Help: Melted plastic on hotwire bi-pin bulb!

So today I received my AW incan smart driver and Philips 5761 bulb so I could assemble it into my 2C Mag.

I used all the shims for the driver/switch and still had a terrible unfocused spot when using a FiveMega VLOP reflector. I took the head off and was going to pull the bi-pin bulb out a bit to see if it made a difference. I had been using the cellephane bag that the bulb came in to touch it with instead of my hands. Unfortuntately when I did this it melted onto the bulb due to the heat!

So now I have a 5761 bulb with melted plastic on mostly the top. What should I do? Is there any way to reclaim the 5761 bulb without destroying the special coating on it?

I had this problem on a 1185. After some time, the burnt plastic eventually came off and I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol and it seemed to be fine, but I didn't use it that much because of some fear that it will explode.

Hope someone else with more knowledge than me will add some information on this.

you can try to clean it with some alcohol...:shrug:

I will try that yes...I managed to get the solid parts of cellophane plastic off, as I wiped it with a dry paper towel and it peeled away easily. I'm still unsure if it is safe to use though.

Does anyone have any experience with exploding halogen bulbs? How much damage it causes?

I personally haven't blown a bulb, but it can be dangerous because it'll damage your reflector. You have to clean out all of the glass bits that are in there. Remove the switch if necessary.