- First Name
- Austin
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2022
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 24
- Reaction score
- 76
- Location
- Indiana, USA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2022 Ford Maverick XL 2.0L AWD
- Engine
- 2.0L EcoBoost
- Thread starter
- #1
Hi all!
I recently did the ZEP tail light mod on my 2022 XL and I wanted to share not only my results, but I wanted to clear up a lot of misconceptions and things said in the original post about this from a year or so ago.
First off. This entire mod is amazing and I cannot recommend it enough. It took a while to do, especially the 3rd brake light, but I’m impressed with the results.
So with that said, let’s clear up some misconceptions with the original post. There was a lot of back and forth about the entire process; but especially needing the 25% stronger ZEP that isn’t obtainable anymore. This is partially true ZEP doesn’t sell bottles that say “25% stronger” anymore. However, someone pointed out that the regular ZEP works just fine. It did for me. I’m positive it’ll work for anyone else too. I got my ZEP from Walmart in 1gal jugs.
My method was to remove the lights, take the bulbs and harness loose, fill it up 75% of the lights capacity with ZEP, and reinstall the bulb harness with the light bulbs removed. I then rotated the lights every few minutes and shook them vigorously between rotations. Every speck of chrome came off in 30 minutes per light or less. I had to spray it on the 3rd brake light as it’s an open back housing and it will not hold any liquid by design.
I used 2gal between the 3 housings. I then rinsed with a garden hose (detail bay which has filtered water but any hose should do) until no bubbles or ZEP were left. I then rinsed with distilled water from Walmart. 1gal was like $1.70 near the baby section at my local Walmart. I blew what I could out with compressed air and let the rest evaporate before reinstalling. As far as the harness went, I rinsed it off as well and blew it dry with the blow gun. It didn’t discolor the contacts or anything weird. I reinstalled all three lights; and these were my results (running stock bulbs for rn).
I recently did the ZEP tail light mod on my 2022 XL and I wanted to share not only my results, but I wanted to clear up a lot of misconceptions and things said in the original post about this from a year or so ago.
First off. This entire mod is amazing and I cannot recommend it enough. It took a while to do, especially the 3rd brake light, but I’m impressed with the results.
So with that said, let’s clear up some misconceptions with the original post. There was a lot of back and forth about the entire process; but especially needing the 25% stronger ZEP that isn’t obtainable anymore. This is partially true ZEP doesn’t sell bottles that say “25% stronger” anymore. However, someone pointed out that the regular ZEP works just fine. It did for me. I’m positive it’ll work for anyone else too. I got my ZEP from Walmart in 1gal jugs.
My method was to remove the lights, take the bulbs and harness loose, fill it up 75% of the lights capacity with ZEP, and reinstall the bulb harness with the light bulbs removed. I then rotated the lights every few minutes and shook them vigorously between rotations. Every speck of chrome came off in 30 minutes per light or less. I had to spray it on the 3rd brake light as it’s an open back housing and it will not hold any liquid by design.
I used 2gal between the 3 housings. I then rinsed with a garden hose (detail bay which has filtered water but any hose should do) until no bubbles or ZEP were left. I then rinsed with distilled water from Walmart. 1gal was like $1.70 near the baby section at my local Walmart. I blew what I could out with compressed air and let the rest evaporate before reinstalling. As far as the harness went, I rinsed it off as well and blew it dry with the blow gun. It didn’t discolor the contacts or anything weird. I reinstalled all three lights; and these were my results (running stock bulbs for rn).
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