So earlier this week I posted up some pics of my DIY JDM Third Brake Light that the total cost of my materials were roughly $0.50. Since then I’ve improved my method and laminated the insert which brought my cost up to about $1.50 total.
The following material were used:
Printable Transparancies
Self Adhesive Laminate Kit
Access to a Laser Printer
Scissors
I also had to create my own template which took a few tries but I eventually got it to the size and style I wanted. I can send you guys the template if you want. I used MS Paint for all my work
Part 1 - Disassembling the Third Brake Light:
It’s pretty simple really.
Obviously remove from car:
Remove the four screws under the light and remove the back portion of the light:
There will be two more screws to remove:
Remove reflector assembly:
Note: I also carefully removed the red reflector with a small flat head screw driver so I could trace the shape on the template.
Part 2 - Creating the Insert:
So I’ll skip the how to print and shit and go straight to after getting the printing done:
Print Template onto Transparancy: I had ran the transparancy through the printer about 3 times to get the black to become as opaque as possible. Of course due to this there was a little toner bleeding into the text but not to worry, the red brake light will wash it out and you won’t be able to notice the imperfection.
Cutting and Trimming: I traced the outline of the reflector onto the template with a pen and proceeded to cut it out. I cut an extra 1/4 cm around the edges for lamination purposes:
Lamination: Just follow the directions on the kit and you’ll be fine. It’s just two giant slaps of tape that sandwiches the insert:
Cut and Trim Again: Cut around the insert leaving 1/4 cm of laminate around the edges. This protects the insert:
Final Fitment and Assembly: You’re done! Just fit the insert in front of the reflector and reassemble. That’s it!
