Light reconditioning

[Mike and Heather Brancich]

Is it just me or is it REALLY hard to find the Vintage Teardrop clearance lights. Well I found a way to recondition them if they don't have any cracks in them. First you have to remove them and inspect them. Mine were at one time red. These were on the rear of my Travco. When I removed them, I noticed the gasket had deteriorated so I had to make new Gaskets. This was achieved by making a trip to the parts house. Here I picked up a piece of rubber cork gasket material. I then made a template out of paper board and then traced out the outline on the gasket material. That's when the Wife came in to save me. She traced and cut out the gaskets for me. As they say behind every good man is a GREAT WIFE. Then I focused on the lights. First I cleaned them thoroughly. Then I let them dry in the sun for an hour. Then I sprayed the INSIDE with RED NITE SHADES. This is a transparent paint for Tail lights. to give them their red look back. This is a perfectly legal way to restore lights. The key is to not get it to dark. I put three (3) light coats on mine. they came out perfect. BUT that is where I just couldn't stop. You see NITE SHADES first came out with BLACK. And yes I have played with the black a lot on my friends old school hot rods as well as my own. Is the black legal. Well lets say no, but law also states that only XXX amount of light must illuminate from the lens. Therefor use lightly. I put three (3) coats on mine. They look great. They also have enough light coming from them that they look legal in the dark. So if you can't find the lens' that you are looking for, and yours are without cracks, try this.   I will have all of the pictures posted on my page of this website. Feel free to ask any questions. As for the main reason I did this. There is NO RED Teardrop lens around. only amber. that is why I went this route.  

       Good luck    Mike