Fog Light Restoration Help Options

[Biggles]

Hi Everyone

i'm in the process of restoring some Hella H3 fog/driving lights (the ones with 5 rivets on the back) but need a bit of help.

Everything has come apart ok except for the lenses from the lens bowls.

Every picture I've seen of these shows the lens come away from the bowl with a gasket in between, but these look as though they are sealed with white sealant. It all looks original, but i'm thinking is it the gasket that's just gone very hard over 40 years or is it a type of glue ?

If it is glue, could it be soaked in petrol or something to soften it ? I'm worried force could crack the lens.

Thanks !

Chris

[Mike Bellis]

Petrol or diesel may help. You can try dental floss and use it to saw through the glue.

[anderssj]

If I remember correctly the lenses on the Hella H3s driving lights are sealed to the reflectors with a white adhesive. It's similar to what Cibie and Marchal use on their headlights. Pretty tough stuff. I've never used a solvent on them--I've always been concerned about the solvent fogging the reflector (had that happen once trying to clean an old light with rubbing alcohol).

You might want to call one of the hi-buck headlight restoration places (the ones that do the lights for old Ferraris and such) and see if they can recommend anything.

Hope this helps.

[Steve Snyder]

The lens is fitted to the reflector dish with a thin gray gasket that gets very brittle after 40 years. It can be seen in the lower right corner of the picture here:
http://www.p914.com/p914_lenses_fog-hella_tn4_components.htm
If your fog lights are original, you should be able to separate the lenses from the reflectors fairly easily by holding the lens with one hand and tugging on the tab at the top of the reflector with the other. Of course, sometime in the 40 year period, someone could easily have replaced the original gasket with some other material, in which case all bets are off.

[Biggles]

Cheers everyone. I think Steve is correct. it looks like a white sealant but it does look as though it was done in the factory.

The lens is fitted to the reflector dish with a thin gray gasket that gets very brittle after 40 years. It can be seen in the lower right corner of the picture here:
http://www.p914.com/p914_lenses_fog-hella_tn4_components.htm
If your fog lights are original, you should be able to separate the lenses from the reflectors fairly easily by holding the lens with one hand and tugging on the tab at the top of the reflector with the other. Of course, sometime in the 40 year period, someone could easily have replaced the original gasket with some other material, in which case all bets are off.

[Targa70]

Any ideas on where a man would be able to purchase two of these gray gaskets? Thanks for info.

[SA-914]

I just installed some from 914rubber.
914 Fog light gaskets set of 2, $15

[anderssj]

Sorry for the delay . . . I'm at mom-in-law's (NC) working on her place, and internet connectivity here is "iffy" at best.

I think I still have an old Hella H3 5-rivet driving light in the parts stash in the garage. I'll try to find it, confirm how the lens is sealed to the reflector and take/post pictures once I get home.

I had 3 of these clear lens driving lights at one point--all had cracked or "holed" lenses. On the worst two I ended up removing/breaking the remaining glass (I think I ended up using old dental tools to cut through and clean up the sealant).

I rebuilt the lights using 914-6/911 thru-the-grill fog-light lenses (fluting on lower third of the lenses is different from the top part) along with the gray rubber gaskets and spring clips.

Here's a pic:



I'll try to find the PNs when I get home.

Hope this helps!

Steve A-