Reading the recent rant about the manufacturing of clear corner lenses and their poor longevity quality, I could not help but think about how I must have gotten a good pair of APC clear corner lamps. I have used them for three years without any water leaks. Well, not too long ago I bought some Diamond Clears, "Crystal Eyes" from www.streetscenes.com I was putting them on the truck when one of the lenses just pulled out of the light housing! I noticed they are sealing the two parts of the light (back housing and lens) together with plain grey RTV silicon. WTF!!! I very easily pulled the lens off of the other one also (not the APC lenses but the 'crystal eyes'). The APC lenses were bonded well with some adhesive instead of just plain RTV.

So, I am now looking to adhere and seal the lenses correctly back onto their housings. **Has anyone done this before? If so, what glue, calk, etc. did you use? Also it seems the RTV used by the manufacturer sticks to the housing really well. I am thinking I could just lay a bead of some adhesive calk on top of the existing RTV and put the lens back on. I know it would take forever to pick all of the old RTV out of the housing.
Thanks for the advice
Ryan

 

I've had excellent luck with my APC clear fronts too. I've had them on since late '99 and not a problem yet.

 

With my APC lenses I had on my S-10 ZR2, it looked as if the stuff used to bond the two pieces together somehow "melted" or welded the plastic together.....to form a nice water tight bond. Hope you get yours straightened out. I know the feeling of leaky lenses....I had 3 sets of APC carbon fiber tailights before I got a set that wouldn't leak....

 

When i did my clear headlight mod i just used clear silicone. No leaks yet and bond is tight, if not go tom your local hardware store and but some adhesive caulk.!

 

Alright, thanks for the feedback guys. I think I will try just putting some adhesive caulk on top of the existing silicon and then put the lenses back on I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

at most auto parts stores (or at least the one i work at) you can get a plastic welding/epoxy system. that should work pretty well to bond them together and form a watertight seal!

question about the APC clear corners.....i know they have 3 different kinds, the clear, diamond, and euro??? which ones look best with stock headlight assemblies....i dont want my clear lowers to look completely different than the uppers...thanks in advance!