im planning to open up my headlight again this weekend because it had condensation after i installed the zkw-r lens. im planning to use this opportunity to do something with my headlights. no, i dont want to remove the amber piece because i actually like the way they look on my type-s. i was thinking of just painting the turn signal reflector black because thats the only chrome part of the headlight. what do you guys think?

 

Yeah, paint that turn signal reflector black.

Also, use Nissan butyl to seal your headlights back up.

 

You can paint it black but DO NOT paint the part the lights reflects off of. I did this when I did my headlights the first time. If you do paint it you won't see it during the day because it has nothing to reflect off of.

You can paint everything but the circled part


Make sure when you put the headlights back together, heat up the old glue and scrape it all out and replace it with new stuff. You can either use Nissan butyl sealant or 3M butyl tape, I'd recommend the 3M stuff because you get twice as much butyl tape compares to the Nissan butyl, and it's actually half the price. You can get the 3M stuff from NAPA for $18

 

You actually don't NEED to add any more sealant...just press it together and make sure all tabs line up. If you get the condensation, it's probably from the humidity trapped inside the light and not water getting in.

Use a blow dryer into a shopvac fitting reducer electrical taped to a piece of garden hose...run one end in the DRL bulb socket and open another socket, run for 10 minutes. YOu will watch the humidity leave and it will blow out the other open socket. Also, try putting teflon tape on the base of any loose bulbs.

That said, to be SURE, go for the Nissan Butyl...but the above can be done with the lights on the car.

ALSO, do NOT spray paing the reflector as mentioned, you will be made when you just see a filament light up but nothing else.

You want to see what a type s diffuser looks like blacked out (the portion recommended, above) with carbon fiber overlay on the amber (highly recommend this, it looks great on NBP)

 

some may think it's not necessary but I'd honestly put new stuff in. Just so you don't have to take the headlights apart again if you do have a leak. For $18 it's worth it.

 

I never added new sealant on other cars I've opened. I did on the TL. The TL is the only car I've had condensation in.

 

I want the amber gone so bad but scared to death to do it

 

It's a lot easier then people think. The last three times I've opened my headlights I used a heat gun which i found better than the oven. Just don't heat up one spot for to long or it'll burn.

 

^yea i agree with heat gun. its all i've used, never used oven before. i feel its easier because the whole headlight wont be burning hot as you remove it from the oven.

 

jw, where do you guys get the 3m butyl tape? also, maybe this is a dumb question but why is it a "tape"? shouldnt it be more of a liquid/sealant subtance?

 

I've purchased two rolls. One from Ebay (the nissan stuff) and then I bought a roll from NAPA auto parts. It comes in a roll, but it's not flat, it's round. Kinda like silly putty but it is really sticky. You can stretch it out if it's too thick.

 

do those ones react to heat the same way the oem sealant does?

 

You can get it at NAPA, it's 3M butyl tape think it days something about windshields as well. It's pretty much the same exact stuff as the Nissan sealant but you get twice as much when you buy the 3M stuff and you don't have to wait for shipping either. Feels very similar to the Nissan butyl

This is what it looks like

 

That's exactly what it looks like. Better safe than sorry, don't overdo it though...that stuff, when hot GETS ON EVERYTHING and sucks to remove!

 

Yep $18 for that stuff as opposed to $30+ shipping for the Nissan butyl. In the pic above is what I had left over after doing two headlights.

 

i just ordered some 3m di-noc carbon fiber wrap. going to remove the amber piece and wrap the chrome part in carbon fiber and paint the chrome strip to black(the chrome was peeling off)

 

All this headlight modding going on makes me really miss my TL

 

so go get another one! they're affordable now!

 

You should Di-noc the whole inside of the headlight, I've been wondering how this would look. Have you thought about painting your cutoff shield red?


Or you could retrofit TL projectors into your current car but our projectors are one of the biggest out there.

 

if i had the regular base TL, i might di-noc the whole headlight housing, however i like the stock type-s headlight design so im just going to wrap only the chrome part on the side. will post pics when its done.

 

Whats up guys. New to acurazine. Just got my 08 tl last week and this site is wonderful. Im wanting to do my headlights as well but am wondering if anyone has any trouble when it comes to getting their car inspected. I have a 01 galant as well and removed the amber piece out of those headlights but when i got it inspected they failed if for that reason. any suggestions.

 

Does the buytl work better than epoxy?

 

You could do this....


2011 National AcuraZine Meet-Kansas City-June 12, 2011-Details Here!


.

 

with epoxy, you can never open your headlights again(unless you cut it open)...if thats not a problem for you, then go ahead and use epoxy. butyl will open again if you heat it up

 

thx for the link. the pictures are very helpful in helping me plan what im gonna do. im not planning to do the leds though because i want a simple clean look

 

+1
Also I'm not sure what you think but those fumes are going to be pretty intense within that headlight.

 

I see. Definitely not an option. Thanks

 

no, use the butyl...you don't want that permanently closed.