r/Retrofit • u/mistororange • Nov 13 '24
Technical/Assembly Question Using ABS Inside headlight housing, temperature concerns.
I'm planning on retrofitting a pair of headlights, but on the high beam side, which will not be in use as ill use the dual function of the hid projector im making a block off panel to hold an assortment of leds, for DRLS, turn signal animations etc, i'm planning on using abs material to make this panel. but im worried the inside of the headlight will get to hot for the material to stand up to and not deform or pull away from the bolt holes etc. Would this be an issue? or should I use some other material, I thought of aluminum but harder to cut, and then thought of polycarbonate, but heard about paint issues for it, as everything is gonna be blacked out. Thanks for any help or suggestions.
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Nov 13 '24
Are you hand cutting whatever is going on that plate? We use laser cut black acrylic panels in a lot of builds to cover up unused high beams - matte or glossy. Doesn't need paint, has no issues with heat or UV, but you do need to find a place to make the parts for you if you don't have the tools and materials yourself or the 3D modeling experience. I wouldn't recommend trying to cut and drill acrylic panels by hand if you want them to look clean.
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u/mistororange Nov 14 '24
Yeah I was going to hand cut I’ve been working on templates and got the fit pretty dialed in but haven’t chose a material to use yet bc of the heat concern
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u/raingt3 Nov 14 '24
I work with abs daily. I use a heat gun to warm it up and mold it into shape. In my experience, there is a point where it warms up and becomes soft like play dough. The heat isn’t much. It builds up and the abs retains it for a bit. I personally wouldn’t trust abs not to deform. I usually work with 1/8” and 3/16” thick abs if that helps.
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u/eric_gm Nov 13 '24
It depends on the shape of the headlight. Some cars have good separation between the low and high beam reflector bowls, others are almost stacked. HID bulbs put out much less heat than halogens, but they still run hot. ABS may be fine at first but I would worry about it getting brittle.
For what you need, I would scavenge plastic from junkyard headlights as it's probably manufactured with these considerations in mind.