tail light tint

[whitefirebird96]

I ordered a pair of used 93-97 trans am tail lights for my car. I noticed once they arrived that on the driver side one, the tint that seems to be in between the lenses, has either peeled away or fallen off, either way, it looks kind of bad. It is only a small portion on the upper outside, does anyone know of a way to pull the lenses apart to replace part or paint part of the original tint, or is there an easier way to fix it that is terribly expensive. Thanks

[FunkZ]

Not that I am aware of. It is very common for the outer clear lens to seperate from the black grid backing, (which is hard plastic, not tint) which causes that hazy-white appearance. I've tried to squeeze superglue into the crack along the edge, which doesn't work, and I've also tried pulling them apart slightly, which only makes it worse. I've replaced both sides once already since switching to the 93-97 Formula/T-A taillights, and my driver's side is again in need of replacement.

My suggestion would be to switch to the 98-02 honeycomb style. Or just slap on a set of blackouts.

[whitefirebird96]

Would it also work to paint on the outside the same pattern that is in the lenses, or do you all think that would be too much work for the payout?

[FunkZ]

That's another possibility, although a lot of painstaking masking. :(

I think it could look good though, especially if you painted the outside to match the body color.

[whitefirebird96]

Good idea about matching to the body color, I have an artic white bird, anyone think it would look tacky out there?

[whitefirebird96]

I have also heard of people 'baking' the lenses in the oven at 200 for about 20 minutes to get them to seperate? would this be an easy way to get to the tint in the middle, or would it just melt the temp before it released the adhesive?