[SILVY968]

Brian,



Thank you!

Just ordered 3 to fix my parking lamp indicator.

2 new and one spare.

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[Brian]

you're welcome.

no sense making others wait to find the part like i had to.

so much valuable info in the archives here. nice to be able to contribute.



i worked on the reflectors again last night. my first attempt to paint them with duplicolor chrome paint was a bust. when looking through the lenses, the paint was just gray.

so i bought some metallic chrome paint from a hobby store and sprayed it on last night. a big improvement, but still not what i had hoped for.

i'm wondering if a glossy white spray paint might not be best? i also got my hands on some shiny chrome tape. thought i might try that, too.

maybe i'm just being too picky. i was hoping for night and day improvement and i'm only back where i started. it was way too much work to remove the original finish to not see a difference.

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[SILVY968]

I found a paint that will give you a chrome finish. It is the best that I have ever seen and I highly reccomend it. I just sprayed it on a glass bottle and looked through the glass to see the inside and it it FULL BRIGHT CHROME!

It is called SPATZ STIX # 10009 (mirror) chrome.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti...XJLV7&P=FR

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[Brian]

thanks for the tip.

did you find it at a local hobby shop, or did you have to order it on-line?

sure would be nice if i could find it locally! i'd like to put this project to bed and move on.



my latest attempt was with a metallic silver paint. it wasn't much better.

i'm guessing all the metallic flecks distorted the light pretty badly/clouded it.



i even used the slightly higher wattage bulbs recommeded on the clark's garage page. it would be nice to have to use the dimmer to calm down the lights.

i noticed that at dusk is the hardest time to see the gauges. when it's really dark, there's no problem.



on another note altogether, after replacing the defroster light bulb, it's really bright. hardly noticed it before, but now, it's impossible to miss.

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[SILVY968]

I purchased by can of paint on line.

Many larger hobby shops will have it as it is used on RC model bodies.

The "look time" and gas issue made the internet my choice. If my DD was apart I would search locally first. Next day UPS charges can be very high.

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[Brian]

you da man, silvy.

got the mirror chrome spaz stix paint in.

sprayed the reflectors and all is great now.

i can't believe what a difference the paint made!



that was the weirdest spray paint i've ever used. i don't know if i got an odd batch. i sprayed about 10 coats on and it just didn't seem to build. it was almost like it got absorbed in the plastic.



it truly does look like a mirror from the other side.



i ordered the black backing paint and brushed two coats of that on. then i protected the back of the paint with some heavy foil heat tape so it didn't get damaged during the re-install.



i would highly recommend to anyone who doesn't like their instrument lights to upgrade your bulbs and refinish your reflectors with this paint. truly a night and day difference. if it's too bright when things are really dark outside, you can always use the dimmer.

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[astrojeff]

9xauto has a repair kit to improve the cluster lighting. I did mine a couple of weeks ago. Worked great. Much better light. More expensive than spray paint though.





Here is the link: http://www.9xauto.com/944.html



Jeff

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[Brian]

i saw that, too.

glad it works.

somehow i had an idea that if i could get mirror paint, that would be ideal.

sounds like both systems work well.



sure is a royal pain stripping off the original finish!



why can't someone just make new reflectors? it'd be worth $20-30 just to not have to strip the old ones down.

as many 944 and 968's are out there, someone could make a few bucks.



too bad there isn't an original porsche part number for them. i'm not sure it's possible to replicate that original coating they had on there. it was tough stuff.

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[Dilbertnomore]

I did a similar fix to the IP on my previous P-car - a 951. Use some non-acetone nail polish remover. Knocks the old silver finish right off. Be sure to use the non-acetone formula - the old standard nail polish remover will melt the plastic.





[quote name='Brian' date='Mar 31 2006, 03:03 PM']

sure is a royal pain stripping off the original finish!

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[Brian]

good tip. i just used mineral spirits and wouldn't recommend that to anyone!!!!

i'm too young to have carpel tunnel.

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[flash]

ok - so, i have mine apart, and i am looking at how they expect the light to get from the bulb enclosure to the gauge



has anyone just thought of opening those little slits up a bit? that would let more light through

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[SILVY968]

flash,

I too have pondered the design. I am sure that a small increase in the opening at the end would increase light propagation. Here is the equation to determine the velocity of the photon particles as they move down the slit. You can vary the angle to see the resultant light value:

x = distance

v_0 = initial velocity

t = time

a = angle

y = height

h_0 = initial height

g = gravity



x=v_0 t cos(angle)

y=v_0 t sin(angle) - 1/2 g t^2 + h_0



Let me know how it works out. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/cool.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

ok - so, i played with that equation, modified my cluster, and ended up stuck on neptune - if anyone is passing by, can i hitch a ride? - i am using an aftermarket flux capicitor, and it seems i don't get the mileage i used to

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[968 Cab]

IP removal - you can get the IP out without removing the SW - I've done it many times on my 951S and 968 and both have airbags. It's a squeeze . twist and pray that you don't break the oval surround, but it can be done. Just in case though, I bought a spare oval surround off eBay for $10.



As for the IP reflectors, here's a simple solution that works. Once you have the IP out of the car, use a 1/4" drill to remove the heat'flashing around the triangle reflector cover (the black plastic covers). That way you leave these small "pins" protruding from the IP to easily relocate the covers etc once you repair the reflectors.



I used some heavy duty Alum Foil - shiny side up - and a little contact cement to recover the INSIDE area of the reflectors when I did the first IP. Reassmebly is easy. Don't be tempted to run higher wattage bulbs either, as all this will do is melt the IP!!



The resulting lighting is a lot better but still dim by today's standards.



What I ended up with for all 3 of our 944/951S/968 cars was to buy the LED light reflectors off eBay - anywhere from $45-90 for all 3 and they are a stunning improvement. Makes the car IP look right up to date. They come in a lot of colors, but I stuck to "white" which has a tinge of ice-blue in it.



Good luck! The IP lighting is an easy fix and worth the 1 hour.

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[flash]

no worries - yeah, i ahd it out in about 10 minutes - very simple - i was in there to change out the little gear



i am actually quite fine with the stock amount of light, and usually run with them all but off, for reasons of better visibility and less glare (keeping the pupils from dialating due to dash light) - just figured "as long as i'm in there" i'd see about what could easily be done, and toss around the idea



thanks for the input though

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[968 Cab]

Here's the LED lighting modules I bought for our 944/968's



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-LED...073352135QQrdZ1



They work really well and are relatively easy to install - 6/10 on the 10 as hardest scale.



Only thing is the dimmer will no longer dim the panel lighting (LED issue) but I liked the much improved panel lighting and don't miss the dimming feature.

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[flash]

i shot some new paint on my reflectors, and swapped the bulbs out for one size up and wow - quite bright - really have to crank it down now

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[968 Cab]

[quote name='flash' date='Jun 12 2006, 08:01 AM']i shot some new paint on my reflectors, and swapped the bulbs out for one size up and wow - quite bright - really have to crank it down now

[right][post="22701"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



Great work Flash - just be careful that the new bulbs are not so hot as melt those light tunnels! Apparently, people over on Rennlist have experienced that unfortunate problem upsizing bulbs. They can get pretty hot.

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[mitch968]

I've had slightly higher wattage bulbs in for well over a year with no problems. They were the closest type available at Autozone. I never run with the dimmer more than halfway up, so I presume the heat is not too bad.

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[flash]

i found a thread with acceptable up-wattages and unacceptable up-wattages, based on people who had already done it - i went from that

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