Oh! 
So its not a good idea then.
Thanx Pulsar13! 
Has any one tried to de-dome a nichia 219? If so, what effect on the color did it have.
In regards to ceiling bounce readings being different for different beam shapes, i don’t believe the beam type affects this at all. You can easily test this by performing a ceiling bounce with one light by holding it low down to the ground, creating (relative) flood, and then quickly moving it up to even just an inch from the ceiling, creating an intense spot. If you keep your head turned away from the light and stare at the same part of the floor you should see no change in brightness throughout the full movement.
I have dedomed several XM-Ls, all were nice clean sucesses using gasoline,
but i noticed the tint changed differently between the different emitters. All were the same cool white tint before i dedomed them, but after i did it, two of them are a nice neutral tint, and one went sort of a greenish tint.
Is this caused by the yellowish color of the gasoline ? Have anyone tried different grades of fuel, as in Premium gasoline versus regular grade gasoline.
Also have anyone tried Napha, ( Camp fuel) which is pure clear and very refined as compared to gasoline ?
If you check out the tint chart certain tints are stock closer to green; when dedomed the emitters already favoring green a small amount will be more green.
IIRC, 1C will dedome slightly green. 1A will dedome neutral white.
The gas de-dome thread may be a better place to find info on this and ask gas q's: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/17374
test
Interesting… My pic changed from the tint values chart to “flashlight wiki” did that happen on its own?
Another thing to keep in mind, there are only 2 or 3 retailers I trust 100% that if they list a LED as X bin/Y tint, that is what I will actually get. The vast majority of sources either don't know or don't care if a few T6s get 'accidentally' mixed in with the U2s or something like that...
I am very pleased with my first de-doming attempt. I put an XM-L2 star in about half an inch of gas in a glass jar overnight (about 7hrs). In the morning I checked on it and found that the dome was still sitting on the star. I swirled the gasoline around for about 15 seconds, then checked again. Voila! The dome was gone. I could see quite a bit of residue on/near the LED, so I swirled some more. About half of the residue was removed. I let it sit for another 15 minutes, did some more swirling and the LED was pretty clean. Very pleased. To further clean, I sprayed rubbing alcohol on the LED, then used compressed air from about 1 foot away.
I installed the star in my old trusty Fenix T1 after extensive modding (18650 battery, 3 amp driver, hybrid copper / aluminum heat sink). All I can say is WOW! The T1 throws like a champ and is very bright.
Here's a post on my gas de-doming setup: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/19641?page=1#comment-488717, post #160. I find 2 1/2 hours is about perfect. Usually I see bubbles forming under the dome by then. If you take the stars out, the domes are loose and I simply flick them off carefully with a tweezer - touching the side opposite the wires, flickng towards the wires - never damaged.
Tom, I have an XM-L2 soaking in gas right now. I'm going to try your method. 2.5hrs is just about up.
Wish me luck.
Do not swirl! The dome usually releases from around the tiny bond wires LAST, swirling is more than enough force to break the wires if they're still stuck in the silicone. Tape the jar to the table if you're unable to resist the temptation.
I read this too late. Yep, I broke em.
I wait till the dome is off completely, and then give it a couple of good blows to get rid of the crumbly stuff.
If the dome isn’t off after 7 hours, I’d be reasonably confident in giving it a gentle swirl, the petrol would have weakened it quite a lot.
I’ve also come to realise the heating method works 100% now, I think its more the number of attempts catching up on the poor early success rate than anything!
I twist over top of the wires, as if they were a hinge, after heating to just under the melting point of solder.
Gas is my preferred method, but I have so many xml-t6’s I get bored some days!
Chris
… Woops. I swirled mine like a bloody tornado about every 30 minutes. I guess I had one with hyper strong wires. I even picked off the remaining chunks covering the wires with tweezers.
I also tend to swirl them and I had no problem with that.
Anyone tried a star glued with AA to the pill? I guess the AA will not survive this but it would be so easy to just throw the whole pill in the gas…
You're both right, it's possible to do it without breaking anything, except when it's not. And you won't know which it is until after the wires are broken. Kinda like playing Russian Roulette and saying 'but five times now I pulled the trigger and absolutely nothing happened, that's irrefutable evidence that nothing will happen again on the sixth try.'
Is there a cheap way to practice de-doming an led? I looked for a couple led lights at walmart but for a half decent led they run about $20. I’d hate to have to practice on something fairly expensive like that. Or anybody around Michigan that is skilled at this? I have a tk-61 that I plan on doing a resistor mod and a de-dome and I really don’t want to screw up a $160 light.
I soak them in a bottle of thinner (hanging on a wire) for 2 hours
then I blow a few times and the dome jumps off!
sometimes if there a leftovers o the die I soak another hour and blow again…
no mechanical force to the die needed - just strong lungs 