Sealing headlight housing

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Old 07-28-2010, 11:30 AM
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Sealing headlight housing

Hi all,

A few months ago I cracked open my headlights and blacked out the interior. They look great! Except... water is getting in from the seal.

I put the headlight in the oven twice to try to get the factory glue to stick and the third time this happened I used caulk on top of the seal. This worked for a while, but it yellowed and cracked in the California sun and now water is back inside.

All the how-to guides I found here didn't mention that they used anything extra to seal up the headlight.

Any suggestions on what I can use to create a watertight seal?
Old 07-28-2010, 11:39 AM
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get window weld or the nissan rubber butyl from the dealer. the window weld u can get at autozone or any auto store, usually 3m or some other brand. i found a roll for like 8 bux at autozone. just get most of the original stuff off and then put a little bit of it in the area u need.
Old 07-28-2010, 12:50 PM
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I used silicone to seal. I mean I used A LOT OF silicone...lol.
Old 07-28-2010, 01:23 PM
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do you have any pictures?
Old 07-28-2010, 02:14 PM
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permatex gasket maker.

make sure to get all the old sealant out..
i've read the diy's like ten times and done
one "practice" headlamp...if i can get the
time i will be doing this over the weekend..
Old 07-28-2010, 09:53 PM
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Follow my diy, Im working month 8 without any problems....
Just use a LOT of silicone.
Old 07-28-2010, 10:20 PM
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If it's the first time cracking the lights their will be enough oem stuff to reseal as long as you did not clean/scrape it out.

When resealing with the oem stuff just push the piece together as best as you can with no heat,then reheat till it is soft enough to fully close not till you liquify .you will need to have presure holding them together either with clamps or just some sort of weight or even your hand preasure atleast till it cools a little.
Then it should be done. very fast.

If you have to use silicone it's going to take atleast 24hrs before exposing to the elements.
I found silicone to work like crap and it make's a mess very easily if your not careful.
Old 07-29-2010, 08:04 AM
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Originally Posted by richardparker
If it's the first time cracking the lights their will be enough oem stuff to reseal as long as you did not clean/scrape it out.

When resealing with the oem stuff just push the piece together as best as you can with no heat,then reheat till it is soft enough to fully close not till you liquify .you will need to have presure holding them together either with clamps or just some sort of weight or even your hand preasure atleast till it cools a little.
Then it should be done. very fast.

If you have to use silicone it's going to take atleast 24hrs before exposing to the elements.
I found silicone to work like crap and it make's a mess very easily if your not careful.

Cool..i wasn't sure if the old stuff would re-adhere
well enough to not cause condensation...and i didn't even
think of the wait for the silicone to set..
Old 08-02-2010, 04:06 PM
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I used the crap-load of silicone method over the weekend. I took your advice richardparker and let it sit for a day before reinstalling the headlight.

After reinstalling, I washed the car, and no water in the headlight!

Thanks dudes!
Old 08-04-2010, 03:06 PM
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congrats!
Old 08-04-2010, 04:25 PM
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+1 on nissan oem sealer
Old 08-04-2010, 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted by anothersmith84
I used the crap-load of silicone method over the weekend. I took your advice richardparker and let it sit for a day before reinstalling the headlight.

After reinstalling, I washed the car, and no water in the headlight!

Thanks dudes!
The real test is going threw a touchless car wash
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