[Healeys] Restoring Lucas L594 Lens

Sun Feb 27 15:19:18 MST 2022

OK-let's stop bickering and talk LUCAS. Attached are two pages from
1959 Lucas "Quality Equipment & Spare Parts Catalog".
Note the clear or frosted front sidelight/ flasher lens for the 100
and 100-6/3000. The second page covers stop/taillight lenses. All are
different part numbers and colors.
Later BJ8 plastic lenses are clear: 54572775 and red 54572774.
As you know, the SAME PARTS carried 5 digit, 6, 7 and 8 number
designations so that Lucas could cheat the government out of inventory
tax. However, they did get caught, and eventually went bankrupt. If
you bought the latest boxed 7 digit part, it was identical to the
earlier 5 digit part-just a new box. 
As Perry has tested, the red glass lens is red glass, and the clear
lens is clear. The early 100 had a clear, but bead blasted, frosted
lens. Yes some bulb spray will change the color, but Lucas never did
that. Many of the "orange" lenses were actually sun faded or
miss-matched die lots. . Just the Longbridge 100-6 had an actual
orange lens (Dagmar unit-shown) Hank

	-----------------------------------------From: "healeyguy--- via
Healeys" 
To: "manifold at telus.net"
Cc: "healeys at autox.team.net"
Sent: Sunday February 27 2022 11:48:22AM
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Restoring Lucas L594 Lens

  Just randomly tried the paint stripper test on five of 15 Lucas L594
red lens I have in the bin. No change, no red residue on the rag, It
did remove some blue paint overspray that was on the outside of one
lens! Perry

 -----Original Message-----
 From: Harold Manifold via Healeys 

    Michael,   All four L594 lens on my car had similar markings. They
are all glass, front two are clear back two painted red.   Front Clear
Inner Ring – LUCAS L594 MADE IN ENGLAND Outer Ring – ICM 3137 LAX 
 Rear Painted Inner Ring – LUCAS L594 ENGLAND Outer Ring – ICM
3137 LAX   The script is very slightly different. For some history of
my car. It was in storage from the mid 1970’s until I stated to
restore it about 4 years ago. Having taken the car completely apart I
could tell there was never damage to the rear of the car.   We need
someone who wants to sacrifice a red lens to try paint stripper.
Another theory is the factory was short on red glass lens and had some
clear glass lens painted to cover the shortage.   I wouldn’t have
known the lens were painted if the paint wasn’t coming off one of
the lens.   Harold Manifold     FROM: Michael Salter
SENT: Sunday, February 27, 2022 9:25 AM
TO: Harold Manifold
CC: healeys at autox.team.net
SUBJECT: Re: [Healeys] Restoring Lucas L594 Lens      This is very
odd.   Like Mark and Perry I have never encountered red beehive lenses
with paint on them.   Is the paint on the inside or the outside?   I
would have thought that if they were to be painted by Lucas, of which
I'm very doubtful, the paint would have been on the inside.   Can you
confirm that the painted lenses have the word LUCAS cast on them and
L594?       M              On Sun, Feb 27, 2022 at 11:54 AM Harold
Manifold via Healeys  wrote:   UPDATE ON RESTORING LUCAS BEEHIVE LENS.
THE ORIGINAL LENS ON MY 1960 BT7 WERE PAINTED GLASS AND THE PAINT HAD
PEELED NOTICEABLY ON ONE OF THE LENS. I USED A COMMON PAINT STRIPPER I
HAD ON HAND TO REMOVE ALL OF THE ORIGINAL RED PAINT. I FIRST TRIED TO
RECOAT WITH PAINT FOR STAINED GLASS FROM A HOBBY STORE. IT DID NOT
WORK WELL AND WAS A POOR COLOUR MATCH. FOR THE SECOND ATTEMPT I USED
VHT NITE-SHADES WHICH IS LENS PAINT. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT! IT WORKED
VERY WELL. PICTURE ATTACHED.   MY TOTAL COST IS ABOUT $30 WHICH MAY BE
MORE THAN NEW BUT I WAS ABLE TO USE ORIGINAL PARTS.   HAROLD    FROM:
i erbs via Healeys
SENT: Saturday, February 5, 2022 7:09 PM
TO: Perry Small
CC: healeys
SUBJECT: Re: [Healeys] Restoring Lucas L594 Lens      I have two red
behive lenses and the red is in fact peeling off.  Ira Erbs
 1959 AH 100-6
 1967 MGB
 Milwaukie, OR       On Sat, Feb 5, 2022, 3:12 PM Perry Small via
Healeys  wrote:   Harold  After seeing Marks response I reread your
email. The Lucas red lens were made of red glass not coated. True, the
red color varies.    Photo attached.   Perry       Harold,
      YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE COLOUR ‘PEELING OFF’ PUZZLES ME. I
AGREE THAT THE RED BEEHIVE LENS DOES COME IN A SMALL VARIETY OF SHADES
– SOME QUITE DARK – BUT MINE ARE ALL RED GLASS RIGHT THROUGH. NO
RED COATING.   Mark   Ardmore NZ     FROM: Harold Manifold  
SENT: Saturday, 5 February 2022 2:49 PM
TO: Ken Fleming via Healeys 
SUBJECT: [Healeys] Restoring Lucas L594 Lens     Hello,   I have 4 red
original glass Lucas L594 Red Beehive tail light lens. Unfortunately
no two match. The colour is either different, faded or starting to
peel off. Has anyone has good success stripping the old red and then
recoating with a new red?   I know you can buy new but these are
original and I would like to reuse them. Any tips or suggestions are
appreciated. What type of coating is recommended.   Thanks….. Harold

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