What's up guys, I have discovered something... Not sure if it has been noted but I thought I'd share anyway. I did the Joey the first time, letting the body shop paint it. I developed really bad paint bubble top and bottom (I have a projector lens as a yolk replacement) It was so bad that the plastic was bubbling ever so slightly. Redid the lights with vht high heat black and high heat clear both apparently good for 1000 deg C. Let the lights cure and installed to my car. Not once did I run the headlights in a week, yet everyday it was bubbling and getting worse. Today I walked past my car and noticed the projector lenses creating a focal point with the suns rays and literary smoking the headlight housing lol Looks like its time to make some heat shields. I suppose the degree of paint bubble is weather/area dependent as today was 26 sunny and clear in South Africa Pics are from 1 hour after install Thanks guys
I have done a few Joey mods and the problem you are seeing is two fold. 1. The inside needs to be scuffed a little and cleaned with lacquer thinner prior to painting. A. Get silver chrome like finish or strip it as much as possible with a towel and lacquer thinner. B. Also after the housings are prepped doing the above be sure to apply a thin coat of adhesion promoter. (Very important) 2. Before you reseal the lens to the housing you need to let the paint "gas" / cure before it is sealed back up. I speed up the drying / curing process by using a heat gun on low in a sweeping motion between paint layers. I apply (1) layer of adhesion promoter and 3-4 light layers of paint and dry each one with a heat gun on low. After the paint is dry and you can touch it, clean the inside of your clear lenses to remove fingerprints and reseal the units. What you are seeing a chemical reaction between your paint and the "chrome like" surface paint inside the light because of the prep process. Hope this helps you out and good luck.
Thanks for the reply, the second time around I did it exactly as you described above (except the adhesion promoter - is that the same as a primer?) I totally removed the chrome after the second Joey mod. I'm having heat shields made either out of Aluminium/silver at out workshop. In your opinion, is it a problem solver? Thanks again for the detailed response
No heat shields will not help as the bubbles are coming from a chemical reaction between the paint and the housing itself. You need something between them. I also use paint made for plastic since you are painting the inside of the housing and if sealed correctly will not get wet. I use the below with excellent results every time. Dupli-Color CP199 Adhesion Promoter; Clear; 11 oz Aerosol Krylon Fusion Spray Paint for Plastic # 2519 (Flat Black) Link for adhesion promoter I use. https://www.google.com/shopping/product/17305152852055601967?gs_rn=32&gs_ri=tablet-gws-psy&pq=duplicolor&cp=13&gs_id=1o&xhr=t&q=duplicolor+adhesion+promoter&pf=p&sclient=tablet-gws&oq=duplicolor+ad&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.59568121,d.cWc&biw=1024&bih=649&tch=1&ech=4&psi=jx3cUv6SDobKsQSZkICAAg.1390157200139.5&sa=X&ei=oB3cUtaNCvfJsQSYlYDIBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CCgQuSQ
What is that? Glue? What are you using to seal the lights back up with? I have never seen anything like that.:confused5:
No, that is the melted plastic housing after the paint was removed from the first Joey. I reused the original goop the first time to reseal Second time I bought headlight sealant from the retrofit source. The part you are looking at is just below the turn signal I have a projector there and that was using the sun to burn my paint. I found some adhesion promoter from a local supplier. I'm going to attempt your way. Maybe use some paint stripper to strip the housing to bare plastic... Would the paint stripper be safe on the plastic?
You don't need paint stripper if you clean everything well with lacquer thinner. Paint stripper works at stripping paint but is a pain in the ass to completely remove from plastic before painting again even with proper prep. If even a little bit is left it will start stripping your 3rd paint job from the inside out.
Excellent point, and with the problems you are having I would let the paint cure for a day or two before sealing them up. If you decide to bring it back to the body shop I would also see if they could add a bit more hardener to the paint. I don't know how hard it is to get a hold of this stuff at your location, but you could give Plasti-Dip a try. Just saying, might be worth a try.
I wiped mine out with alcohol, and used plastic-dip. Let it dry overnight and put it all back together the next day. No problems..
Plasti dip works great especially if you warm it up really well. I set it out in the sun for a few hours in the Summer. Or put the can in a pot of water on the stove and warm it up in the winter. When it is very warm it will spray like water and dry nice and smooth.