rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Ok. New twist (presumably) to an old idea.
I KNOW there are multiple multiple diy's on blacking/clearing your lights so I'm not tackling that here.

Ok...some of you know I bought some cleared headlights from a member on here. Great guy, lights were in ok shape. I just couldn't get over the exposed chrome on the sides. I didn't like it...it reminded me of the "euro" clear lights they sold for my 97 accord. So I resold them to another forum member.

Dumb move, but sometimes dumbness breeds genius. So I've been thinking...Ok...what if I tackle my OWN lights...everything technically is reversible with a little goof off and elbow grease, right? Yep. So let's do it.

First of all...HAD I KNOWN HOW EASY IT WAS TO OPEN THE LIGHTS I WOULD HAVE DONE THIS A LONG TIME AGO. It seems scary. But man, it's mostly in your head. The DIY's are there. The mechanical skill is there. I mean, rock and roll...just do it.
Ok...now here is the other thing. What to do. Angel eyes...OMG...people cracked this or that, now LED's, which brand...version 1 or 2 black it all out....endless posibilities.

I liked the clear on my NBP BUT I knew I'd LOVE the blackout look better. I'm not a fan of the DRL/Fog nipple painted. But that's just me. It almost looks like you're trying to hard with that. Ok...So blackout. My next quandry was...I HATE seeing the bulb for the turn signal. Yes, everyone has the switchbacks...but I equally hate seeing those as seeing a filament bulb.

Had a can of nightshades laying around and thought...what about if you darken the amber to the point of it looking black. But when a nice bulb was behind it it would still light up amber. BINGO. I'll try that. So I did. Had a can of the new AUTO rustoleum gloss black from another project. Used that and a can of VHT from a failed attempt at blacking out my rear sidemarkers.

Onto the pics.

OH...and my own little list of tips to add to you people researching the DIY's (because there's conflicting info, one guy used wet towel, one used nothing, one took out bulbs, one didn't.

Ok, here goes.
1. I left ALL bulbs and ballast on unit. The metal of the ballast bracket gives a nice little buffer so your light is NOT resting on the oven rack.
2. I put in a dry towel. It caught fire. NO TOWEL (no damp one either...that's just humidity waiting to be a problem later IMO)
3. I put foil on elements, top and bottom. THEY caught fire. DO NOT put foil.
4. DO put your rack at the bottom most and put your light in ensuring no sides are touching anything.
5. AND THIS PART is the new one. I did LITERALLY 8 minutes with no preheat and 190 degrees (to be safe). I didn't want to tempt fate and I tried prying (yes, I'm a big burly dude and I got some torque in my pipes so maybe a LITTLE longer for some) but with this...the glue was hot enough to pry apart yet not so hot that it was stringy and messy. I could actually mold it and push it back into shape. PS...for a novice, this whole thing may take a while. I've taken off my bumper and light etc. NO JOKE, not even rushing, this is a 2 hour job if you're clearing...and 4 hours for blacking out to allow for dry time between coats. I did the traditional Version 2 blackout leaving the reflector portion chrome (with painters tape, a exacto and some patience). I did this for 2 reasons. If I didn't like it, I could just remove the reflector all together and goof off it back to amber to keep in case I needed to make it look stock in the future. And also because the chrome beneath the VHT amber would show that it was orange moreso than if it's blacked out.

Tomorrow...buying ZKW reps off a member...and the nissan butyl stuff to be extra safe in additon to 2 new packs of Dessicant from the dealer (rather be safe than sorry...these have already absorbed 6 years of humidity). I put it all back together temporarily, although I will do some touch ups and check for fingerprints and tidy it all up tomorrow or Sunday for some final pics. Also will order some super bright LED turn signal bulbs to REALLY illuminate the amber when in use.

Here you GO!
If it's never been done before, I hope you guys like it and are able to use it.
Amber to VHT amber.


AND Here. Blacked out but you can't see the bulb AND you don't see the area where the reflector is missing since it's NOT missing anymore!





And BEST of all...it still lights up amber as I'm not into the turn signal/parking ligth being white. OBVI this will light up a LOT better when I get some high power LED's in there.


All of you looking for the clear diffusers...this is an idea you may like!

donaldso718

Looks good man. I wonder how it would look with evrything stock in the headlight except for the black diffuser. What kind of paint did you use? I should really try and do mine when I'm free..

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Thanks man.
I used Rustoleum Automotive Black Glossy (Home Depot)
and VHT Nightshades for the reflector.

I've sweated the Type S lights being black on the inside part for a really long time. I've sometimes felt that OVER modifying doesn't look good...but lately...since I put the stock lights back in I've felt like the car looks so much like every other TL on the road. A little unique never hurt anyone.

Anyway...like I said...4 hours, TOPS. This is much harder going in circles in your head than when you actually do it.

Italiano

that looks really good

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Thanks you very much. Appreciate the compliments.

If you're on the fence about doing this, I swear you're gonna love it.
I can probably get away with not even adding more silicone. I've done some research of my own on the cause of condensation after the fact and it usually isn't a crappy seal job.

If that's the case, and you don't care about the ZKW swap...this mod can be done for a whopping $15 between a can of gloss black spray and a can of VHT.

PLUS...it would only take me an hour to reopen use a little goof off on the reflector and turn it back to amber. That would look stock ENOUGH to turn the car in.

Timb227

iTrader: (3)

I think it looks good. I wanna see some day time pix!

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

You sure will. Will update with pics ON car...daytime pics AND whenever I get some good strong LED's for the signal.

7443 is a dual filament bulb. How does this work when ordering LED's? Do they come on with park and then blink brighter for turn? Also...is SMT a strong LED. I've been disappointed with the output of the 36 and 48 little LED towers but have found that those white LED boards (where the light looks like a yellow dot seem to light up BRIGHT. Any clues?
Thanks all.
J.

bzyrice

iTrader: (10)

Looking good man!! Maybe I just need to do this haha.. After my crazy taillight mod (Which is finally done btw!), I am nowhere as scared to do this mod.. especially since I have done this to my previous civic before.

Looks good and original! First set of headlights I have seen like this! Cant wait to see these in person!

djbonsu

iTrader: (3)

^^then what is?? interested in your findings...

Awesome mod! im in for pics

dwb993

iTrader: (13)

Interesting option---so now we can have amber lenses, clear (TL-S) lenses, no lense or blacked out lense---I like it.
Thanks for tackling this and writing it up for us. I have just upgraded my lights from JnC and would like to share a few comments.
I went with JnC's Blacked out V2, painted fog bulb cover (disagree with you on painting the cover) and cleared lenses. Losing the diffuser in these lights dramatically cuts down on output, especially from the sides. Consider that before clearing yours. I'm not sure what the VHT will do to your output, but it can only decrease it, IMO. I installed the 48LED Type 1 switchbacks before I installed JnC's lights. I really liked how the white LEDs shone through the amber OEM diffuser---it was a pale yellow light that matched my Nokya Yellows very nicely:



Yet the amber turn signals were a rich, deep amber:



I actually was sorry to have to pack these back to JnC!!
The new lights had ZKW-R and Philips 85122+ bulbs installed, with partial amber and CF overlay diffuser:



I also used a Sharpie to black out the switchback bulb. Another tip: use a drop of epoxy or hot glue to secure the LED bulb in the socket. Its a bitch to fish out without damaging anything if (when) it pops out inside the headlamp!

Here is how they shine at night:


My vote: try the Type 1 switchbacks for your turn signals---very bright to burn through the VHT with a nice amber. Type 1 will flash white-amber-white and will look nice, IMO.
You will also enjoy the ZKW-Rs, they are incredible lenses. Really, if you're going to open the lights, you almost HAVE to install these lenses, too.
In all, I'm happy with the results from JnC and it was a good option for me, but I wish I had just done it myself for the sense of accomplishment.
Post final pics when done---I think the black diffuser will be hot.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for the comments guys.
And Db, thanks for the additional information.
I guess I felt it strange to have a black nipple in the middle of the daytime running light (module). Maybe not though...in your pics it kinda gives the illusion like it's LESS chrome and more like the newer lights. I'm waiting on my friend to text me back to pick up the lenses and butyl. Now I'm really excited.

About the turn signals. I will probably have to give that a whirl. Yellow to match my DRL nokya's when parking lights and then amber when turning would be just what the DR. ordered. Shoot...the amber looks ok now and that's with a dim bulb.

PS...so many options. Glad to add another.

silentryda

i think i like it

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

yay.

ps...db...yours look great man. Very nice. I guess I was thinking of going the JNC route...and I was pestering BZRyce to buy the clear lights back from him. Then I thought...wait, it's all pretty much reversible...and I've read enough to know how to do it. Why spend almost 200 bucks on another set or to have someone else do em. I'm glad I tackled it. No regrets for you though...they came out amazing!

J.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Oh yeah...and to answer the question about MY take on condensation and the fix for it.
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/headlight-condensation-cold-water-what-please-help-763392/

bzyrice

iTrader: (10)

Haha Pestering? Naw.. its all good.. Now I really need to figre out what I am going to do with those taillights.. Since they are messed up a little inside anyways, I may open them and screw around with them.. may pm you about some questions! lol

dwb993

iTrader: (13)

I had JnC do a custom logo on them:



Thanks for letting me share in your thread!

images

iTrader: (2)

general recap of that thread is "sealing the headlights with humidity in them causes the condensation

easiest fix would be to just remove the turn signal bulbs/fog bulbs while you're baking them, the oven should remove the humidity, or atleast fog up the lights, so that you can tell there is humidity in them.

when i put my headlights back together for the first time, one of them was foggy when i took it out of the oven, i took it back apart, and baked the cover and housings seperately (both in the oven at once, just not together) and then put them together out of the oven, and that solved the problem

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Good tips! Thank you. I took some quick pics of my solution I used while ON the car. On how to get it out.

Just got done sealing up. Cleaned everything...polished the lenses...put on gloves and swapped to the ZKW rep's and added a thin UNCUT bead of the nissan butyl rubber around. 3, 5 minutes hits in the offen and pressed them back together. Nice seal. Should be perfect. I then ran the blowdryer thru my hose contraption for 5 minutes and put all sockets and bulbs back in to essentially trap the zero humidity environment in them.

Took plenty of pics and will post in a few. And going to throw them on the car now.

J.

RJ...for sure man...ask me. I felt like I was pestering cause I was trying to puppy dog eye you into selling them back. My idea for the crack on the reflector. Well, if you do this and darken your amber you wouldn't even see it. AND if you take them apart I was thinking you could glue a bracket under the crack for support and fill the crack with putty or something...sand it smooth and paint the reflector black.

DB...True...I like the Acura logo on it, it looks cool! And share in my threads any time!
I thought about it and thought about it...but decided I really did like the nipple to stay chrome. It wasn't worth the extra work of taping up etc TO ME.

Pics to follow all.
J.

mrlal8

iTrader: (2)

hey the nighshaded amber diffuser looks good but why does the color look pink??

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I used a pink nightshades. and a pink bulb.
Just kidding man...it was the way the camera captured it.

Ok...so it's installed. My ONLY gripe would be that the amber is hard to see. But any LESS coats of nightshades and the diffuser would have still looked, you guessed it, AMBER. Ok so thank goodness I left the reflector inside chrome because when you're sitting in another car or from a distance you can clearly see the amber...when standing directly on top of it, not so much. But from what I've seen nobody leaves more than the back portion with the ridges chrome so I think I'm good there. PLUS...I WILL be getting a set of LED turn signal bulbs that will make this a moot point.

J.

Here come pics!

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Ok...Ryan, my friend and fellow aziner, had preemptively bought the Nissan butyl stuff and the ZKW's. He decided he wasn't going to do it so I picked them up from him this morning. Thanks pal...much appreciated!

HALLO! Haven't seen the difference yet but from what I've read, you open your lights and don't do the ZKW you will regret later.

Here I ran a thin channel of the butyl silicone...it's like silly putty so you can pull it thinner, which I did. I used 1/2 a roll to do both lights. Didn't want too much of the stuff to ensure that it would totally harden and creat a good seal. Also only had 1 break in the whole line, where the start and finish touch. That way when you press together in the channel there's really no chance of leakage.


Polished up the lenses with my porter cable and some OPII and then Poliseal

Used gloves...only ended up with one little tiny hair inside that I can see. I was careful too!

Here is my scheme for humidity removal. Garden hose section onto a 1.5 inch Shopvac fitting with electrical tape. Took out a bulb and one of the plugs to allow the hot NON humid air to fill the light and push all humidity out. Did this for 2 5 minute intervals and then closed it all back up.


And here she goes...back on car.

And DONE. My original timeframe may have been a little ambitious. This took me a bit longer. But it's because I read the horror stories and wanted to make sure EVERYTHING I wanted to do was done and didn't have any uh ohs.



This is the shot that annoyed me with my clears...the chrome piece. SEXY now.

Shot from head on...clearly you can see the amber.





Any questions. You guys know where to find me. I'm VERY happy with how this turned out. My lights were starting to get some fading and after having modded ones...looked very ordinary to me. My GF gave me a whole "are you sure you won't regret doing this in a week" spiel last night before she went out. I can definitely say, "no babe...we're good. It looks sexy as hell IMO..just like you!"

Lol.
Take care all...
Let's watch Mosely kick some friggin Cocky jerkoff Mayweather AZZ!
J.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

This is my favorite shot.
OMG...just looking at the pics...I'm SO happy I did this. It isolates the projector and makes it look more sinister. AND...it's so cool that's it's blacked out during the day but you'll be able to see the frigging orange at night.
Here's the money shot.

dwb993

iTrader: (13)

Type 1 Switchbacks would complete the whole thing, dude. It looks real nice.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Based on your recommendation I believe that is what I will end up going with. Where did you order from? VLEDS?
And you're SURE those are the brightest you can find? The SMD ones aren't brighter?

Thanks for the compliment man...coming from someone that recently did theirs is a big one.

AD-TL04

Wow this looks really good! I think I'm going to tackle this eventually, but first i gotta get rid of the haze on my headlights. Do you guys think that headlight restoration kit that you attach to your power drill actually works?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Dude...with my porter cable and some optimum polish I was able to get rid of it in 30 seconds. You CAN do it by hand...just buy quality stuff. Or stop by a body shop and pay them 20 bucks to do it for you real quick.

Trust me...you won't look bad. This is my favorite next to free mod for the car that completely changes the front of the car.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

whoops double post. Sorry.

Roger555

iTrader: (3)

looks great! your car has all the exterior mods I would like to have eventually! Already did the headlights similar to your left the amber but blacked out the top and bottom of the chrome to make it darker. I was actually considering some nightshades but decided not too I would love all black but wanted the amber visible for legal reasons. I will be doing the accord fogs next week too!! Now I just need new wheels and a drop! What are you lowered with?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Tein SS baby...all day long.
Thanks man...I love it. I have no complaints. Humid humid night...had dew on the car at the inlaws...drove home...no condensation so far. I hope my theory was right. I'm UBER critical of it now...to the point of wondering if the lights used to reflect on the inside of the lense like they do now...or are they dirty. No...they did. A couple of hairs and little dust particles but unless you're in a vaccum room, I don't see avoiding that.

Anyway...I said I didn't notice the diff with ZKW...well now that I've driven at night. I DEF do see a difference. The cutoff is perfect and gorgeous. I was finally able to park my car and adjust left and right accordingly, something I had a hard time doing before since I couldn't tell when they were level.

Goodnight All.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

What do you know...I'm trying to figure out how many resistors I need if I do LED rear turn signals AND the switchback signals up front. One per side, so 2 total...or 4?
Someone please let me know so I can place my VLEDS order.
Thanks!

PS...I googled and THOUGHT I saw a familiar car out there on the interwebz...
RJ...or bzryce
http://www.takbrom.com/led-resistors/

o4Komodo

iTrader: (2)

I did something very similar last year when I did my own headlights.
I only used VHT Niteshades, though. I used about 4-coats of it on each diffuser.
The light output is hindered... but it is JUST bright enough to see it in daylight and bright enough at night time [with stock bulb].

By using only VHT Niteshades as well and about 4-coats.. the diffuser looks like it is black with a tint of amber.

Your version looks like solid black, I assume several layers of VHT?
I did something similar to another TLer... except he opted for plain ol' black paint. Still worked... just very very poorly. lol

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Actually man...I guess it's because I blacked out BEHIND the amber that it looks so dark. You know VHT is very deceiving because you always think you're too dark or too light. I did exactly 4 coats too. Kept going till it looked more black than orange. The reflector area that I taped off BEHIND it you can kind of see a hint of amber at some angles. But overall it looks totally blacked out.

YEAH...straight black paint is def. not recommended in my opinion. Your analysis is same as mine...just bright enough during day and good at night...with stock bulb. Looking at some LED's that'll brighten that up though.

o4Komodo

iTrader: (2)

Hmn.. Yeah, I sprayed behind mine too. Looking over my pics, mine appear just as black in photos. Maybe it's just photos that make it look that 'solid'.

You are totally right... VHT is deceiving. I first did 2 coats. It looked light as heck... then I had a second look and realized how dark it actually was getting. But it was still too light for me... 2 coats later and perfect shade of amber/black.

It's such a great look though! I'm just like you. Love it everytime I see it!
It's been a year for me and I'm still loving it.

Here is mine 2 hours after final install:
(super over-cast sky and p/s digi cam)

Here you can actually see the "tint of amber" though:

DRL:


Something I did differently though

Aldous

im new to this, so you took the headlight out, open the headlight, then what did you do too the turning signal?

bzyrice

iTrader: (10)

yo J! You will need 1 PER LED you use on each side. You can wire them all in the trunk. There is a DIY somewhere. its really easy though..

First cardomain and now this site? lol . Oh well, maybe I should ask them for a discount! haha

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Thanks RJ...so 1 for left and 1 for right? So 2 will keep front and back (both sides) from hyperblinking? I'm not baffled by installing the resistor, just want to make sure I get enough resistors.

@Aldous, we open it up. We spray black gloss paint on most of the chrome pieces and vht nightshades (the stuff you see everyone nowadays spraying on their tail/headlights but on the outside!) over the amber diffuser until it looks black.
@Komodo. Looks good man. Other than the chrome on the side I'm actually a sucker for cleared on silver. I don't think you blacked out the chrome on the back portion of the light...behind the amber in the pic. It looks like you blacked out the whole reflector where the bulb sits but not the back part? In this case, it probably is why it made it more difficult to see the light emit thu. Also why you can still see a hint of amber. On mine...when off and in the light you can see the amber clearly but with the gloss black behind it, it looks like it's black.

bzyrice

iTrader: (10)

Yup thats right! 1 resistor for each LED! If you plan on swapping out your rear tallight turn signal to LEDs then you will need 2 on each side lol ..

jeowen

looks great man, your car = FTW. perfectly done. and...Mayweather = win - he is legit boss

o4Komodo

iTrader: (2)

I only tinted the amber diffuser from behind. I left the reflector chrome.
Just relooked at your pics. Yeah, you're probably right.
The reason why I still see tints of amber is because I didn't paint the reflector.

I was going for a smoked amber look, so it works well for me this way.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Oh yeah...for sure man...I see what you meant...you tinted your amber reflector from behind it...I actually did it ON it...but I wanted it blacked to the point of looking black and only showing amber when backlit, which was why I went with blacking the chrome too. Yours look great too...just different than what I had envisioned for myself.

RJ..THANK YOU...I will be placing an order for some switchbacks today...and the rear LED red bulbs too...

Jeowen...Thanks for the compliments man...you're too kind.

J.