Need some ideas please...

I could use the KZR knowledge base on this one -

I bought a clear tail light lens and now I need red bulbs. I bought a nice pair of red leds with a row of clear bulbs to illuminate the license plate.

I installed them and the red works well but the ring of white light goes 360 degrees and lights up the whole lens and makes it look more white than red. I need some ideas on what I can use to block most of the white light on the bulb.

Please see the pictures below and in next post - I used electrical tape to test the bulbs with the white light blocked and they really looked good. I need to block all of the white except for one led at the bottom of each bulb. Any ideas?? Thanks

2nd picture with tape...

Go to a hobby shop and buy some model airplane flat black paint (the brush on type). A couple of coats should do it.
Just carefully mask of areas the need to have the plate illuminated.

I was thinking of some kind of paint / coating - just not sure what kind would block the light well and hold up over time. Model paint is pretty tough stuff. I was also wondering about the dip coat stuff, like for tool handles?

I was also wondering if I could somehow get shrink wrap to work - or something similar. This is my first go around with LEDS but I dont' think they give off any heat, do they?

try a black sharpie permanet marker you would be amazed what they can cover. you might have to doit a few times but it will work for you.

Shrink wrap will split and I doubt the LED assy would hold up to the heat needed. Plastic tool handle dip might work if you can mask off where you don't want it to go.

I would try some aluminum tape...you could wrap the whole thing and cut out what you dont need with an exacto knife....no light will get through that and its cheap.
just my .02

I hope that's not a brake light bulb because it's definitely not bright enough for daylight use.

I like the aluminum tape idea too - no way is light getting through that. I might even be able to find something like that there at work

Now you got me thinking - if I could find a translucent red tape that would make the lens look even more red. That way the extra light wouldn't be wasted. I wonder if tail light repair tape would stick well enough?

79MKII wrote:

I like the aluminum tape idea too - no way is light getting through that. I might even be able to find something like that there at work

Now you got me thinking - if I could find a translucent red tape that would make the lens look even more red. That way the extra light wouldn't be wasted. I wonder if tail light repair tape would stick well enough?

Where did you get the lenses and could you post a picture of the tailights?...Russ

The tail light lens is a PMC unit that I purchased through Z1 enterprises. I'll post a picture of it on the bike soon. Here's a picture of the lens from the PMC website:

Well, after much experimentation I finally have a solution that I think will work well.

I tried some metalized self-adhesive material and then some red taillight repair material to mask the white lights. It was a big improvement and a hole cut to allow white light to shine on the plate worked well too. Problem was it still had a whitish-purple glow that seems to be common with LED type lighting. Even with the white LEDs totally blocked it just didn't look very red. The police around here are likely to hassle you for something like that, so I kept thinking...

I found a broken tail light that I had in the garage from a honda cbr. It was a replacement unit with a clear lens. Inside I found red colored "domes" that covered the regular bulbs. I was able to attach these "domes" to my stock taillight and it works GREAT! I'll attach some pictures in the next couple posts...