Saturday, July 9, 2022

Why I ordered new License Plate bulb covers or lenses: UV damage means no longer clear or translucent!!

 

Light does shine through them but not a lot. I just replaced the license plate light bulbs - as it's required by law for the license plate to be "well lit" - hmmm I cleaned these covers or lenses with acetone.... a couple times - wiped it down real well. 

So they are supposed to be clear!! It's not that the plastic is not clean - as I realized upon inspection. Rather it's that the plastic over time has UV damage!!

When absorbed by plastics, UV energy can excite photons. This, in turn, can create free radicals. Then, before you know it, degradation occurs, as catalyst residues will often act as receptors. The fact is, lots of pure plastics simply cannot absorb UV radiation, putting your project and its components at severe risk.

 Kind of fascinating actually. The screws that held in the lenses were rusted in big time - so much that the screw heads no longer functioned! I got one screwhead out. I tried a screw extraction kit using a left-handed Die - that is supposed to grab onto the metal. It didn't work for me. So then I used a 4 pound CampFriend hammer - with a chisel - and busted off the rusted screw heads. Three of them busted off.

So the new ones that I ordered are completely clear!!

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bBUAAOSwCKlejPSS/s-l640.jpg

yeah there is also a rubber backing around the edge to protect the plastic. I should get that from the OEM part I ordered...

Picture 4 of 4

So even though these are used they are still clear!!

They're not cheap either - $20 each including shipping cost was the lowest price I could find.

So the old cover - one of them I used JB weld "High Heat Stick" putty epoxy - that seems to be holding well. The other one I used JB Weld super epoxy super glue - that does not hold very well. It takes too long to set. Maybe if I had left it but it fell off loose - so I just took that cover off so I could take a photo of it. Since I ordered new ones then I figured I'll just go without a cover till then.

That High Heat Epoxy is not supposed to be too strong so I should be able to pull it off. Also I used that up front on the bumper!! These bumpers lose a plastic part easily and so hang down - and someone riveted theirs. I tried the JB Weld Epoxy approach - because I had some extra lying around and I didn't want to take the bumper off for a rivet job. We'll see!!!

I plan to rivet in this license plate bulb cover though!! I hope that works.

I did put in new light bulbs though!! Who knows how long I did not have license plate light bulbs!! I never even knew about them before. Never noticed such things. hahahaha.

So that's pretty exciting.

 

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