Almost there!
IF you saw my previous demos and compared them to these new ones, you'd laugh at how badly the demos stack up. (OK, you might chuckle at the generous solder, but, still...) The only steps remaining are soldering the leads to the tinned connectors and submerging everything in sealant.
Things went almost without hassle this time around. I had to get some extra epoxy because the last one I used started to turn yellow. Thank goodness I tested it out first. So I bought some new epoxy, but it dries surprisingly clear and with only fine, coursely spread air bubbles.
I have a few more sets to construct. Of the ones constructed, a few pairs have sanded LEDs. The sanding did appear to spread the light wider, but to what extent won't be known until I plug a pair into my car. One trick I might employ, is to take the dusty powder from the sanding, and mix that with the epoxy to make a slightly more opague lamp, but without harming the actual LED color very much.
Speaking of my car, the first prototype with the ugly wires is still going strong two months later.
My experience with the circuit boards has been pleasant. I also took the other guy's comment about resistors into consideration. After spending a few hours reading about LEDs and resistors, I decided to make a series circuit with a single resistor. Technically, the resistor might not be required, as the LEDs are rated to take upto 3.8v a piece (allowing for the car to spike to 15V without killing the lamps) but I put a 10 Ohm resistor in there, just in case.
Having done this, I could probably construct a really nice dome light mod, too. While someone else (not focus specific) has kinda beat me to the punch on this, I have a set of the same wide angle LEDs on the way.
Provided the weather is fine tomorrow evening, I will take more license plate pics. Hopefully the cool blue/white will appear better than I think it will be. Hope to have more tomorrow.