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Hi all,
Apologies if this would be better suited to "Audio, Electronics & Lighting" category, but I figure it's got nothing to do with light output or electrics & everything to do with aesthetics, so put it here. (Feel free to move)

So I just bought my first "own" car after months of research/hunting on Dec 1st. (previously had "ownership" of the family Magna, but that stayed in my dad's name so I don't really count it)
She's NB 99/00 model in silver, stock aside from suspension, & I adore her.

There's just one thing that makes me cringe every time I walk up to her from behind... those wretched pink tail lights! I don't mean faded red, I mean the crescent-shaped section towards the centre of the car. It doesn't seem to be so noticeable against darker paintwork, but on the silver it gets to me.

Surely I can't be the only person out there that feels this way...what about the menfolk?
Has anyone come up with a fix that doesn't involve spending several hundred dollars replacing perfectly functional lights? Looking to change, not replace. Plain old everyday vanilla white would be preferable, but not sure how to go about that.

Does the smoke/tinting laminate stuff disguise this effectively? Will it look queer if I only do the crescents & not the rest?
Anyone have any experience with vinyl dye or neutraliser to know if that is a feasible option to look at? (Struggling to see how neutraliser could work for just one section as everything I've read seems to want the piece to be submerged & heated)
Any other obvious suggestions I'm overlooking? White-out maybe? :p

Thanks heaps for any input!
M

I got an NA and an NB, both silver and I can't see 'pink' in mine! Looks fine to me!

I sometimes think the NA taillights may have been 'smoked' but not sure, depends on the angle you look at them and I prefer driving it rather than following it! Interested to hear what others say

NB is 01/00 complianced

changing the reverse globe inside it can affect the overall reflector colour- as most every angle looking into the reflector will focus onto the bulb itself. try using a silver tinted globe if it's not already installed or sus out other options for slightly tingted bulbs for the reverse reflector.

This would be the first quickest option. The rest would involve removing the tail lights to try to get inside via the globe hole which wont necessarily work without a lot of effort.

_M_ wrote:Does the smoke/tinting laminate stuff disguise this effectively?

Or a heavy duty coloured cellophane may be.

sorry to chime in again, being globes, they can get very VERY hot on usage especially on hot days. (ambient temp + globe operating temp [are they 23W??] and lack of air circulation in the assembly). Just keep in mind that with wrapping anything on them. That said, being reverse globes, they wont be on for very long, so the potential temperature 'hit' wont last more then a few seconds in total over an entire day. Just wanted to add that for awareness sake.

Was thinking of heavier grade of cellophance or similar on lens as opposed to globe. But I guess a globe could be coated with something appropriate, although could be issues with colour of light.

droo wrote:changing the reverse globe inside it can affect the overall reflector colour- as most every angle looking into the reflector will focus onto the bulb itself. try using a silver tinted globe if it's not already installed or sus out other options for slightly tingted bulbs for the reverse reflector.

This would be the first quickest option. The rest would involve removing the tail lights to try to get inside via the globe hole which wont necessarily work without a lot of effort.

Should I assume he means the reversing light lens looks pink? I just been in the garage since the last post and that's the only thing resembling pink to me

your rear combination lamps emit legal signal colours ie red /amber/ clear. I am not aware of a pink tint on the outer lense but some vehicles did have this though it will still signal with a legal colour. Personally I think changing legal colours to something else is all a bit silly. Insofar as bulbs are concerned they are essentially designed so that you cannot change . However you can get a bulb that looks silver or clear but flashes amber eg diadem. These bulbs will work in certain applications provided the bulb base is compatible eg a same pin configuration. Which function are you talking about? If the external part of a lense is not to someones personal taste then it comes down to painting etc but the results may be variable and illegal because it affects light output and or colour. The lense is also hot melt glued in position and I would not remove a lense on a lamp that was not leaking around the glue track. Personally I also think the rear combo lamp on the P2 ( not sure if P1 is identical) is a great looking lamp with good function- not all makers achieve this.

I can confirm that in the old days lenses were painted in certain circumstances - with the right type of paint and almost always over a clear acrylic lense but it was an inferior process- often seen on cheaper aftermarket lamps with lowish volumes. It was inferior because the paint would fail ie fade much faster than an already pre coloured fully approved automotive grade of injection grade acrylic. As an example of poor quality materials Holdens used sub standard materials and many of the red lenses are bleached nearly white- that's because they took shortcuts- many of these cars are now not roadworthy.

If you want to know about globes check out Hella Narva Osram Philips data and also refer your handbook to see what bulbs are fitted. Quite often the bulb type is shown on the rear lamp housings.

_M_ wrote:those wretched pink tail lights! I don't mean faded red, I mean the crescent-shaped section towards the centre of the car. It doesn't seem to be so noticeable against darker paintwork, but on the silver it gets to me.

Can you take a photo so we can see which set of lights you're referring to?

So far, no pink lights on my stock NB8A.

NB8A pink bits:

whoa, is it getting light leaking in from the surrounding red plastics? Looks like it'd have to be somehow masked off inside and a matte painted to separate the white from the internal edging.

Are the stock lights easy to bake and separate to get inside them?

(I havent yet tried that with my stock NA lights but i have separated some aftermarket clear tail lights for another project.)

Mr Morlock wrote:Personally I also think the rear combo lamp on the P2 ( not sure if P1 is identical) is a great looking lamp with good function- not all makers achieve this.

P2 had clear lenses for the indicators
P1 had orange

And I think there might have also been a slight difference to the lens material, if I remember correctly the P2 lenses seemed clearer and brighter (perhaps it's just an illusion)

Exactly that, thanks, Clubman! I did contemplate adding pic to the original post, but figured anyone with an earlier NB would know what I meant. Guess not...curious to know what the difference is as to why some cars don't have this (perceived) issue... hmm.

Sorry guys, been out of access for a few days unexpectedly.

Globes are the standard clear ones. Light output is fine, just the visual during daylight of the lens itself. I know, I know, stop being fussy & suck it up :p
Sounds like a problem that's not going to be fixed from outside, huh?
I'll have to have a better look at it on Saturday & see if I can get inside...gave up undoing the bolt last time, cause all I had was a stubby ratchet & socket...seem to need more leverage. Will let you know how it goes.

Emma

the lense(s) are hotmelt glued or sometimes welded to the body- ie not meant to be taken apart. Lenses are not a service item.

Yes, you're going to have to live with it.
I was looking at a non-MX5 today and it also had slightly pink reverse lights. Sounds like a common thing.