Looking for a way to dedome my C8 XM-L T6 without soldering, I pulled the wires out and separated the LED/star from the pill, turned it upside down in a tiny container of gasoline with the pill sitting on top. (Tiny gas container consists of a little clear plastic cap from a bottle of throat spray!)
We’ll see how it goes from here! (do you think the gas vapors will harm any of the contents of the pill?)
Thank you!
Edit: Seems like some kind of spray contact cleaner would be good to finish up with…what do you think?
Even if you dunked the whole pill, driver and all, it wouldn't hurt anything other than the trouble it'd be to clean it well afterwards. Or if it used silicone wires... PVC or teflon should be unaffected. Epoxies or sealants could also be affected, though JBWeld I know will tolerate quite a bit of gasoline exposure before it starts to go soft. Others may be more vulnerable.
I've only ever used isopropyl in a spray bottle to clean up afterwards, I know first-hand it won't damage the newly exposed phosphor layer on the LED (that's the only part that might not be compatible). Use more aggressive stuff with caution. Might be best to test it on a 'dead' de-domed LED first.
I’m excited about maybe coming up with a way to dedome without soldering! Good point about the layer of phosphor, thanks. I’ll try finishing with alcohol like you said, I’m guessing the force of a stream shot from a bottle helps with clean-up of remaining silicone vs. just soaking in it?
Yeah, the 'silicone bits left behind' are really loose and not stuck well, and not gummy or sticky, so they come away easy. I haven't had one yet that left anything on the die itself, only around the base, but I don't trust the crumbly bits to stay there and don't want them falling off later and dancing around in the reflector. I clean off all of it (even under the bond wires - not for the faint of heart) with the tail-end of a ziptie angle cut to a very sharp point, and a good magnifier. The pointy-ziptie tool is flexible enough at the tip that you can poke at the phosphor and not damage it. The silicone bits really flake away very easily and you don't have to go near the bond wires if you want, only stuff on top of the phosphor itself will affect the beam (and the gasoline method doesn't leave bits on top of the phosphor).
But, like Tom I'm only leaving them in long enough for the dome to come off, then doing the rest by hand. I suspect if you left it in for ~24h it would all come off on its own.
Well, if you don’t own a vehicle like quite some people living in cities do these days, getting gasoline isn’t that easy and cheap. Depending on local regulations you may need to buy a proper container (=canister) to get it at the gas station.
They also may have a minimum quantity to buy (here often 2 liters). It may also be illegal to store that gas in your apartment - or at least against one’s rental agreement.
I kind of get your point, but please don’t assume that a solution is the best for all only because it works best for you.
Someone might be happy to know that he can use a bottle of acetone from the dollar store instead, even if a nice bath in ROZ95 would be (way) more effective.
Just checked on mine at the 1hr.50min. mark and the dome was barely dangling, I flung it off onto the floor with one little fling! There are still little bits of stuff on there, so I put it back in the gas ’til I decide what to do next. What to do next? I don’t have a sprayer bottle for the alcohol, maybe swish it around a bit in an alcohol bath? Do I need high pressure? Thanks again!
So someone living in your area would be familiar with all those issues, right? Are there any auto garages, motorcycle shops, small engine repair places around? Go there, explain what you're doing, ask if they can add some gasoline to the little bottle you bring in and keep it for you overnight. Don't act like this is a planet where gasoline doesn't exist.
Spray bottle just helps knock off any looser bits, it's not necessary as long as you can dilute away all the leftover gasoline. Cleaning off every last bit of the silicone isn't necessary either, as long as the bits aren't loose enough to fall off later.
dave_ - all's good to find alternate methods - I understand gas is not convienent for everyone, so maybe there is something as good out there that can be purchased and stored easier.
Never had that happen before after I switched to using gas... I've broken them using other methods, and even by pressing on/bumping the dome without trying to de-dome. But, I leave them in the gas until the dome has fully lifted off on its own, don't know if that's the root cause there or not. Those wires are embedded firmly in the silicone, and they are awfully fragile.
Boy, that's a tuff one. Maybe the LightMalls C8's with the U3 or XXM-L2 U2, I believe (thread on those, but don't think any real lumens measurements). For stock, you'd have to go with a direct drive model - I know LightMalls C8's used to be. The XinTD C8 is great, but amp restricted to 3 amps.
Yes - in theory, but you asked about stock C8's, so, an under-driven XM-L2 U2 will not be as bright as a well drive XML U2. Please check the LightMalls XM-L2 C8 thread - best info there. I'm thinking I read the XML U3 was a dud, and the XM-L2 U2 looked pretty good. The eBay advertised XM-L2 U3 may not be real, not sure. Problem is if no measurements or comparitive beamshots, can't tell.
Well everyone seems quite happy with their lightmalls.com C8’s, that’s for sure!
I feel bad that my first modding of a flashlight went south, but it must be a sign…gonna try not to do that anymore (actually, now that I think about it, my first flashlight modding was grinding the keychain nub off an ITP A3 so it’ll tailstand! ).
Well, I really don’t.
And I also don’t act like one solvent is holy, above all others, and anyone who even tries a different one is a bloody heretic.
That position would be surprisingly familiar to you, hm?
You said that you did not understand why other people would want to experiment with other solvents.
I tried to show you how gasoline may be a quite inconvenient substance to buy and handle for some people, while other as good solvents might be easy and cheaply available to them.
This concept is really not hard to understand, and if you still don’t, I cannot help you. Sorry.
I think quite a lot people in my area are familiar with those issues. I’m not one of them, I’m in the lucky position to have a properly vented cellar, enabling me to store up to 5 liters of fuel.(yes, this is actually firmly regulated with byelaw)
It might surprise you, but it’s not about me.
I’m thinking of people in a similar situation. After reading posts like that from tolight, they just might find a bottle of Limonene for 3 bucks in the art shop they walk by every day to work and be happy.
If it was for you, that post would not exist because the perfect solvent is already found. You would rather send them on a some km bus drive to the next auto garage.
I’m sorry, but I am really unable to understand the issue.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m thankful for this thread and the gasoline methode. Before that I de-domed with heat and/or less potent solvents. Also a straight forward process, but it takes quite some time. It also takes some minute motor skills and a lot of patience to free the die surface but leave the bond wires within it’s silicone bed.
Compared to that, a gasoline bath really is the perfect methode. I just thought it would be in the spirit of this thread to enable others to get comparable results with solvents easy to access.
