My Painted Headlights (Lot Of Pics!)

[Blue Bomber]

It took a while, but their finally done. I decided to paint the bottom only so I could keep the pattern in the plastic visible.

I originally painted a spare light to test everything out. Apparently it wasn't sealed as well as my current headlights, because it was easier to open.

One problem I had was with removing some overspray from the top. I used some kind of paint remover, and it kinda smeared the plastic. Luckily, some plastic polish removed all the marks.

Another problem was my fault. I forgot to turn off the oven with one of the headlights inside! :eek: Luckily, only a little on the bottom of the housing was melted, around the part that holds the high beam gasket. Nothing was damaged beyond repair, though.

As you can see, I also repainted the spare light silver on the top, just to see what it looked like, and in case anyone else was wondering.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid24/pb9fc4069297f3c6d9a90f284b86c39b0/fd90bdf1.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid24/p3ffff9bbfce10219c1b1a0cbe9ee760a/fd90bdc9.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid24/pb790d71bc1a06ca6eb30eb3993b19275/fd90bd9a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid24/pfc41a46490f51efd69bcf01ccb8a740c/fd90bd73.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid24/p39d17140e25147522d79870039335435/fd90bd38.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid24/pdbdedd250b661ee7d1c7bd1c3a297dc4/fd90bcf7.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid24/pbcb06cb4729a9d944f958c05220f3e91/fd90bcca.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/p9bd63fea5ecf26b10108b3181eebd212/fd90bc85.jpg

[Blue Bomber]

Ahh! Blind Celica! :p
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/pa46f32c5f1cca3e94b7de8b2c66ce71e/fd90bc05.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/pf4fba45b60383f2552189c2826c4fd1d/fd90bbaf.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/pc77637cee4acd6063eea72375b3e3894/fd90bad3.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/p63fb16fda3bd173e9414664a5ad1f1a5/fd90bb58.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/p045a6f552828fbb1f57ae36dbe03b9f9/fd90ba8a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/pbadd8318c8591c9ae4c74143e829b604/fd90ba36.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/p7734a93c2b3dca1879fae20b173daeab/fd90b9fb.jpg

:D

[BiZzyCeLiGT]

looks gud..what kind of paint did u use and was it difficult to get it apart?? and sealed backed together???

[Blue Batmobile]

I think we need a few more pics Christian:chuckles:. Looks good man:).

Bat

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by BiZzyCeLiGT
looks gud..what kind of paint did u use and was it difficult to get it apart?? and sealed backed together??? I used Rustoleum paint. The same kind I put on my brake calipers, so I know it won't melt off or change color from the heat.

I just followed the instructions from nccelica. Basically, you just heat up an oven to 300 degrees, put the headlights in and turn the oven off, and let them bake for 15 minutes. Then you just pry them apart. To reseal them, you stick them back in the oven and then squeeze them back together.Originally posted by Blue Batmobile
I think we need a few more pics Christian:chuckles:. Looks good man:).Thanks. :) I put up a couple of pics of the test headlight in the original thread in Gen Disc, and people kept asking for more pics. I won't have that problem in this thread. ;)

[nccelica]

looks good, it looks like if you paint underneath the plastic it is less pronounced, becus u get a double shine (2 layers of plastic then paint instead of 1 layer then paint)

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by nccelica
looks good, it looks like if you paint underneath the plastic it is less pronounced, becus u get a double shine (2 layers of plastic then paint instead of 1 layer then paint) Yup, but it makes the paint look so much better. It's kinda like a huge layer of clearcoat. :D The metallic paint looks 100x better through the plastic than it does on the other side. I'm sure the effect wouldn't be as noticeable with non-metallic paint.

[S|Lv3rBu||et]

What did you use to mask off the stuff you didnt want to paint?

[baNanA_ryCe]

i can't really see a difference, but ya...it looks good =)

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by S|Lv3rBu||et
What did you use to mask off the stuff you didnt want to paint? I didn't use anything. I just used a paint remover (not sure what kind, maybe mineral spirits...). to take off the overspray. Whatever it was, it kinda smeared the plastic as it was taking off the paint, so I had to use a plastic polish to make it shiny again.

[S|Lv3rBu||et]

What was the actual color you painted them... its not just black is it?

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by S|Lv3rBu||et
What was the actual color you painted them... its not just black is it? Metallic black.

[nate22]

well done...you're doing mine next Chris ;)

[redlineGTS]

Bat, did you light sand or primer the lights before you painted them?

[aZnTrD2k]

Can I bake the headlight with my headlight covers on?

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by redlineGTS
Bat, did you light sand or primer the lights before you painted them? I just sprayed the paint right on the plastic. Cleaned them off a little with Dawn first.

BTW, I'm Blue Bomber. :rolleyes:

[nate22]

the "eyebrows"?

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by aZnTrD2k
Can I bake the headlight with my headlight covers on? I wouldn't take the chance. Besides, wouldn't they cover up most of the paint job?

[jotan82]

damn, those looks sweet!

[nate22]

chris, take bumper off or not?(to get to third bolt on headlight)

[nccelica]

if you do the underside you wont be able to primer it... becus the first layer that you put on is goin gto be the visible layer

[PhatCellyGT]

Do you have to take off the bumper to get the headlight out?? Or can you get to it through the engine bay?

-wil

[nate22]

uhm..yeah.....i wanna know too ;)

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by PhatCellyGT
Do you have to take off the bumper to get the headlight out?? Or can you get to it through the engine bay?You don't need to completely remove the bumper, but you do need to take a some screws out to get to the side screw of each headlight. You need to remove the screw that holds the bumper to the quarter panel (behind the wheel well), two screws on each side of the top of the bumper (under the hood), and two screws under the bumper towards the sides (below the fog lights and side markers). You also need to take out the side marker bulb socket so you can pull the side of the bumper away from the car, allowing you to get to the headlight's side screw.

[WillyWonka]

:thumbup: :thumbup: This damn look will be on my ride soon :thumbup: :thumbup:

[Mistrimeat]

Looks really nice.

[Blue Bomber]

Thanks! :)

Forgot to mention before, but if some of the headlight's glue goes anywhere it shouldn't, mineral spirits will easily dissolve it.

[Endless]

Good job! how long does it take you to finish this project?

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by Endless
Good job! how long does it take you to finish this project? Well, it took me way longer than anticipated. I had to get some plastic polish to fix the smudges in the plastic.

It should only take like 2 hrs max, though. Most of the time is waiting for the oven to warm up and for the lights to bake. If you have enough room to fit both lights, it should only take about 1.5 hrs.

[CelicaNamja79]

looks nice

[purdyceligurl]

i like it alot,.. i really didn't want to spend all that money for black housing lights, save me some bucks! i think i'll do it sometime this week, yippeee!!!meeh so happie! Thanks for all the advice everybody.

[redlineGTS]

Originally posted by Blue Bomber
I just sprayed the paint right on the plastic. Cleaned them off a little with Dawn first.

BTW, I'm Blue Bomber. :rolleyes:

OoOoPps :D simple mistake.

[6SPDGTS]

Chris
Looks great and I cant wait to see it in person.

[6SPDGTS]

BTW where did u get the extra headlight?

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by 6SPDGTS
BTW where did u get the extra headlight? I got into an accident last December, and my passenger side headlight got scraped. The body shop let me take home whatever damaged parts I wanted, and I'm glad I did. I never would've had the balls to attempt this without a test headlight.

[Korben007]

I think a blow dryer works better to take the paint off.

[gt2000quebec]

those black light looks nice!!! you FYI if you haven't seen it with the color matching the car.... http://www.everythingcelica.com/gal2/albums/new/WingsWestHOT_gt2000quebec.jpg

[N2OInferno]

Looks really nice. I don't think I'd have the guts to toss my lights into my oven though. Not to mention my parents would be like "What the hell are you doing?!"

[nccelica]

as long as the oven isnt actually running while you have the headlights in the oven, it won't mess up the the headlight

its when you leave the oven on while they are in there that you will have problems

[baNanA_ryCe]

Originally posted by N2OInferno
Looks really nice. I don't think I'd have the guts to toss my lights into my oven though. Not to mention my parents would be like "What the hell are you doing?!"

just be like..yum...plastic for dinner. LoL. I agree....i don't have guts like you either.....i'll do it later when i actually move out or take full control of my car. right now, all i can do is engine stuff...and non permanant interior stuff......

[nate22]

Originally posted by baNanA_ryCe
i'll do it later when i actually move out or take full control of my car. right now, all i can do is engine stuff...and non permanant interior stuff......

y's that? somebody help buy car for you? seriously, not flaming, honestly curious......

[dvs1]

Nice work, just been waiting for someone to find the right paint. Now I can finish this project myself. I though about painting the bottom as soon as the top idea sprung up.:thumbup:

[hi ho silver]

Originally posted by baNanA_ryCe


just be like..yum...plastic for dinner. LoL. I agree....i don't have guts like you either.....i'll do it later when i actually move out or take full control of my car. right now, all i can do is engine stuff...and non permanant interior stuff......

haha.. that makes three of us... when i got my bodykit my dad was like... "what? yur car is not beautipull enupp alreedy?" ... but he offered to pay for the paint job... so living with mom and dad is cool!
<---(filipino parents)

[nate22]

honestly, not to sound ignorant or anything, but fillipino(thought it was spelled w/ a "ph"?) family's are incredible. Such nice and genuine people. One of my best friends is fillipino; his parents bent over backwards for him and all his friends.....

yeah, don't know where any of that came from, sorry....

enough of my "feminine side" as the OT KREW would say...

[Andy00GTS]

hmmm looks pretty good.. I dont think I want mine real dark just kind of "smoke" or even carbon fiber might look good.. thanks for the help!

[gts24]

Looks nice.

[nccelica]

post digger!

[Bo]

Wow, this post rose from the dead.

[gsellers9128]

Hey blue did u take off the front bumper cause everywhere I read you had to to get a bolt off from under it. but if you found a way to do it without taking it off let me know.:thumbsup:

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by gsellers9128
Hey blue did u take off the front bumper cause everywhere I read you had to to get a bolt off from under it. but if you found a way to do it without taking it off let me know.:thumbsup: If you remove the bolt above the sidemarker (attaches the bumper to the quarter panel), the bulb from the sidemarker, and two or three bolts under the side of the bumper, you should be able to pull the bumper out enough to be able to get a smaller socket wrench back there.

[jotan82]

do you think this will work on Sentra headlights? might do it this weekend?

[Chiznarles]

aight, i'm gonna do this.. any last minute advice before i start? I'm gonna go buy some spray paint from home depot, just one can is enough right?

any other tools needed before i start?

[Blue Bomber]

One can is fine. Just be prepared to possibly bake a headlight twice if you can't get it open the first time. Also, apply very light coats of paint. If you don't, the paint may bubble and run. I've seen it happen before, and it's not pretty. :o Make sure you put enough paint on so you can't see light through it, or it will look cheezy at night. Just spray on a few coats, hold the plastic up to a light, and keep spraying till the color is solid.

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by jotan82
do you think this will work on Sentra headlights? might do it this weekend? It should work fine on their headlights. Most modern lights use that flexible black stuff on their headlights (probably to compensate for the air expanding from the heat of the lights... or something ;) ).

[Chiznarles]

okay so far so good.. taking apart the headlamp was a cinch.. i put it in the oven and took it out 10 minutes later, and it only took minimal effort to pry them apart..

i masked off the entire top part with masking tape and i sprayed about 5 coats of metallic black on to the bottom part.. i'm waiting for the paint to dry, then i'll put the whole assembly together..

right now i'm just doing one side, cuz i have work early tomorrow and not enough time to finish off both lights.. but the other side will get done this weekend.. ill let you guys know how it turns out.

chiz.

[Chiznarles]

okay i finished one side, and it looks awesome! it totally goes w/ my cf hood.. when i finish the other side i will post some pics.. even tho its pretty much identical to blue bombers (the headlights that is) .. cept my car is red..

[balisticsilver]

do you put the two headlight housing to the oven... it won't melt my headlight right ...

[Blue Bomber]

Originally posted by balisticsilver
do you put the two headlight housing to the oven... it won't melt my headlight right ... Well, you shut off the oven once it reaches 300, then you put the headlights in for like 15 min. Even if you do leave the oven on, there won't be any damage to the headlights for at least 10 min (don't ask how I know ;) ).

[Chiznarles]

yeah turn off the oven before you stick them in.. my oven is only large enough for one at a time. also when I took the headlights out, i could still handle them with my bare hands. I think if they're too hot to touch, you've heated them too much.. the black glue that holds it together doesn't require that much heat.