OK, I am new and I bet this has a procedure somewhere. Can someone point me in the direction to either 1) remove the orange section of the rear taillights or 2) where to inquire about purchasing new white/red tails? Anybody got pics before and after the mod? Peace: e3 - spamman

 

best write up IMO
http://216.119.94.9/how-to/exterior/...axima_tail.asp

 

These are the ones i made.. i do them for $190 shipped.. $170 pickup in CT





Greg aka Custommaxima does them too.. http://www.custommaxima.com

or you can find someone in your area local to you to do them for free..

 

Oh one more thing.. the lights than Greg and I do.. are brand new lights from the dealership.. so the price may seem high.. but you get to keep your original lights.. so these are a new set.. which usually retail at $100 EACH at the dealership

 

Sprint, do you gotta do anything to clear them all around. I noticed alot of people leave some orange on the sides sometimes.

SuDZ

 

well when you do them.. their is a red reflector left..



its personal preference if the person wants it there or not.. it looks cleaner with it gone.. however.. some people like the reflector there.. i usually ask my customers if they want it or not.. most say i don't care.. then i take them out.. since it looks cleaner..

I think greg use to take it out... but i think he has been leaving it in lately too..

 

How do you guys sell it so 'cheap' if the dealer sells them at $100 each?

 

keyword "retail" for $100 well we don't make that much off them... you really gotta like doing them.. seriously.. if you don't.. then you get tired of them real quick and its not worth the hassle.. to me its like art.. i love how they come out when i am done..

Ask 97MaxGirl and Synki.. i had them both over my house.. they drove ALL the way from NJ to CT .. about 2 hours.. and we all sat down and chilled while i did the lights.. eating.. watching a movie.. and having fun.. took me 15 mins each light but we had fun.. Stillnmax was in the house too .. *shoutout to stillnmax aka neelio * post sometime bish

 

Sprint: I may give it a whirl on my own. I got around 400 bones of gift certs to home depot for xmas and will pick up a heat gun (along with some good woodworking tools) to try it. The only concern is that I can cut the new clear piece properly to fit. I have a dremel and am handy with it but will the template change if i remove the red reflector too? Also will I need some new bulbs to be compliant with DMV laws? I live in Massachusetts so not too far away from you. Thanks for all of your help. Peace: e3 - getting the modding fever.

 

well what i did was.. i got a piece of card board.. thick piece of paper works also.. trace the outside of the light.. then cut it down to size..

Once you have the lights open.. cut the card board/paper to size and make it fit in the opening in the WHOLE LIGHT some people just do the section where the orange piece was.. it looks nicer when you do the whole thing..



Once you have your paper the perfect size.. cut with your dremell your replacement lens. slightly bigger than the paper.. then just use the sand paper tool and shape it down to size... where it just slips right in

 

Thanks again. I am assuming if you cut and sanded it to the right dimension, it will cover both the orange area and the removed red reflector and will kinda pop right in after using a little heat to get it to conform to the correct shape? e3

 

yeah.. sanded right down to size.. it takes a couple tries to fit it in the lens.. but then you sand.. test.. sand test.. if you do your paper template right.. you can easily just snap it in.. some people use heat on the replacement lens.. i think thats because they did not cut their templates right.. mine usually snap in.. you can turn the lens over and shake it.. it doesn't move.. as you can see its snug fit in the picture above... no heat required at all .. due to the groves at each end of the light.. it fights right into place

 

What are you using to keep it in place? Like once the orange comes out was it held in by glue or something that would melt off during the heating?

SuDZ

 

it just snaps in.. because i have a proper template... so it fits in the grooves

 

Sprite,

Way to use to How-to as a reference

 

Where were you when I was doing mine...

Everything came out great and went smoothly, I did melt the lens a little bit but it's okay.. I spent over an hour looking for the right tools to cut the flourescent light cover replacement perfect, good thing I bought a big piece because i would have ran out of material soon. I couldn't cut the piece out, dremmel tool worked best, but still wasn't coming in smooth, finally i did a good one and chipped a small corner off when putting it in ****

Oh well, later this week I'll try it again

 

and you know it

 

Before I get into the mess of clearing out my orange rears, i have a couple of questions:

1. which side of the fluorescent light cover faces towards the outside of the car, the rough of the smooth? in other words, which side is flush with the housing when you snap it in?
2. i don't have a heat gun; i plan on using an oven to separate the housing, as many have done. for the other tasks (such as heating up the glue) that require a heat gun, will a good hair dryer suffice?
4. is the time estimate of 3 hours for one side or for both sides? how long has it been taking you guys?

thanks for all your help. hopefully after this i will be giving the advice instead!
- kreg37

 

ok .. i am here for you

i put the smooth side to the light housing...


hair dryer will work.. might take a little longer to heat the glue up.. but others have used them..

I don't know.. i think its a gift


10 mins each side..

no problem.. i live here

 

I love the post! These are great instructions! I'll be doing mine soon!

Oh where do you get yellow/orange bulbs?

 

thanks for the help sprintmax, and thanks for pointing out my typo. i noticed that after i posted it. realistically though, i don't think it will take me 10 minutes each side since this will be my first time doing it. how long did it initially take you to do the whole project?
-kreg37

 

I read somwhere that the amber bulbs #1156NA are hard to find. I heard Walmart is the best place to look. I will check there tomorrow and then maybe start. It depends if the wife needs the car tomorrow. I did the diamond bumper lenses and replaced the bulbs and it looks much better.

I bought goo-gone and a 10-setting heat gun (not too mention a 18V cordless drill and a sawzall today). I love Home Depot. Peace: e3

 

You are right! Walmart sells a few different types of orange lights. I haven't opened my tails up to see which ones they were or I would have bought some. They are cheap! Is you can't find those, you can get some glass paint from Hobby Lobby and paint them. I bought some Krylon translucent paint.

Now the thing I can't find are the Acrylic (fluroescent diffusers). I have tried Ace Hardware, Sutherlands and some others. The only place that comes close is Home Depot and those don't match the rest of the light. The fluorescent diffusers I have seen are really stiff. Heat would probably might deform them rather than soften them. Got any ideas where I can find them?

 

the first time i did it took me 2 hours.. then 1 hour.. and as soon as i got good.. 30 mins .. including two lights and cutting lens