:22 PM »
This is how I made the headlight housing large enough to fit 2 3" HID projectors inside and also have room for them to move.

Offline kgschlosser

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Re: Whats kind of plastic is the headlight housing?
« Reply #14 on: October 05, 2021, 09:16:03 PM »
It takes some practice to get the technique right, different plastics will have different melting temperatures. I would recommend getting the rods and also a small sheet of the same plastic to cut into pieces and practice welding them together.

 

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