Arteb Headlights / Taillights End-of-Life (?)

[Caman96]

The water damages the reflective coating and so ruins the illumination pattern.

That’s what I figured too.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

That’s what I figured too.

Too bad you can't take em apart and redo that.....

 

[Caman96]

Too bad you can't take em apart and redo that.....

It’s really cool how it’s done, but definitely can’t be done at home.

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[Caman96]

…and I wouldn’t waste money on theses products:

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[1998_K1500_Sub]

It’s really cool how it’s done, but definitely can’t be done at home.

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Neat, aluminum vapor deposition.

I've always liked that "How It's Made" series.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

…and I wouldn’t waste money on theses products:

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Yes we've run into the same thing, in the model car club, trying to replicate good chrome on model cars. There's not much available, that doesn't look like junky silver paint ...

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

…and I wouldn’t waste money on theses products:

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That looks like someone took the "Silver" crayon out of their "48-color" box of Crayolas and did the deed

 

[Caman96]

Years ago I stupidly tried to clean the inside of one using just alcohol, it ruined it instantly. I can see how easily a flood would’ve ruined those Arteb’s. It’s a shame, but they are useless at this point.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Years ago I stupidly tried to clean the inside of one using just alcohol, it ruined it instantly. I can see how easily a flood would’ve ruined those Arteb’s. It’s a shame, but they are useless at this point.

I have an Arteb reflector that I bought used back in 2019, bearing an actual "GM" sticker.

Anyway, I found it was in good condition but was simply dusty inside from sitting on a shelf for God knows how long.

The dust needed to be removed from the inside but I was short on ideas.

I figured "What the heck" and I poured distilled water into it, sloshed it around, and drained it, which removed much of the dust.

After doing this a few times, I noticed that the reflective coating was showing signs of degradation (I had been closely watching for this) so I stopped.

The net time exposed to water was not very long.

I then set the headlight in front of a hair dryer to dry it, intentionally directing the airstream across and into the bulb holes.

It came out pretty well. It's not new, but it's in pretty good condition.

The more noticeable damage is seen here, circled in yellow. Zoom-in on the first picture, there's quite a bit of degradation visible.

 

[Caman96]

I have an Arteb reflector that I bought used back in 2019. That's a story for another time.

Anyway, I found it was in good condition but was simply dusty inside from sitting on a shelf for God knows how long.

The dust needed to be removed from the inside but I was short on ideas.

I figured "What the heck" and I poured water into it, sloshed it around, and drained it, which removed much of the dust.

After doing this a few times, I noticed that the reflective coating was showing signs of degradation (I had been closely watching for this) so I stopped.

The net time exposed to water was not very long.

I then set the headlight in front of a hair drier to dry it, intentionally directing the airstream across and into the bulb holes.

It came out pretty well. It's not new, but it's in pretty good condition.

The more noticeable damage is seen here, circled in yellow. Zoom-in on the first picture, there's quite a bit of degradation visible.

And that was clean water, never mind flood water with who knows what in it.