HOWTO Remove Lens on Grimes Model-E

[0TreeLemur]

Today I tried to replace the colored lenses in the position lights on my '67C but was completely fuddled.   The lenses won't come out!  The prior owner replaced the bulbs with LEDs but left the old crazed colored lenses on.  I want to replace them with new clear lenses.   They are really stuck on.    Anybody know a clever trick to remove them?   Lots of force is not the answer because the metal is too thin for that.  These are the Grimes model E forward facing position lights w/o strobes.  Thanks.

[Niko182]

18 minutes ago, Fred_2O said:

Today I tried to replace the colored lenses in the position lights on my '67C but was completely fuddled.   The lenses won't come out!  The prior owner replaced the bulbs with LEDs but left the old crazed colored lenses on.  I want to replace them with new clear lenses.   They are really stuck on.    Anybody know a clever trick to remove them?   Lots of force is not the answer because the metal is too thin for that.  These are the Grimes model E forward facing position lights w/o strobes.  Thanks.

if you're replacing them, might as well break the old lenses and take it out in parts.

[Guest]

A small centre punch and a hammer, or an automatic centre punch.

Clarence

[0TreeLemur]

58 minutes ago, Niko182 said:

if you're replacing them, might as well break the old lenses and take it out in parts.

Kind of started out in that direction today but my inner CB wouldn't let me get too "Medieval" thinking that if I break something that I don't want to break it is at least 0.4 AMUs for a replacement set.  Hoping that someone might have a lower energy method.  They almost feel like they are glued in and I don't see a gasket. 

[0TreeLemur]

One other thing that makes me hesitate about destructive removal- I'm not sure if the LED's are white or colored.   If colored, then clear lenses go on.  If white, then I couldn't use the clear lenses.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Fred_2O said:

Kind of started out in that direction today but my inner CB wouldn't let me get too "Medieval" thinking that if I break something that I don't want to break it is at least 0.4 AMUs for a replacement set.  Hoping that someone might have a lower energy method.  They almost feel like they are glued in and I don't see a gasket. 

If they are glued on to the metal base, you could remove the metal base from the tip and soak them in some 100LL.  Silicone dissolves in 100LL.

Clarence

[0TreeLemur]

Thanks for writing @M20Doc.  I wonder if 100LL dissolves LED light components too?  If it had standard bulbs in it I would immediately do as you suggest.  I'd hate to destroy $80 of LED bulbs...

[0TreeLemur]

Problem solved- I bought two NOS Grimes model E bases on eBay today for $35 ea. so I can build them up from scratch without worrying about destroying the old ones.  At first everything I saw in decent condition was really expensive.   Then I switched from ebay.com to picclick.com for the search and found them that way.  

[Guest]

21 hours ago, Fred_2O said:

Thanks for writing @M20Doc.  I wonder if 100LL dissolves LED light components too?  If it had standard bulbs in it I would immediately do as you suggest.  I'd hate to destroy $80 of LED bulbs...

That part I don’t know, destroying your bulbs would be a shame.

Clarence

[0TreeLemur]

Status update:  I received the NOS Grimes bases that I bought on eBay, and I made up a new nav lights using colored LED bulbs with clear lenses.   The old lenses were actually glass, and stuck on like crazy with silicone.   I had to break them to get them off!   The old bulbs where LED, but white with a high color temperature.   For that reason the "green" bulb on the right wing actually gave off more of a blue light, and dim at that.   The new lenses use gaskets not silicone and are held in place by the teardrop metal fairing that serves to streamline the fixture and make them forward-style nav lights.   They look great.  Took them on a night flight last night and they cast big green and red lobes on the ground around the wingtips while taxiing.   They also illuminate reflective objects some distance in the way. 

Photo shows new red bulb in left wing, which is the dim one, in the hangar after I installed it with skylight illumination in daytime.  Note all the light on the floor.   I'm pleasantly pleased with how it turned out.   I'm going to sell the original grimes bases back on eBay, hopefully for about what I paid for the NOS ones.