Tape on a Carbon Fiber Eyeline

[BigInALegacy]

I ordered some carbon fiber eyelines from HKC maybe a week ago. The eyelines arrived yesterday. They were packaged excellently and they look great. They weren't pre-taped so I picked up some tape for them and I was getting ready to apply it and I had some questions I was hoping someone could help me with.

 

 

Where is the best spots to put the tape to get a good bond? I'm assuming around the edges would be best to keep it firmly in place. Where does it come on a painted model?

 

Then, I was wondering if with the carbon fiber, since the light from the headlight might still glow through the carbon fiber, am I better off taping the entire eyelid so you can't see the tape strips through the glow?

 

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[TSiWRX]

I taped along the entire length of the lid.

 

My technique was (more than) a little off at the time , as I'd been watching a movie with the wifey. I'll have to go back and re-do it later, to get the "corner of the eye" a bit better.

 

It's been quite a while since I had mine. No problems whatsoever with adhesion, and in so far as I can tell, I don't get any light coming through either it, directly, or peeking from the sids.

[Underdog]

Yeah actually... In the attached pic you can see at the innermost point the eyelid is lifting off the light. When I was dry-fitting the eyelids they did not do this, but once the tape is applied it torques the plastic just enough to get it to lift off. I would make sure you have plenty at the corners and one or two strips going the entire length of the eyelid (but not necessarily right up to the edge).

[TSiWRX]

^ My problem was that I kept friggin' forgetting about the lids, and snag them when washing the car. For me, it was pure operator error.

 

Thanks for the "torque" warning - I'll have to remember that, too!

[BigInALegacy]

TSi - do you have carbon fiber?

 

I'm worried about the light glowing through the carbon and being able to see where the tape is on the backside. If I hold it up to my bedroom light I can clearly see the tape through the eyeline. I taped one last night, and ended up taping nearly the entire thing to avoid having this happen.

 

The half that points down and is closest to the center of the hood I entirely covered in tape, and the thicker side near the outside I basically outlined in tape, leaving a 1 1/4in. strip in the middle untaped. That way if the light shines through the carbon, there's a clear, clean outline in the middle that will glow a little brighter.

 

It might have been a little extreme, but I didn't want it to look screwed up once I put it on the car, so I figured I'd cover my arse and go the extra mile.

[TSiWRX]

Correct, I've got the carbon fiber - Stanza.

 

I did tape the "entire" lid, though.......which is probably why I don't have any light peeking through......

[BigInALegacy]

Yeah, I think that may be the only option.

 

I was going to do top/bottom/sides strips, but you could see the tape outline SOOO much through the light. How I have it now, if the light shines through it there's only a little (perfectly outlined) strip in the center of the thick part where light can shine through, so I'm thinking it might actually create a cool looking glow if anything.

 

I'm gonna test fit at night with my lights on and see, I'll try posting some shots of that. Also I'll post some shots of how I taped it. Won't be until tomorrow though, Thursday's my boozing night.

[BigInALegacy]

Thanks for the help TSi... I was sitting there wondering if this was really how I should be doing this for like an hour last night as I was applying tape!

[TSiWRX]

Thursday's my boozing night.

 

:lol:

 

No need to thank me, I'm just glad to help.

 

It's honestly been so long that I've done mine, I can't remember all the details.

 

What I do remember is that I ended up sitting on the couch, with the pieces, and repeatedly cutting piece after piece of that 3M Automotive Trim Tape to-match the "puzzle" of the piece just laid prior to it. I believe that what I'd ended-up with was a complete "backing" made of the tape, which is probably why I haven't seen any "peep through."

 

It was seriously time-consuming, and I don't think I managed to watch the movie all that much, either.

[BigInALegacy]

I hear you man! I spent an hour+ doing one eyelid!

 

You're definitely right about the puzzle pieces though!

 

I think I managed to get mine covered using only 5-7 strips of tape. I had to curve the ones on the top and bottom, and then use 2 or 3 strips to go around the projector part. Definitely time consuming though... I'm kinda not looking forward to doing the second one! :lol:

[TSiWRX]

^

 

I can't even begin to tell you how many pieces I had..... It must be, like, 20+.

 

Distractions!

[gsuperman]

Hey Big, I'll ask the Paint shop that did my eyelid what tips they have on how to shape the tape.

 

I'll be going back on Saturday to have them removed anyways, as I'm not happy with the fit. They said they will heat them up and remove em for me, so I can ask about any tape tips they have.

[BigInALegacy]

I actually taped one of them up, I spent an hour or so doing it, and covered the majority of the eyeline. I'll post some pics later tonight or tomorrow of the tape job I did.

 

Oh, and an easy way to get them off (and all stick-on parts, and heating first may make this easier) is to take a piece of dental floss and run it behind the eyeline sawing apart the tape from the eyelid. This way you're not putting any pressure on the eyelids, seeing as they are fairly thin. Then you can just remove any leftover tape from the eyelid and the headlight assembly.

 

Hope that helps.

[Hanger]

just put it around the eyelids, and you might want to leave a 1mm gap from the outside, just so the tape won't show

[Hanger]

and make sure you get the corners

[BigInALegacy]

I did leave a slight gap on the edges... about 1/32 - 1/16 inch.

 

And after I did the bottom strip I held it up to my bedroom light, and you could CLEARLY see the tape line through it. That's why I decided to cover most of it with tape.

 

Again, I probably went to the extreme, but I'd rather over-do it than under-do it.

[BigInALegacy]

Yeah, my tape outlines the entire eyelid with a VERY consistent 1/16 inch gap around, then the whole thin part (on the inside, with the point) is taped entirely with not a speck showing.

 

Then I filled in one more row of tape on the inside of the thick part (nearest the outside), and left one strip that's the width of about 1 1/2 pieces of tape, in the center of that thick part where the light could shine through. It's outlined PERFECTLY (I got anal with the tape) so I hope that will make a cool glow effect in just that one spot. Plus it saved me from taping the whole thing!

 

I'm gonna test fit with the headlights on at night and see how it glows. If I don't like it I'll tape the rest so no light can come through.

[Hanger]

i would've just take a can of black paint and paint over the back

 

 

btw eyelids are a pita to take off if you have them on for a while, i scratched up my headlights when i took off my RBS one

[gsuperman]

Hopefully mine shouldn't be too difficult to take off, as they have only been on for a few days. Long story I'll explain in another thread.

 

Off topic Q for Hanger, do you know when Subaru changed the colour scheme from Atlantic Blue to Newport Blue?

[BigInALegacy]

i would've just take a can of black paint and paint over the back

 

Where were you to tell me that last night?!?!

 

Just kidding... it actually worked out so that I think my "glow strip" will look pretty cool, and I had to tape all the sides anyhow, so I didn't waste any time or tape doing it.

 

And if I don't like the glow, I may just do that!

[Puckman]

so how strong is the tape? are these something you can put on and know that they'll stay put for a few years?

[BigInALegacy]

Yeah, this 3M tape is no joke.

 

I have my trunk lip spoiler (see avatar) installed using this stuff. I close my trunk from my spoiler with absolutely ZERO fear of moving it or ripping it off.