Hey guys, well after seeing this topic discussed over and over again and a lot of you guys having problems with fogging I think its time for you all to know a little secret that I came across whilst having my headlights cleared and then later retrofitted at the local body shop.
Well a lot of people can successfully open their headlights to clear them but it’s the putting them back part that is more tedious than most of you would think. Over the years people have used silicone to put the headlight back together.
Most of us use the usual adhesive silicone to put the headlights together. The problem with adhesive silicone is that it has a nasty fume, which is not only toxic but also can cause fogging inside the headlight, which sometimes can be confused with fogging due to leakage or improper sealing. Another problem with using adhesive silicone is its property to adhere. Compared to the factory silicone which can easily be removed by applying heat adhesive silicone can not be easily removed. If you use adhesive silicone and you run into leakage or fogging you will need to reseal the headlight and once you try to open it up it wont be as simple as it was with the factory silicone. So the bottom line is to avoid adhesive silicone at all cost, only do it if you think you will not be opening the headlight later.
Now, there is another way of doing this, by using non adhesive sealing silicone. This is the type II silicone. This silicone doesn’t have the nasty fume that the adhesive silicone has but can be used to seal the headlights. The problem with this type of silicone is that it doesn’t adhere. If you use this type of silicone you will need to use clamps, these clamps can be bought from the local home depot etc. But the problem is that you would need to leave the headlights with clamp on them for at least 2 to 3 days. I know that this silicone doesn’t sound very promising so I wouldn’t suggest it. So that takes both of these silicones out of the equation.
Now you must be asking yourself, what the hell am I suppose to use then if I can’t use either of these two silicones. Well worry not because there is a solution and it is the Nissan Butyl rubber part # B655389915. This is the same stuff that auto makers use to seal the headlights. It basically is silicone but it comes in a roll. You can pick it up from your local Nissan dealership; prices vary from dealership to dealership anywhere from $18 to $30. The best place to buy this stuff i.e. cheap is from the link provided bellow. The website offers it for $16 plus shipping. One roll is usually enough for a pair of headlights. Before using this stuff you need to make sure that you take out as much of the old silicone out as possible. Once you have the channel cleared take the Nissan silicone stretch it a little bit so that the bead can fit in properly and fully in the channel. Once you have laid the silicone heat it in the oven for 4 to 5 minutes and put the lens back on. I strongly suggest you use a few clamps to hold it in place, leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes or so and you are good to go.
I have almost 5 sets of headlights cleared by this local body shop and they insist using this stuff and I can back it up since I have never had any fogging or leaking problems with my headlights. The advantages are overwhelming compared to the regular silicone. The only difference between this silicone and the one that comes on the TL headlights is that this one is black and the one on the TL is grey, good luck to you all and I hope this information would help, I apologize for the long write up but I think if it can help a few of you then its well worth the time and effort.

DIY for Clearing headlights

Nissan Butyl rubber part # B655389915


Picture of Clamps and their proper usage



Picture of Nissan Butyl rubber

 

Nice man...thanks!!

 

thx for the rubber link...I have been looking around over the internet.

 

wow you unlocked this mod,great write up..............will try next month (i Think)

 

great write up man but one question what about Honda bond(the grey stuff?) is that okay to use or should i go with the nissan stuff

 

Good question. Im ready to seal mine up, but I've been waiting for an alternative way that is 100%......I dont want to redo them ever!!

Please let us know why use your Nissan stuff as apposed to the Hondabond.

 

Even though the Hondabond is in a semi-dry state but it still is in a tube and applying silicone from a tube can always lead to uneven appication. The good thing about the nissan butyl rubber is that it comes in a roll and you can stretch it and fill the headlight channel evenly. Trust me this stuff is far better than any other conentional method being used to seal headlights. Adhesive silicone also works but the margin of error is huge. To be on the safe side i suggest use this product to seal the headlights and once you are done take the adhesive silicone put it around the headlight seam with your finger to eliminate any chance what so ever of leaking or moisture getting in. Another helpfull tip is to put silica gell packets in your headlight. This may sound odd but trust me a lot of headlights these days come with these silica gel packets inside them, i know for sure that the TSX headlights have them. I hope all this information helps.

 

using the nissan rubber you should bake for 5 mins at what temp?

 

I have been wanting to clear out my headlights.. but I can't do it myself. I don't know enough about this stuff to do it... What kind of shop should I go to to do it??

 

The above link does not work any more and i couldnt look up any other place on the net to find this stuff. So if any of you guys want to buy the nissan rubber roll then just walts into your local nissan dealership and give them the above mentioned part number.

 

What's the deal with the silica gel?? Whats the purpose and where is the best place for the silica in the headlight?

 

The Silica gel packs are placed inside the headlights to absorb any moisture thats there, that does not mean if there is a leak in the headlight they will absorb all the water but just any moisture thats trapped in there. I know for a fact that the new TSX and TL headlights come with them and are placed inside the headlight with the help of double sided tape. Look at the following picture of a TL headlight and the silica pack that i have circled.

 

Good deal... Thanks duuuude. Just what i needed...

 

For anyone thinking about clering their lights...
I recently cleared my headlights and have two extra rolls of the Nissan black rubber used to reseal the lights. I bought a new set of headlights to do the conversion with and then was going to clear my old ones and sell them. I decided to keep the old ones stock for when I get rid of the car. If anyone is interested PM me and I'll save you a few bucks off what you would spend from the dealer.

 

Good news people, i just became an official vendor on AZ . So if any one needs their headlights cleared, smoked or color matched then get in touch with me.

 

what would you charge to clear and paint A-Spec style black? has anyone done this with SSM silver?

 

errrm, the title says most of it. I got new baby about 3 days ago, and the headlights have GOT to be cleared. Normally I would just go out and get aftermarket and bolt it on myself....
(last car was a Civic, I was spoiled by the ease and cheapness of stuff.)

anyway, does anybody know of a location in the Hollywood / Glendale / Pasadena / North Hollywood area that can clear the lights for me? I had the hood open on my car for a total of 5.1 minutes looking at how the grill went together when my new apartment manager flipped out like a maniac that I was "working on my car" and had a hour long debate about how that would usually require tools that seemed to have become invisible.

Ugggh. Please PM me or email me with info on how to get this done.

 

does anybody know of a location in the Hollywood / Glendale / Pasadena / North Hollywood area that can clear the lights for me? I had the hood open on my car for a total of 5.1 minutes looking at how the grill went together when my new apartment manager flipped out like a maniac that I was "working on my car" and had a hour long debate about how that would usually require tools that seemed to have become invisible.

Ugggh. Please PM me or email me with info on how to get this done.

 

Go to a friends house and do it yourself. It is easier than you think and much more gratifying. I used Honda bond and it worked great, its not as hard to work with as you think. You just need to take your time. thats it.

 

OK... so suppose I just simply am lazy and unmotivated to find the time to do this after working 14 hours most days and I never know what my schedule is going to be and my friends think I'm farking crazy that I want to put my headlights in their oven...

..in that strange world, perhaps there is a local shop that can do this for me? Really, I've got enough on my plate now and just really hate orange plastic.

 

thread bump

whats the best approach to take off the old silicone?

 

heat

 

I'm still terrified of doing this myself.

 

Autozone is selling a butyl rubber sealant, not Nissan OEM.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=501842_0_0_

Any opinions on how well this may work? Anyone tried it?

 

I have been a little nervous to try this, all my research says the the Butyl tape is a bond that never hardens?? the tape will always stay soft , and move around..Is this true?? Should some kind of silcone or glue be used on the outside to make sure its stays??? What is the temp for the oven?? Any advice would be great!!!