? about painted headlights ...not how to

[sponsorsthisway]

Ok so I've been thinking about painting the inside of my headlights metallic black for some time now but I like many people here don't wanna screw it up. Out of the people who have done it, has anyone screw it up and had to buy new housings? I just want to know if it could turn into a total disaster or if damages would be minimal or repairable. ALso, a few friends of mine mentioned that the lights would need to be realigned so that the lights were pointing in the correct directions. Has anyone who painted their headlights have to do this or has this not been an issue?

[vaio23]

I felt the same way you do, since I have an 03 I didn't want to mess up my lights. I got lucky and was able to buy a used set off ebay for $125 because I was scared to do it on my new lights. Overall it was allot easier than I thought. You just have to be really careful when prying them apart. As for the alignment, as long as you dont turn the adjuster underneath the housing you shouldn't have to re-align them. The worst thing you could do is not seal them right in which you will have foggy headlights or break off a mounting tab. Other than that if you are careful you should be ok.

[Blue Bomber]

I've done about 8-9 pairs now, and no damage was done to any of them. Since you only preheat the oven, then shut it off to put the lights in, there's not enough heat to do any damage. Iimagine how hot the headlight bulbs get, and at a constant temp. :eek: The lights don't have to be realigned because there is very little play in the mounting holes.

[sponsorsthisway]

Awesome guys, thanks a lot!

[Sirk_2]

<~~~~Still too scared :gap:

[skatamatic]

i've done mine and helped 5 friends do theirs and so far nothing has gone wrong (other than a few people having a little condensation inside, but that was easy enough to fix for the most part).

[Blue Bomber]

Out of all the headlights I've done, I've only had one pair and a single one (mine) get conensation. I don't understand why it happened on only those three, and to top it off, mine only fogged once, a few months ago. Weird stuff. :wtf:

[S|Lv3rBu||et]

Originally posted by skatamatic
i've done mine and helped 5 friends do theirs and so far nothing has gone wrong (other than a few people having a little condensation inside, but that was easy enough to fix for the most part).

Really? How do you go about fixing that? I only ask cause my brothers 240sx has had some problems with it's passenger side headlight fogging up.

[baNanA_ryCe]

reseal it..you most likely have a leak...

[skatamatic]

i think my friend just popped the light open again and then re-sealed it using extra adhesive.

[Blue Bomber]

Yup, just use 3M strip caulking. It's flexible caulk for automotive use. Similar to the stuff that's used to seal the headlights, but softer. You can either seal around the edges to stop the condensation, or add a bit before you seal up the lights.

[djTOY_2000]

i did mine over this last summer and yes, it is pretty easy

i had one flaw in the passenger light of mine and that was where the clear housing portion got a few little stress cracks in it from prying and not being warm enough to ease the seal apart (nothin you can see unless i point it out)

i also used some meguires clear plastic polish and cleaner before re-assembling them and they look just like new !!!

i've had some condensation problems as of late (due to constant rain in the northwest) so i used extra sealant to fix the problem and so far.... nothing has came back !!

[xav3x]

haha looking at djToy's pic.. u know his condensation was fixed good. lol.. poor celi under snow.

[gweedo]

It's not hard to do at all and as long as your careful opening them there's really nothing to mess up. Unless you leave the towel in the oven when you turn it back on to preheat for the second lamp. That thing smoked up the entire house and was in flames when I took it out. It left burn marks on the kitchen floor. Wife wasn't to happy :furious: But at least they look good.

[Bo]

Mine were easy. I believe I was the first or second person to ever do it too. I know myself and another guy from Canada made our posts on the same day. LOL. Anyways, there were no how tos when I did mine and they came out fine. Even better, they don't fog up anymore like they did stock. :)

http://www.bolicious.com/Celica/images/dyno2.jpg