Hey all!
Since I have my expy in the body shop with its left running board off I thought it would be a swell idea to clean it up nice. Upon closer investigation I found out that my rear illuminated entry light was very dirty from the inside, so I decided to take it apart and see what the problem was. Apparently the glass lens separated from the housing and allowed misture and other dirt to get in, resulting in a non working light. After cleaning the light out with some soap and water I thought: Hey Wouldn't it be a GREAT idea to paint the inside of the reflector?! So that's what I did.

>>>>>BEFORE YOU DO THIS: I would like to note that only one of my lights came apart easily. The other one had to be baked(do a search on baking headlights) and then forcefully pried apart. So what I'm trying to say is it might not be the easiest thing to separate the glass from the housing.<<<<<<

Anyways, after getting the second light to split in half i started wondering what color i was going to paint the reflective part of the housing. I decided on using a mix of Testors blue/chrome acrylic paints. Probably not the best choice but it was all I had at the time.

After letting everything dry I used a little bit of window caulk to reseal the glass to the housing and viola! Done! However I haven't tested this creation yet because i have no power source to use while my car is in the shop but I expect the lights to have a bluish tint after completing this mod. Maybe I'll even throw in some blue tinted bulbs to enchance the effect.

Instructions:
1) Locate the valance light covers under the running board, they should be at opposite ends of the running board.

2) Remove one plastic retainer screw from each cover(this part may be tricky, but with some elbow grease you'll get it).

3) Pry back the light protector cover and extract the lightbulb from the housing.

4) Now that the bulb is out and hanging by its wire use a small flathead screwdriver to extract the light assembly from the actual running board(it should pop out).

5) If you are lucky(like me) the two pieces will split and you'll end up with a plastic lens and a housing from the light. If not you will either have to bake the plastic piece(CAREFUL NOT TO MELT IT!) and or somehow pry the two pieces apart(Knife and small Hammer in my case).

7) Once you are a this step you are free to do whatever you want, paint it, line it with aluminum foil or put mirror tape in it, it up to you!

8) To seal the two pieces back use some window caulk(found at Home Depot, Lowe's...), this is probavly the only way to do it as there won't be enough glue if any to properly seal the two pieces of plastic.

9) Installation is obviously reverse of removal.

OK I believe I have covered all aspects of my little Mod, so go out there and have fun modding you rig. Thanks!

P.S. > I just wanted to say that this is an awesome site and the amount of knowledgable people on here is insane.