Black headlights DIY LC Accent- Done with pics

[Jonas53]

I have to do this that chrome has to go.

[Jennie]

i agree, bad ass!!! wanna do mine?? (jk)

jennie :

[japakos]

Wish I could, I live far far away

[GLaccent01]

and how did you do this mod???, i'm looking to pull my headlights out again, let me know, thank you

[Jennie]

Greece?? Yeah I guess thats a bit far... lol..
next time your in Florida let me know

jennie:

[japakos]

I want to come to US. Soon...
Ok here is a DIY with pics, as I promised I hope this helps.
Hopefully, I found my old (crashed) headlights and took some pics of them.. so here it goes:

Tools needed
i)Your mam's oven (Not grille)
ii)A good -big straight screwdriver
iii)Thick gloves-kitchen gloves
iv)Cross screwdriver (small one)
v)Black Gloss spray paint used for high temperatures (I used Motip spray paint)
vi)Paper tape
vii)Silicone glue

Time: 1-1.5hour

Fist of all: This is the headlight stock:


2nd: You put the headlight into the oven (You know, kitchen).. So, bake it at 80 Celsius for about 10-15mins. Be carefull not to melt it though. After that, you take the headlight out of the oven wearing some gloves, because it's REALLY HOT! and take the big screwdriver and start to dissasembly it. There is some glue there and is a bitch to take it out just like this:



Make sure you be really carefull and not break the headlight because it's hot and soft after the baking.

3rd: There is one screw inside the headlight, between the mirror and the gray base, use the small screwdriver to unscrew it. After that' you have a full dissasembled headlight. To get rid of the round thing in front of the lamp, there is a screw at the back (where the H4 bulb sits). Unscrew it and there it goes.So we have it looking like this:





4rth. Now the painting part:
The part we need to paint is the above photo you see, take it out and spray it gently with gloss paint. You may want to cover the center mirror of the indicator signal with some paper-tape in order to have some reflection from the signal bulb after it's finished. It's recommended but not needed. After 10minutes it should be ok. If it doesn't seem ok spray it again until you are satisfied.

5th. Ok so, you finished with painting and want to put it back.Ok, put all the parts into the oven and bake them for 5-10 mins at 80celsius. Put them out and reassemble the headlight (reverse of the dissasembly). The glue is hot now and it helps the plastics to glue to each other. If you notice holes or any of these, use some silicone and close them.

That's pretty much it, any questions .. shoot!

[Spawn 12336]

Looks like Japakos and I were typing at the same time.....

Jennie, Check out on Google "Baking Headlights". The basic premise is to preheat your oven to 200. All you are trying to do is loosen up the sealant on bonding the lens to the housing. Most common method is to bake for 10-12 minutes, keeping an eye on it if you are tentative about it, then gently pry the housing from the lens. Check out http://www.auburn.edu/~fauchpj/headlight.htm, they say 250-300 degrees for 5-7 minutes but that's too hot for my liking. Here is a more detailed write-up, http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384488

That should help.

[Edited by Spawn 12336 on Mar 22, 2006 6:24 PM]

[DREROB]

I have been wanting to do this for some time now but in the same color as my car(blue), but that black is lookin nice, good job!

[japakos]

Thanks man, it's easy to do it. It just needs time. Ain't worth to spend $300 on ebay.. I'm waiting to see other people to do it.. come on!

[GLaccent01]

i'll be next, just need to get the paint, and the time to pull the headlights out, i'll smoke the tails too, can't wait till im done so i can show picture to everyone