Changing Turn Signal Lense Color Amber to Red

With all the thread time about how to convert the rear turn signals into brake lights, it should be noted that amber lense rear brake lights are illegal in every state I know of. I haven't been pulled over for it, but I called the CHP and verified they are illegal. Raer brake lights have to be red.

The bad news is nobody makes red lenses for the stock turn signals.

I finally just painted mine. I used Testors spray enamel:

#1605, Transparent Candy Red

It's about $3 for a little can. The upside is that it is model paint specifically designed to go onto slick plastic and stick to it.

Wiped the lense completely with acetone (didn't sand it at all). Applied three coats about 1/2 hour apart.

They look really good to me, very shiny. The color is a nice cherry red that seems to match the stock tail light perfectly for hue.

The only way to tell they are painted is look really close and you can see the slight orange peel surface paint has as opposed to the dead smooth surface of molded plastic. From more than a foot away, it's impossible to tell.

Well done! Ingenuity my friend.

Check this out:

Here’s Some Red Ones

Oh,now you tell him! :woohoo:

Yea, just a little late on that one!!:laugh: I'm not sure if those are for the police bike or what? I think I have seen red lenses though somewhere before. I know for sure I've seen clear lenses. Those would work well with a red bulb.

Bountyhunter - how do you think it would look to paint the inside of a clear lens??

79MKII wrote:

Check this out:

Here’s Some Red Ones

I'm not sure those are the same size as the ones on a 750 twin. Maybe, can't tell.

But at $28 delivered, I'm thinking I would still go for the $3 can of red paint.....:laugh:

The '79 650 C3 my brother had had red turn signals on the back.
That's the way he got it.

79MKII wrote:

Bountyhunter - how do you think it would look to paint the inside of a clear lens??

Probably perfect. You would have the red color and still have the smooth plastic surface of the molded lense.

If it is the standard incandescent (18W) bulb, I wonder if it would get too hot if the paint was on the inside? Those bulds get stinking hot. I have the 3W LED's in mine right now.

rstnick wrote:

The '79 650 C3 my brother had had red turn signals on the back.
That's the way he got it.

Interesting. I wonder if that was optional for models sold in different countries.

79MKII wrote:

Yea, just a little late on that one!!:laugh: I'm not sure if those are for the police bike or what?

Yep, those are for the front lights on the cop bikes. From babbitt's OEM parts base:

23048-1024 KZ1000-P6 Police 1000 (1987) $4.52

Nice that the guy on ebay only marked up the price about 150%!