New to the world of MX5 & forums so appologies for any school-boy errors!
I own a Mk1 '94 in Brunei - very humid place and so the ?sidelight units? (front bumper + indicator cluster) have been getting increasingly misty.
I’ve detached them no problem but have found that a previous owner has sealed up the 6 plastic catches that keep the see-through lense attached with some mixture of chewing gum and black goo!. I have chipped most of it off but daren’t lever the brittle plastic for fear of snapping either piece.
Has anyone done this before? - Is it worth detaching the two pieces or should I just stick it in the dishwasher on low temp and then leave it to air under the AC before re-sealing? Any other fixes to reduce moisture build up in general are much appreciated!
That black goo is the factory glue and sealant most likely (It certainly sounds like it).
Messy stuff.
Several ways to fix, but depends on what you want to do.
Pop the sidelight clusters out, give them a good wash with plenty of detergent as they get filthy and then dry them as best you can. Pop them in the oven on about 50-60 deg C. NOTE : you do this at your own risk - im only tellign you what I have done and others have said they have done, I cannot vouch for your oven or sidelight clusters.
for about an hour. Then leave to set! This will take away all the maoisture and leave you with nice sparkely clusters. The black glue will have melted and re-set, hopefully giving you a nice new seal. If not it will buy you another year before they fog up again.
Another option is to run some liquid glue carefully around in the join when they come out of the oven to help get a better seal next time.
the third option is to remove the lense as soon as the black glue has melted, clean out all you want and re glue some how - black goo sealant or not if you can get it off.
Warm them in the oven, prise the back off, being very careful as there are a number of catches. Clean off all the gunge with thinners/parrafin etc. While you have the lights apart, remove the awful orange stuff, [just a couple of small cross headed screws]. Reassemble using clear builders silicone. Re fit and insert some phillips silver effect,bulbs which flash orange [not recommending these, but just to give you an idea http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400014454995&cguid=ce0e839811e0a0e205165746ff60d8dd ]
