nate_0022

iTrader: (2)

A lot of people seem to, but I would advise against it. With not having that consistency of butyl you're going to have air gaps somewhere. You could re heat the headlight and possibly smooth out the left over butyl

Bruce Banner

iTrader: (2)

Which butyl did you use?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I always use the one on amazon...it gets the job done.

Bruce Banner

iTrader: (2)

Got a link?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

something like that...

nate_0022

iTrader: (2)

According to JnC the koito butyl from TRS is the same as the OEM stuff.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/accessories.html

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

That's great information...I think it needs to be heated to be handled, though...something like that. I remember thinking it seemed harder to work with.

nate_0022

iTrader: (2)

Yeah it does need to be heated and rolled out. It comes in brick form. What I do is heat in the oven have a bowl of water near by and wet my hands so I don't burn them, roll the strips out. Important thing is keeping your hands wet so the butyl doesn't stick and keeps you from burning your fingers. It is a bit tedious, but it's the best butyl I've used (I've used all these, 3m window weld, Nissan Butyl, OCI TRS butyl, Koito butyl)

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Jeez...awesome, man. yeah, I learned of the water trick. Saved me a ton of headache last time!

Bruce Banner

iTrader: (2)

How much is one roll for for?

Bruce Banner

iTrader: (2)

Found the answer, it says 4.57M, so that is like 15FT

wherethebuffaloroam

iTrader: (1)

this is exactly what i was looking for...thanks for the details man.

JuniorB513

Looks great. I too am scared that i am going to mess them up and end up having to buy new headlights. Taking them apart, not so much. Putting them back together, yes!! Nice job though once again and great write up!!

wherethebuffaloroam

iTrader: (1)

haha same here man.
if i end up doing it, i'll let ya know how it goes.

SurfingScotty

That looks amazing! Where did you get the paint for the reflector/diffuser?

Yaseen Gabr

HELP! ((

I have my headlights just sitting downstairs waiting for me to crack them open. Now, main question. Can I leave all the bulbs in their while in the oven? Or do I need to take them out?

Please PM me or reply. I just really need an answer.

Boosejars

iTrader: (1)

i took out all my bulbs when i did mines - figured it would be safer to take them out

eastcoastguy

Some have said they left them in and it was ok, but I agree with Boosejars that taking them out would be better, why chance it.

gopeman

Is there a specific place where to buy the clear lenses for the headlights?

SurfingScotty

i think someone posted where to buy them online but I just googled and found this. I smoked mine myself, but I was short on time and couldn't wait for shipping.

http://klearz.com/tl_headlight_markers

thoiboi

Are you referring to the outer lens or the projector lens

wusty23jd

Hey, I just completed this mod last week actually. I used a cookie sheet and set a damp towel underneath my headlights when I placed them in the oven. I left all bulbs attached to keep the headlight "sealed" as much as possible when baking. I didn't want any moisture to make its way inside the headlight. You will be fine if you leave all bulbs attached.

gopeman

looks like they're sold out but I found a set on EndlessRPM

No, the yellow lenses that are inside the headlight where he turn signals are.

thoiboi

take everything off except the housing you're killing the bulbs and other components by keeping them there


What kind of moisture do you have in your oven

wusty23jd

PPLAPW "I stuck the ENTIRE headlight housing as well as all the HID componets. Make sure you don't pre-heat, 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Once they are out you might need gloves to remove it. Begin in the inner corner and pull till it opens. It should come off fairly easy."

If you don't have a tamper-proof torx bit and don't want to risk breaking your HID components during disassembly, then leaving the HID components attached won't do much damage in my opinion. I haven't noticed any issues thus far, but I'll eat my own words if something happens down the road. (Please feel free to chime in if anyone has experienced issues with this. I haven't read any thus far). Additionally, like many, I replaced my fog light bulbs with new LEDs, and parking/turn signal bulbs with new switchback LEDs, so I guess this wasn't a huge concern for me during the baking process. However, every OEM bulb worked perfectly fine when I wired everything back up for testing, even after baking and re-baking.

A common recommendation is to use a cookie sheet and a damp towel to help eliminate the risk of melting the plastic housing when baking headlights for opening. With that said, the aforementioned "moisture" derived from heating a damp towel in the oven during the baking process. When heated, the damp towel remits a little moisture into the cavity of the oven and the extra steam helps soften the butyl holding the headlight assembly together. It's not required to use a damp towel. However, I baked one headlight with a towel and one without a towel. The headlight without the towel seemed to be more difficult to open. This is just my observation.

thoiboi

To each their own! Electrical components biggest enemy is excessive* heat.





*Something like throwing a headlight in a place it's not usually used to (an oven) qualifies as excessive in my opinion. It's one of those "better safe than sorry" concepts

wusty23jd

Yup, I won't disagree with you on that lol!. Excessive heat is never good for electronics. I've read that when headlights rung for long periods of time, parts of your headlamp can exceed 180ºF steady-state, so I didn't think that 200ºF would cause that much damage. However, to reiterate what was previously stated, removing all bulbs would be the "safest" approach for sure

thoiboi

I try to err on the side of safety when recommending newbies to do something so they don't come back and say something like "my bulbs stopped working!!! "

TacoBello

There is no point to leave them in. You're opening the headlight right up, to atmosphere... Plugging the back won't change a thing. Headlights are NOT vacuum sealed or anything. There's "normal" air inside them at all times and that air also does have moisture In it. That's why the headlights have those silica gel packs in them, to help, suck up any moisture.

SurfingScotty

he said he lined a cookie sheet with a wet towel. That would generate humidity inside the oven. Personally, I just used a couple of 2x4's on both my retrofits.

sbstnce

when you break the seal on the actual headlight, you will pose the same risk having the bulbs out...I for one would take the bulbs off at 200+ degrees. The blow dryer trick (take any hose + blow dryer and put it into a bulb socket ie: turn signal or drl socket and let the air blow into and out the empty socket) after resealing properly with butyl.

wusty23jd

That's actually a pretty useful tip. Thanks sbstnce