Bow Light Paint

[Brian Crombie]

Greetings all,
My bow/nav light colors look pretty faded at night. So much that in the eyes of the law, it might not be legal. What kind of paint can be used to freshen it up? Is it as simple as using red and green spray paint?
Thanks for any input.

Brian Crombie
Faribault, Mn.

 

[Cap'n John]

Use candy apple red and green they are semi-transparent. Experiment on a clear piece of glass or plastic to get the right depth of color. Apply several light coats instead of a single heavy coat.



To: rma@amphicar.com
Subject: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20617] Bow Light Paint
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:14:28 -0500
From:




Greetings all,
My bow/nav light colors look pretty faded at night. So much that in the eyes of the law, it might not be legal. What kind of paint can be used to freshen it up? Is it as simple as using red and green spray paint?
Thanks for any input.

Brian Crombie
Faribault, Mn.

 

[Ken Chambers]

An Amphicar friend recently sent me some pics of his front nav light he nicely restored using translucent Tamiya paint, available from hobby stores. He doesn't seem to be very active on this list but perhaps he'll see this and discuss his process further. I'll try attaching a couple pics of the finished lens he sent me.

Tamiya America - Tamiya Color Mini Acrylic

Ken Chambers, CA
'64 Red

 

[Brian Crombie]

Thanks guy's for the info. Ken, I wonder how the Tamiya looks at night lit up. Did your friend
give you the thumbs up on how it illuminates?

Brian

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[Ken Chambers]

I have an email in to him but haven't heard the final report. Sure looks good in the pictures, however. Be sure to use a low wattage bulb to prevent heat damage to the cover. Somewhere I read 18W max so the following bulbs should work among others: 1141 (18W) or lower like a 93 (13W), 1003 (12W), 97 (9W) or 67 (8W).

---Ken


On Nov 15, 2009, at 4:55 PM, Brian Crombie wrote:

> Thanks guy's for the info. Ken, I wonder how the Tamiya looks at night lit up. Did your friend
> give you the thumbs up on how it illuminates?
>
> Brian

 

[CapnJohn]

Brian - That paint is probably the candy paint I mentioned. It looks much the same. From the picture it looks light to me. If it is, I'd put another coat on that lens so the colors are more defined.

I have LED lighting in the nav light (no heat) and pole, inside the trunk illumination and red LEDs that illuminate my gages when nav lights are on. Combined they don't draw what the nav pole alone used to draw. I can sit for long periods of time with lights burning and not worry about my battery.

 

[Midwest Amphicar]

LED great idea! Later Dave the Wave

 

[Craig_Parada]

Okay, Mike unscrambled whatever was wrong with my permissions!

I've posted a few photos as "Navigation Light Color Restoration" in "Amphicar Restorations. Projects, & Repairs".

This isn't as nice as a installing one of Hugh's new fittings, but before replacing the navigation light, I wanted to try restoring the color.

I used Tamiya Clear Red X-27 and Clear Green X-25. There's enough tint in each of these little bottles to repaint dozens of Amphicar navigation lights.

I brought my light into D&J Hobby here in San Jose where the paint is sold. The guy there has done custom cast plastics, and thought the new replacements were a great deal, but was happy to recommend the materials and provide the following advice for this experiment:
1. NEVER shake the paint! Use those little stainless steel stirring spoons.
2. CLEAN the surface thoroughly! Finger-prints or dust will show.
3. Use a SINGLE coat! I painted it on fairly thick and "rolled" the liquid around until it set to get an even cover. Additional coats dissolve what's already there and it all gets lumpy; but if you mess up, another coat will soften the first so you can clean up and restart (like I did).

It works! I haven't tested this solution under the blazing hot summer sun, but ran the lamp on for over five hours (longer than I've ever run the navigation light!) and the tint was unchanged.

 

[Craig_Parada]

Re-tinted marine navigation light lit:

 

[CapnJohn]

...Apply several light coats instead of a single heavy coat.

When I said that I was thinking about spraying rather than pouring. Looks AWESOME! Have you attempted a second coat but after it cures for a day or 2? Maybe thinning it a bit to apply a thin 2nd coat by rolling ot around and pouring off the excess? If it works, it may give a darker tint. Just a thought. I'll have to try on a lens here sometime.

 

[Canadian four amphs]

I have LED lighting in the nav light (no heat) and pole, inside the trunk illumination and red LEDs that illuminate my gages when nav lights are on. Combined they don't draw what the nav pole alone used to draw. I can sit for long periods of time with lights burning and not worry about my battery.[/quote]
See.thats what this forum is for,, great idea,I pigked up 2 pig tails LED at the Datonna Turkey run and put them in my car this week, great, also got some red leds and put them in the back ups, wired to turns...the more the merryer in traffic

GORD

 

[Cap'n John]

Gord, I did something similar a few years back, but I used the red LED bolts to fasten the licence plate. They act as a 3rd stop light and turn signals.



To: rma@amphicar.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20617] Re: Bow Light Paint
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 20:53:57 -0500
From:




I have LED lighting in the nav light (no heat) and pole, inside the trunk illumination and red LEDs that illuminate my gages when nav lights are on. Combined they don't draw what the nav pole alone used to draw. I can sit for long periods of time with lights burning and not worry about my battery.[/quote]
See.thats what this forum is for,, great idea,I pigked up 2 pig tails LED at the Datonna Turkey run and put them in my car this week, great, also got some red leds and put them in the back ups, wired to turns...the more the merryer in traffic

GORD