AcUrALiTy

?, i got 5 free mdx headlights and 1 tsx headlight at work, now i have a friend that did my brand new CL headlights black housing awhile back but i sold them to some guy in the mainland, anywho, i figure since i got all these lights i might as well practice, so a couple of ?'s

when i heat the headlights in the oven to 350 degrees, how long do i leave them in there for?

and what kinda sealer is the best to use? i heard silicone sucks ass

and also what brand high temp paint do you guys use?

thanks for the feedback

red99cl2.3

Heres my quick write up

You will need:
-High temp Silicon (avail. at Wal-Mart & hardware stores, pref clear)
-oven & cookie sheet or heat gun (I didnt use the gun but...)
-flat head and philips screwdriver
-primer
-flat black high temp paint (i used flat but its up to you)
-A good days time to let them cure

1. The first thing you need to do is remove the bumper. I didnt do this so im not sure how to go about it but trust me its easier than ripping the fenders apart trying to get the freaking screws under the light.
2. Then i took the headlights and removed the rubber piece around the corner and the tubes on the back of them and put them in a unpreheated oven (that was set to 200 degrees) on a cookie sheet, I let them "cook" for around 3 minutes and pulled them out to see if the factory silicon was sticky.
3. I slowly (i cant stress Slowly enough othewise you will break tabs) took a flat head screw driver and pryed the lights apart. If the glue started to harden i put it back in the oven for a minute or two. Make sure you watch the lights cause you do not want them to melt, obviously
4. After you get the housings apart but the lens aside so it will stay clean. You dont want finger prints or dirt inside your housings.
5. You should see 2 or 3 screws that hold a silver part in the lens, unscrew it and pop the clear corner lens off.
6. Next mask the corner part of (the corner that holds the 194 bulb). If you want the all black look you can paint the corner too but you wont have a light there anymore (well it cant be too bright). I personally dont like the look but a few members have done it.
7. Spray light, thin coats of primer on to cover the chrome up (took around 3 i believe)
8. Let it dry completely and then spray 3-4 coats of black on.
9. I let mine dry over night and then peeled the tape off. If you peel it too soon you will take the paint too.
10. Make sure you are happy with the lights and then put the housing back in the oven for a couple minutes to soften the glue (just the housing part with the reflectors, not front lens or the part you just painted).
11. Pull the housings out and screw the black part in making sure you put that corner lens back on.
12. Put a bead of silicon around the headlight where the factory stuff is
13. Press the light back together and make sure all the clips are secure. I have heard it is best if you use a clamp to hold it tight so you may want to try that too
14. This part is optional but i didnt want to pull the lights out again because of fog so i put an extra bead of silicon around the headlight seal. It doesnt look great but you cant see it and they dont fog.
15. Reinstall

Its been awhile since i did this so i dont remember exactly how many screws or coats of paint but you will figure it out and im pretty sure im right about it PM or AIM me at Pat353 if you have any other questions Good luck


thanks to 1StGenCL

AcUrALiTy

thanks for the info

i heard silicone sucks, wheres VXCL, i need your knowledge....

VXCL

the best sealant i've used so far is permatex ultra grey high temp silicone sealant. its high temp so thats what makes a diff, however i was told about nissan part #b6553-89915 which is a butyl rubber sealant or whatever. say as the honda oem sealant just black. i would use this because it will seal better and its 1000x easyier to work with the puddy like sealant then gooy silicone.

heres my write up for taking ur housing apart

1. Take off your front bumper (if you don’t know how to do a search or by a helm manual. you should buy one anyways)

2. Unbolt the headlamps. (6 bolts each, impossible to do without taking the bumper off)

3. Remove all bulbs from headlamps.

4. Use a heat gun or bake the headlamps in the oven. Work on only one headlamp at a time! I found 250 degrees is a good temp. I left one in there for 15 minutes to see what would happen and it was fine. If you don’t think your oven temp is accurate 200 is good. Bake them for 8-10 minutes. Make sure you put foil on the baking sheet if you use one! The housing on the bare metal will probably melt. Don't worry about the small black venting tubes. Just make sure none fall if into the oven. Just make sure none come loose once everything cools back down.

5. While baking or before heating place a soft cloth or towel down on your work area. This is so you don't scratch headlamp when you’re working on it with the clear lense face down.

6. If you baked them use an over mitt on your secondary hand to hold the headlamp from moving. The metal parts are going to be red hot! I find that a medium flat head screw driver works best. Make sure you don’t crack the grey plastic clips that help hold the lense to the housing. If it seems hard to pry apart then the sealant isn't hot enough yet! You will just end up bending the housing up all along the edge and this does not help when you reseal them.

6. When you do pull the lense off and you get strings of grey oem sealant don’t push it back into the housing! You'll just end up making it hard to push completely back together again. As long as you put enough new sealant in you'll be fine. I recommend Permatex Ultra Black sealant. Good to 500 degrees, perfect for custom xenon setups. Squeeze a good bead in the housing. Make sure you heat the housing back up first if you don't have a heat gun. Then just push the lense on. The black sealant will glob out. DO NOT SMEAR IT OR WIPE IT!!! LET IT DRY!!!! When it does you can pull it right off with no damage to the lense. Never ever use Goo Gone to clean up any silicone sealant!! You will make a huge mess and ruin the housing. It just smears the silicone everywhere.

7. If you are going to paint the housings black make sure you pre-bake them or heat them. Most high temp paints will change color and release chemicals. This will make your headlamps foggy inside or make a rainbow like film inside.