nameeri

Allright guys, ive been thinking about this one for a while and i am sure that it will work. What is the hardest thing to do while clearing the lights? Its not taking them apart. Thats easy when you use a heatgun. The hardest thing is, believe it or not, putting them back together. Why you ask? Leaks. Leaks are common when clearing out your headlights. If you dont do it right, you get moisture and then all sorts of headaches. SO i think i have found a solution. After the lights are taken apart and cleared, and the old adhesive is removed from both sections of the lights, you should use new sealant/adhesive and press the two pieces back together. This is the hard part. How to clamp the two pieces back together to ensure good adhesion?? Use these suckers...1 inch or 3/4 inch Binder Clamps



Go to your local office supply and purchase like two boxes of these. If you place several, evenly spaced apart all around the lip of the seam, it should provide more than enough pressure to keep the pieces from forming a bad seal. Once you have all the binder clamps on, use your heatgun and heat the seam around the edge to make sure that the adhesive has penetrated. This will also heat the plastic housing and make it conform to the correct shape, thus providing for a better fit. I will try this when i help Elegant-TLS clear his lights. Whenver that may be. But if you are thinking of doing this, try it out. I think it will work perfectly.

Davediego

Nice tip but I need help getting them apart. I tried clearing mine once, held a hair dryer on hot/full blast on it for about 15 mins and while the adhesive got soft, I felt like I'd break the casing if I kept trying to pry it apart... so I gave up

johnnyb_s

You won't need to heat anything up if you use silicone. The binder clips sound like a great idea!

nameeri

A hairdryer doesnt get nearly hot enough. You have to use a heat gun, nothing else will work as good or as effectively.

WiLz

where can i get a heat gun?

KidD WiTh 2k TL

johnnyb_s . .. this might sound krazie but getting it apart is easy . . . all u do is place the headlight in the oven for 5 minutes in i think if i remember right . . like at 200 and take it out and the front lense should come off with no ease at all . .really ease and quick . .. not much know this technique.

KidD WiTh 2k TL

one thing bout using a heat gun is that u made your lens a lil foggy . . not a big difference but if u look close . . u might see a lil fog . . i dont know .. thats what i heard

johnnyb_s

Um...thanks for the tip, but I already cleared out my lights

Has anyone actually tried out the oven technique? It sounds plausible, but my concern would be the plastic deforming from the heat.

payyourtoll

Nice tip, Im doing mine this weekend, and will definitely try the clips out.


Im also going to paint the housing black, should I use heat-resistant paint, or will any kind work ? If anyone has painted theirs, please recommend a brand that you liked.


johnnyb_s - How long did it take you to pry apart each housing ? I'll be using a good heat-gun.

johnnyb_s

The first set of lights I did took me about 3 1/2 hours to remove the lights, clear them, and seal them back up. I used a hair dryer on low setting BTW. The next set I did I barely used any heat because I knew how to go about prying them apart. I had some help from BadazzTL and JPritch, so it went a lot faster, especially when it came to removing all the old Honda bond. Very important for a good re-seal! Whatever you do, DO NOT use alcohol to remove any fingerprints, etc from the chrome-painted portion of the lights because it will remove the chrome paint. It won't really matter in your case though because you are going to be painting them black. I used clear silicone to seal them back up and have no problems at all. Good Luck! And remember, take your time and work slow. I would say start early on a Saturday morning and allow yourself the day. You won't need all that time, but it is always better to give yourself more time in case the unexpected happens, which just might. Let us know how things work out.

payyourtoll

Thanks bro, I'll post some pics Saturday after its done, weather permitting.

Vffr1

songoku

Welcome to the forum!!!!

Clearing H/L means taking the orange deflector out!!!

johnnyb_s

Looks like you were just a tad late with that edit Vffr1

JPritch

JohnnyB_S, the resident headlight clearer is in the HOUSE!

Did you ever get your car to quit smoking cigarettes?!?!?

Vffr1

Yeah, like when I figured it out, I wanted to remove it so I didn't look like a fool :o

Mike Smeezy

johnnyb_s

I think most of us have been there and done that :o

Yeah, what was up with that cigarette butt all up in my intake

I'll have to get those pics from BadazzTL to post for everyone. I think I was losing about 5 horses from all that "bad air"

andytran

i wanan clear out my headlights but was scared about moisture leaks and stuff. and the headlights looking messed up cause its being pryed apart.

nameeri

True true, i wont deny it. I did destroy a light housing when i cleared my lights. But i was a newbie when i did it and it was a rookie mistake. It wasnt from the heatgun tho, it was from using it incorrectly. The heatgun works marvelous as long as you use it correctly. But the point is, you can get a better seal if you use some binder clamps.

johnnyb_s

So that's how you messed that light :p

payyourtoll

Nam-

Can you explain this more pleez. Were you rushing it and heating too fast ?

nameeri

After i had finsihed reassembling the lights and installing them back on the car, my drivers side light developed heavy fogging the following morning. I figured it would go away but it didnt. So, thinking like a rookie, i figured "If i apply some heat to the front of the light, then it should evaporate the fog and ill be good to go." Well, that was the rookie mistake. The front plastic went from clear to foggy, so that it looked like there was permanent fog on the inside. But it wasnt fog, i had actually damaged the plastic. So, there goes that light. Needless to say, i would have been fine if i hadnt used the heat gun to heat the plastic directly...I know better now, but it cost me!! So ill pass my experience down to others...DONT HEAT THE CLEAR FRONT PLASTIC DIRECTLY YOU MAY CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE!!!

payyourtoll

Amen brutha