I recently replaced my cracked foglight lenses with lexan. Only cost $10 and a six pack. They looked great for a few weeks with no condensation at all. Recently I inspected them again and to my dismay they have warped and bubbled from too much heat. I will probably have to go with acrylic instead.

Just wanted to make sure I through out a warning in case anyone else tries.

Also, does anyone know of any better materials I can use? It must be semi flexible to match the lens curvature.

 

Uhh, that would be good except for the fact that Lexan IS acrylic! Lexan is what they use for bullet proofing... and the barriers between passengers and cab drivers in most cities who's cabbies even bother with the passenger/driver barriers.

Could there be a more heat resistant acrylic available? Sure. But I just wanted to mention that Lexan is one of the hardest plastics (acrylic) around. I worked at a plastics warehouse/fabrication facility when I was between bands one time. We used to get Lexan in 6'x12' sheets, and up to an inch or a little more thick. The brown covering stuck on it to protect it was labelled with the manufacturers name and it always read "Lexan - Acrylic Sheet."

If you can't figure anything out, let me know and I will drop a call to a friend who now owns that company. I'm sure he can tell me the best heat resistant acrylic or material for what you're trying to do.

Oh, and, getting the proper heat resistant acrylic could end up as or more expensive than just buying new fogs! Sometimes purchasing such items are considered special order items, unless the company you're purchasing from stocks it. There is still always a fee because someone in a warehouse must handle that stuff and cut it to size.

Otherwise, good luck.

 

According to what I can find, acrylic is no better than polycarbonate (Lexan) for heat resistance, and depending on grade, may not be as good.

Halogen fog lamps sit close to the glass and put out a lot of heat. Have you considered LED lighting for the fog lamps? I have no experience with LEDs for exterior lighting, myself, but it's a thought, and would solve the heat problem.

 

No, Lexan is NOT acrylic. Lexan is GE's trade name for polycarbonate plastic. Acrylic is another material altogether. Acrylic is usually sold under such tradenames as "lucite" (DuPont) and "Plexiglas" (Rohm & Haas).

Acrylic will probably have worse heat resistance than polycarbonate, as well as poorer impact resistance. Polycarbonate is used for motorcycle helmets and windshields due to its superior impact strength and high surface hardness.

 

Thanks for saving my fingers. Polycarbonate has a much higher melting point and greater impact resistance than acrylic. Acrylic is nice to work with because it's so soft and easy to mold at low temperatures, but is not a good match for this application. Better to use an impact-resistant vinyl or polyurethane film over the stock lenses.

 

Yes, I know it's "polycarbonate"... but my understanding was it's all categorized as "acrylic," isn't it? But, for the sake of no argument, if you're right, it doesn't explain the sticky packaging I used to see on Lexan that came in. In the event you're technically correct, the company had to either have been putting "Lexan - Acrylic Sheet," protective labelling on those huge sheets of Lexan mistakenly, or the company who manufactured it didn't know what they were doing. Or maybe they just ran out of the proper packaging.

And for the sake of no argument again, I don't need to be right on this one, Uncle G. I'm only pulling from the memory of that job experience.

Either way, whatever... if Lexan won't do what he wants most plastics with less impact resistance, etc. probably aren't going to help either. Although, I remember having quite a few cars with "plastic" headlight covers. Though, come to think of it, I'm sure none of those were of the halogen variety though.

Anyway, if I'm wrong for whatever reason, my apologies!

 

I have these H11 LED fogs.
H11 18 SMD 5050 Day Running and Fog L.E.D. Light - Automotive LED Lights - LEDLight
I then have standard 3M Clear Bra over top of the foglight lense. Its been on for over a year and still in perfect shape with no discoloring.

 

Just curious: How bright are those LEDs vs. the stock halogen bulbs? If the flashlights I use in my trade (aircraft maintenance) are any indication, the stocks would be brighter. LED flash lights produce less glare, but for brightness they're no match for even the old-school incandescent bulbs in my mag light.

But I guess as long as these LED fogs contain a large enough quantity of LEDs (and mirrors) to match the brightness of a single halogen bulb they could be a viable and low-heat alternative to the stockers.

 

I think pretty close.

 

My chicken wire still holding up well after one and a half year.

 

Well for now I just pulled out the fog lights. I would do the LEDs but I fear the color temperature may be too far off. Of course I could start ricing it up and get them in pink or orange and call it a day I think I'm going to end up fabricating some ram air from the fog light housing until I can find a good "dremel-able" lens material. Looks like the lexan was rated up to 250 degrees! that's hot.

 

Lol! I'm doing the same thing... and it looks like I bought the same wire as you. I'm going to spray mine glossy black before installing it over the fogs.

Did you bend the wire ends where you cut a little in order to make the ends fit down into the slight space between the fog itself and the casing around it? I was thinking bending the wire around the edge (ends) may help it to fit and hold better.

Anyway, glad to know it's holding up... I was wondering how long it would stay in there, and how long it would hold up to attacking debris!

 

Actually the wire mesh was installed after I took the fog lens assembly off from the housing. The mesh was trapped between the two. It got held on pretty tight since it is sandwiched. Just make sure you push the wire mesh away from the lens to make a buldging shape. That way it will keep more clearance between mesh and lens so it will absorb debris impact better.