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DIY Aluminum Sidemarker Light

ryandm1984

Ready to race!
Ok, first, this I did out of pure curiosity while in my shop one day. I used to have the light wrapped in 3M carbon fiber vinyl but it was a little faded. So, I peeled the vinyl off thinking I could live with the factory orange. Couldn't do it. So this is what I came up with...


This is the roll of aluminum tape, you can get this at any hardware store and I think even Walmart, it's about 5 bucks or so.


Remove your side marker light by removing your your access cover from the fender well. It has a small lip for you to pull outward to remove, it's right behind your fog light.

Once you have the cover removed, feel on the backside of the side-marker light for a tab which is the side closest to the wheel. When you feel it, push it toward the front while pushing outward from the bumper. Once it's out, disconnect the bulb.

Clean the side-marker light very well, using rubbing alcohol or something to remove any waxes or polishes from the surface. Make sure the surface is dry before applying the aluminum tape.

When applying the tape, go slow unwrapping it from the roll. If you crease it or lose the smoothness of it, it will always be there and you will have to reapply it. I slowly and carefully laid it over the the light, and once it was applied, I lightly smoothed it to the surface of the light. After it's on the light then you can firmly press all around to ensure it bonds to it.


As you can see in the pic above I pulled it around the corners and trimmed the excess off. You have to work with it to get it to lay clean around the corners, since it isn't vinyl it doesn't stretch. I used a heat gun to soften it up a bit to get it as smooth around the edges as possible.

Once you have it applied, just simply re-install to the bumper and your done!
I personally thought it looked different but looks pretty good for a quick 5 dollar job. So if you aren't in a budget for some paint matched markers, this is perfect to get you by. Enjoy!

****Note: This has NO opacity, it will completely block the light.****
 

nvturbo

Go Kart Champion
It should match well with your car since you have polished wheels.
 

ryandm1984

Ready to race!
Looks like it would give it a brushed aluminum look. I'm running something similar on mine.



Not the best pic of just the grille but it's all I have on hand at work.

Goes well with the wheels. Ties it all together :thumbsup:
 

zrickety

The Fixer
Looks great. But if I couldn't live with the orange I would just paint them body color and be done.
 

AXO

Go Kart Champion
I like it and think it looks Great. I just don't want to give a set of extra lights for it. I am still running orange lenses on my Candy White. I plan on purchasing a set of clears one of these days.......................
 

ryandm1984

Ready to race!
I like it and think it looks Great. I just don't want to give a set of extra lights for it. I am still running orange lenses on my Candy White. I plan on purchasing a set of clears one of these days.......................

Well, wrap them with the aluminum tape, to get you by until you get clear ones.... I honestly didn't want the orange light OR any light on the side of the bumper at night. Seems out of place at night, I just wanted the front/rear and mirror signals.. that's all. Just a simple euro look. May also try to do the rear reflectors some day. Idk how to remove them to do it.. maybe will tie them together more, or it could be over the top.. idk. Either way, it goes great with my Rotiforms..
 

WTF-IDK

Ready to race!
Looks good but why did you flip your car upside down to cover the marker lights? I'm kidding of course.
 
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