Disclaimer
Use these instructions and clear your headlights at your own risk. I will not be responsible for fogged up headlights, broken headlights, melted headlights, melted ballasts, or any other stupid things people might do to their headlights. I am also not responsible if you cut yourself, burn yourself, electrocute yourself, or sustain any kind of injury while clearing your headlights. In other words, I will not be responsible for ANY kind of injury or damage (physical, mental, spiritual, whatever) that occur during the process of clearing your headlights...(such as if you accidentally burn your apartment down...like we almost did once...haha)

Difficulty
Medium

Time
Took us about 2 hrs to do 2 headlights...allow up to 6 hrs if its the first attempt

Materials
Your car...or your friend's car...
A friend! preferrably two...
10mm socket wrench (with extension)
Flathead screwdriver
Philips screwdriver
Torx screwdriver (the star shaped one for the HIDs)
A oven big enough to fit your headlight
1-2 cardboard pieces that are the size of your oven tray, but not so big that they touch the sides of the oven
A towel that you don't mind getting dirty or sealant on
Scissors that you don't mind getting sealant on (very hard to get off)
Clear reflector piece (optional)

Procedures
Preparatory steps: Refer to this guide written by TUFF GONG for instructions on how to remove the bumper and take out the headlights. After you get the headlights out, bring them into your kitchen, and you are ready to start!

1. Remove all the clips, bulbs, ballasts, and rubber pieces from the headlight. The headlight should look like this:


2. Take the cardboard piece and soak it with water in your sink, make sure the whole cardboard piece is wet. Place the wet cardboard on the bottom shelf of the oven, and put the headlight on top of it. MAKE SURE that neither the cardboard nor any part of the headlight are touching the sides of the oven:


3. Start baking the headlight at 200F for 7 minutes. Check on the headlight and cardboard once in a while to make sure everything is all right, and that the cardboard is still wet (ALWAYS make sure the cardboard is wet...one of the times we accidentally let the cardboard dry, and it caught on fire in the oven...wasn't a pretty scene...) After 7 minutes, check on the headlight again, re-wet the cardboard if necessary, and then bake the headlight at 200F for another 4 minutes:


4. Remove the headlight from the oven with a towel, and clear out an open work area. Locate this corner of the headlight (the bottom, outer side with the big tab):


5. We suggest starting at this corner because you can get a good grip on the tab. Using one hand to pull on tab, and the other hand to pull on the headlight cover, start pulling the headlight apart (this requires a LOT of force, but don't break the tab):


(if the headlight does not pull apart, then heat it at 200F again for another 4 minutes, and try again. Keep heating it with short intervals until the headlight can be pulled open)

 

6. As you pull apart the headlight, get your friend to locate the clips on each side, and pry them up with a flathead screwdriver (right next to the corner you started on, on the side of the headlight, there is a tab that requires you to wedge the flathead under the black plastic part in order to pop it). Keep poping more tabs as you go along:


7. After the headlight starts comming apart, you will notice that the sealant will stretch as you pull at it. DO NOT let the sealant stretch! It will get on everything if you do. Get your friend to cut along the sealant WHILE you pull the headlight apart:


8. From the corner that you started at, we chose to work along the top edge of the headlight, pulling, unclipping the tabs, and cutting the sealant:


9. After the top is completed, move along to the bottom. We went along the top, around the pointy end of the headlight, and worked our way to the bottom edge:


10. Continue pulling, unclipping and cutting sealant until you've worked around the whole headlight:

 

11. After all the sealant has been cut, you can separate the two sides. Use your fingers to press down any strands of sealant along the edge so that it will not touch any other parts of the headlight:


12. Use the Philips screwdriver and unscrew the two screws holding down the chrome reflector piece:


13. CAREFULLY remove the chrome piece, lifting the POINTY end first, then the round end (becareful not to touch the chrome reflector with your fingers, and not to touch the chrome part to the edge of the headlight cover. Sealant on chrome is almost impossible to clean):


14. Use your pinky or a screwdriver to pop out the orange reflector piece:


15. (Optional) Push in the clear reflector piece if you have one. If the reflector is not curved enough, heat it in the oven at 200F for NO MORE than 45 seconds. It should become very soft and flexible so that you can fit it into the slot (the little tab on the reflector will most likely pop out when you heat it up later, so just do your best to fit the reflector in):

 

16. Spread all the pieces out, and let the sealant cool and harden (so that it will not be sticky, and make it easier to put the chrome piece back):


17. Once the sealant is decently cool, proceed to replace the chrome piece, pushing the ROUND end down FIRST!:


18. Then push the pointy end of the chrome piece back in, being VERY CAREFUL not to touch the sealant on the edges of the headlight cover:


19. Remember to screw back the two screws that hold down the chrome reflector (I forgot to do this the first time I cleared my lights...):


(at this point, you can opt to add honda bond or clear silicone to the edges of the headlight cover if you feel insecure. We added a little bit of honda bond to the first headlight, and decided that it was unnecessary for the second one...we will see how they hold up in a couple of months)

20. Line the two sides of the headlight back up (we started from the pointy end of the headlight):

 

21. Once the two sides are aligned, push them together as hard as you can:


22. Use as much force as you can to push the two sides together, and get the gaps as small as possible:


23. Place the headlight back in the oven, make sure that the cardboard is WET! and heat at 200F for 4 minutes:


24. Remove the headlight from the oven, and WHILE IT IS STILL HOT, push it together AS HARD AS YOU CAN (without breaking anything). Try to get the gaps as little as possible (compare it to the stock headlight that you haven't cleared, the gaps should be as small, or almost as small as the gaps on the stock headlight). Make sure that all the tabs are secured too:


25. Hold the headlight in place until the sealant cools off and hardens in place (you can use a clamp if you have one):

 

26. Once you are happy with the seal of the headlight, put all the clips, bulbs, and ballasts back on (put the clip back on in the direction shown in the picture below). Let any condensation in the headlight air out, and then put the headlights back on the car:


Result


More Photos
http://www.acurainspired.com/gallery/view_...bumName=album47

Original Post
http://www.acurainspired.com/forums/...ST&f=16&t=572&

 

has anyone ever tryed to make the tL lites into black housing headlights

i did it for my friends 99 TL it looks pretty hot..but i was wondering if anyone has done it to the newer TL i kinda like to see how it loooks

anyways someone let me know

 

This is the most detailed instructions for clearing the headlights that I ever saw. Good going guys!

Twister anyone?

 

Excellent job !!!! Now all I gotta do is get off my lazy azzzz and do it!!

 

Excellent instructions! Well done and thanks for the informative post!

 

excellent instructions indeed, but i still dont got the balls to do it my self, anyone in LA that can help me? willing to pay for service....

 

Excellent job fella's!!

Is this the work of the Ray & Will team?