SO HOW ARE THESE BEING MADE....AND WHAT ARE THEY BEING MADE OUT OF?
The turn signals are being made in a process called polyurethane
casting. Essentially, it is the poor mans form of injection
molding as far as the end results are concerned. With injection
molding you have really high tooling costs and really low
production costs on a per part basis. With the urethane casting,
the tooling costs are much lower but the actual cost to make each part
goes up substantially. This process is particularly conducive for
limited production runs which is the other reason I chose to go this route.
The material being used is....yup, you guessed it, polyurethane.
The stock lenses are made out of some form of acrylic and as we all
know, acrylic not only is susceptible to cracking and rock chips -- it
actively seeks out these things with vigor. So from a materials
standpoint, polyurethane is an upgrade to first class in comparison to
the stock acrylic. But the goodness of the material doesn't stop
there...oh no....because not only is it polyurethane...the lenses are
actually made out of aliphatic urethane. Aliphatic urethane has
exceptional clarity, good weatherability, is non-yellowing and UV
resistant. In other words, this particular urethane is perfect for
this application. Unlike your stock lenses, you can drop these puppies
from pretty high up and they merely bounce off of the floor....not
breaking, cracking, etc. whatsoever. This isn't to say the lens
surface can't get scuffed up...becuase it can and will, however as far
as thing like the corners breaking off and such -- that is a thing of
the past.
AND YOU ARE BONDING THEM TOGETHER HOW?
Initially, adhesive
was going to be used for bonding the lenses to the housings however
there were several limitations inherent with using adhesive in this
applicationan. Besides concern over the two halves coming apart over
time, there was also a poor seal around the part and cosmetically, an
inconsistent bond line. Instead, the shop came up with the idea to use
screws to fasten the two halves together with a layer of silicone
sealant between the two, to seal the part and aid in making a more
consitent bond line.
WHAT ABOUT THAT REFLECTIVE COATING ON THE INTERIOR OF THE STOCK HOUSING?
On the stock turn signals, the interior of the housings have been
chrome plated to aid in the reflection of the turn signals. I looked
into having the housings chrome plated and determined that the cost per
part would raise the overall price of the turn signals beyond what
anyone would have been willing to pay. I was quoted an additional $165
per pair making the amber lenses $315 and the clear and smoked lenses
$340. So instead of chrome plating, the interior of the housings are
being sprayed with relective paint.
