Shaggy2dope

iTrader: (1)

The front end has been looking embarrassing for longer than I care to admit. I had OEM lenses from 2006 to 2014. They were getting rough so I replaced them with some ebay specials, all 4 lenses for $120ish. Those sorry bastards lasted for 8 months before the turn signals yellowed. A few weeks later the half assed clear coat on the headlights started washing off….just an awful product.









Thing is, I though the clear side reflectors looked good. Long story stupid I got another $120ish set of 4 lenses. But this time I would wrap them with 3M film. The way I see it, I get a chance to try a product I’ve always thought was cool, for the total cost including lenses (2 times…..) and film for the cost of a single OEM headlight/lens assembly from parts direct.

Secondly I wanted to try another product I thought looked good. These guys had a spot on that Sunday morning car TV show. They are LED and have a lifetime warranty. This was going to be a much larger pain in the *** than the film, however I had enjoyed screwing off in the garage for a few hours. The light is of a tasteful temperature. It isn’t blue or yellow, just a nice bright white.





These are the 9005 beams. I figured I would test out the low beams first. The pain in the *** part begins. They have much more meat behind the lock flange. I didn’t think a thing about it when I purchased them. Turns out you need to hog out the headlight bucket a decent bit.



You also need to clearance the upper core support/bracketry. Grab a cutoff wheel and some files. The upper support and brackets on either side are aluminum. Many of you know that already, but I was pumped.













I’m glad I had enough room to keep the top section of the core support intact. This way your eye passes right over it….doesn’t look like someone took a hatchet to the thing.

Applying the 3M film was far more stressful for me. I was searching for the right length and width when I stumbled on this company. They have contour cut pieces of film for most front end components. Hood, grill, lights, etc. I was super pumped and ordered the headlight lens kit immediately. It arrived safe and I got to prep. Obviously you need to be indoors for this. Any trash floating around will get trapped. I cleaned with the recommended soap/water ratio.









Once you are in a nice clean area, these are all the tools you need.



You get directions and a solution for application. I’ve installed large decals and know about the soapy solution and heat gun tricks. However this is a totally clear “sticker.” I followed the directions to a T. The soap solution is .5ml baby shampoo/32oz water. It has a quarter inch of loose bubbles when shaken.



They recommend you spray everything with soap solution including your hands. Bend the backing to release the film. Don’t get lazy and pick at it with your fingernail. As you are peeling the film back spray the adhesive side.



Spray your hands every time you spray the film. I think I would have had closer to 100% success had I done this more often. You can apply a good amount of pressure to the squeegee to get the water solution out. Otherwise you will end up with bubbles. I did on 3 of the 4. You can press them with your fingers towards the closest edge, but take it slow. I thought the adhesive was going to set far quicker than it did. I ended up stretching the film as I worked out a bubble on the driver lense. The headlight lenses have a difficult corner at the top of the reflector. You have to stretch the film which isn’t difficult. However you have laid the entire rest of the film so you end up touching the corners a lot.

Shaggy2dope

iTrader: (1)

I did the worst on the drivers headlight lens. It was the first one so naturally this would be the worst. I can’t complain too much.



These happen also. A little persuasion from the heat gun takes care of it just fine. Use a micro fiber cloth to press it down while it cools.



Once you get to the parking/DTR lenses you are home free. They are stupid easy. It was a fun task of seeing how perfect you could lay a clear film over a brand new clear lens.

Hosed down



Film applied



If I did it over again I would have purchased the “newb” insurance. They offer to send you a replacement set of cut films for an additional 10%. After doing it once, the second would perfect…..or way worse, ripped it off, and would have yellow lenses by next summer.

Onto the install





And after a much needed bath













All Chevy’s….all clean….everything is right in the world.



The color is very pleasing. I was going to be super bummed if it was some foolish *** Tokyo drift, 9 faux chrome louvers on a ford ranger, carbon fiber windshield wiper looking nonsense. I need to aim them, but that will be quick and painless.



This is pointed down hill a fair amount. So the pattern looks way worse than it actually is.



I’ll update this from time to time and let you know how it holds up.