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Old 03-26-2012, 12:02 PM   #11 (permalink)
Otto
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You could do this cheaply and easily: Get some aluminum foil of the type that is non-stick, i.e, has a food grade coating so baked goods won't stick. Form it into the recessed areas of the fog lights and tape it there with scotch tape. This conforms to the existing shape and protects the paint. Or, just give the area a good waxing so the foam won't stick. Now, using Great Stuff foam insulation from a hardware store, spray a gob of it onto the alu. foil. Let it expand out harden. Using a sanding block, smooth it so the shape conforms to the overall lines of the car body--the contour the air will flow over at speed. Remove this plug from the car, and mount it on a short stiff stick, facing up. Using a piece of soft flannel natural (not synthetic, which melts) fabric or maybe a piece of cotton from an old Tshirt, stretch and smooth the fabric over the foam plug. Silk might work, but the texture must be smooth as the heated plastic will pick up and duplicate texture.

Go on YouTube keywords "PETG" and "vacuum forming" see videos. One shows a guy forming a model airplane fuselage pod by stretching PETG clear plastic (soda bottles like 2 liter Pepsi are made of this common stuff) over a male plug after heating in kitchen oven. Others show vacuum forming if plastics using kitchen oven and shop vac.

This is the procedure you use to stretch clear plastic over your fog light plug. It's a one-off deal, so the plug does not need to be very strong or durable. PETG plastic is much tougher than plexiglass and nearly as strong as polycarbonate, and you can get it free from clear plastic soda bottles of cylindrical cross section. PETG is that clear plastic used everywhere in packaging, you've been using it for years, so find something useful on a store shelf packaged this way, use the stuff inside, and then use the plastic for vacuum or stretch forming your part. Polycarbonate would work, but hard to use due sensitivity to humidity and temperature. Plexi pretty common, but brittle. I've heard that storm door glazing sheets at Home Depot etc. is available in PETG, but have not checked. Anyhow, it would be thicker and stiffer than soda bottle stuff, so maybe worth a shot. Trim the piece with knife or Dremel tool, smooth edges to prevent cracking. Attach to car with Velcro?

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