Restoring Early Taillight Lenses?

[coloincaalpine RIP 2021]

Has anyone restored early lenses?    I've been experimenting with the process with great results. It includes removing "all" of the reflective lenses on the inside, it is surprising how resilient all parts are to cracking during disassembly.  "re-dying" the inside of the lens has been done with, VHT  Nite Shades Red. It is a clear coat with a red tint.Krylon makes a similar product in Amber for the turn part of the lens on amber lenses.    Another plus that i've determined is that, you can install the inner lenses in any configuration you'd like. During reassembly you can make a left or right lens,so, if you are stuck with 2 right lenses, you can make a left lens out of one of them. Also a great time to remove and clean up the chrome trim piece.     Sound confusing?   It's really  not.   I'll post some before and after pics  in a bit. 

[JerryB2002]

looking forward to seeing this as I'll be going through this soon enough. My biggest concern is finding new gaskets for all of the lights.

Any luck there?

[coloincaalpine RIP 2021]

What gaskets?

[Mike Self]

5 hours ago, coloincaalpine said:

What gaskets?

I think Jerry is referring to the gaskets that seal between the taillight housings and the body.  On roundies, they're grey, skinned foam rubber, and AFAIK are still available from BMW.

 

mike

[JerryB2002]

Yup, those exactly Mike. Mine are falling apart.