Close

Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 48
  1. #1
    Ep whaaa? Jpax's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Edmonds, Washington, United States
    Posts
    4,108

    DIY: Black out painted Headlights

    Black

    Housing Headlights



    Tools: Phillips

    Screwdriver, Screwdriver, 10mm Wrench (socket), Exacto Knife, Patience.



    Supplies:

    Flat Black Spray Paint, Masking Tape, Clear Silicone Sealant.



     



    Well, lets

    get started shall we? Gather your tools and supplies and get ready to give your

    Si a makeover. Pop your hood and find these clips holding the top of your bumper

    on. To remove them, take our flat screwdriver and pry it under one of the sides,

    then twist the screwdriver to popup the clip. Do this for all the clips on top.

    There are 2 screws in each wheel well, and finally 8 more clips on the bottom

    of the bumper along with 2 more screws.





    Take the bumper off

    carefully by pulling on the sides to remove it from the groove, then set it

    somewhere safe where it will not get scratched, carpet, grass, and away from

    traffic.





    You now have to remove

    the headlight, there are 4 10mm bolts holding the headlight in place, #1 and

    #2 are on top, #3 is on the side and #4 is underneath the headlight.










    With these bolts removed,

    you should now notice the horizontal metal bar holding the headlight in at the

    bottom, this will pull out and down allowing you to remove the headlight. Do

    so carefully.





    ...There it is, very

    large headlight is it not?





    ''Tonight on the Food

    Network, how to make a gourmet headlight any chef can appreciate..."



    First take a cooking

    pan and set your headlight on it, no need to grease the pan :) Set your oven

    to 250° and put the headlight in right away, no need to preheat. If your

    oven has a preheat notifier, this is good, it will tell you when the oven has

    reached 250°, when the oven temperature has risen to 250° you should

    now remove your headlights. If you do not have a preheat notifier, the headlights

    stayed in my oven for only 5 minutes then I removed them.





    At this point, you

    will need to pull the headlight apart quickly, all I used was a flat screwdriver

    and popped up the tabs around the headlight then I got a grip on it and pulled

    the pieces apart, it was easier than I thought. NOTICE: Once you've removed

    the two pieces do not set them down so that any hot sealant will get on anything.





    Remove this screw

    from the headlight cover and take out your housing, this is what you will be

    painting. Take the clear plastic cover and set this aside on a bed sheet, pillow

    and far away from where you are working, if you scratch this, or get sealant

    on it you will not be enjoying yourself too much.










    Now its time to mask

    the headlight, take your roll of tape and apply long straight lines to the edges

    of the turnsignal. You can mask it anyway you want, I decided to go with the

    Type-R look. The parking light is a little more difficult to mask but I found

    a great method, apply alot of masking tape to the inside of the parking light

    to the outside. Take an exacto knife and follow the groove around the outside

    circle and peel away the excess, this leaves a nicely shaped circle. Before

    your paint, make sure to press around all the edges, if the tape isn't adhesed

    very well paint will spray underneath leaving a poor line.





    Yes...painting this

    part is really fun :) I used a can of Mr.Spray it dries really fast and looks

    just as good as any other flat black, you can get it at almost any auto parts

    depot. I have one thing to say though, make sure you inspect the headlight many

    times look in all the cracks and make sure you touch up any light spots, there

    is one spot that doesnt get sprayed you have to hold it up with your hand to

    get it, its just under the main housing. So throughly inspect the housing. I

    used many light coats of paint. After the housing is dry, you can remove your

    masking tape and see how well it turned out.





    Put the headlight

    back together, replacing the screw and pushing the front and back pieces of

    the headlight together, be sure to wipe the lens for fingerprints, dirt, dust,

    grease, etc. Line both pieces up perfect so the clips line up, if they don't

    line up your headlight will look funky when you re-install it. Now you can silicone

    it, I used McKanica Auto Marine silicone because its automatic and has a throttle,

    it makes for a cleaner job. Apply it around the edges.

    NOTICE:
    Do

    not apply silicone to the side of the headlight where the turnsignal is, this

    part does not make contact with the seal, if you put silicone in the crease

    you will see it outside the car, if you make this mistake quicky wipe it off

    with a paper towel, thats the good thing about clear silicone, it dries a little

    slower. Instead, you may want to apply silicone to the inside groove where you

    will not see it.
    After

    you're done applying, run your finger along the edges to make it smooth and

    invisible.





    Before putting your

    headlight all the way back, put your bulbs back in, for H4 bulb seems to be

    the hardest, just remember the bulb has 3 pins, the the side of the bulb with

    1 pin points down. Re-bolt everything and remember the front support bar.



    Repeat this process

    for the second headlight (the second goes quicker).



    Now you can re-install

    your front bumper.





    Not too shabby...


  2. #2
    eat me cow's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    the pasture
    Posts
    4,007
    As a word of advice to anyone doing this DIY, when putting the headlights in the oven, if you feel the need to place the housing on a cookie sheet (I did just to be careful it didn't melt), make sure you use a hard sheet & not a foil-lined piece.

    My friend made the mistake when blacking his headlights that way & the plastic fused with the foil.

    Good luck!

  3. #3
    Site Sponsor oneglory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    1,470
    I use a cookie sheet but turn it upside down. If you have to thats good if not let the cookie sheet cool down before you put the other headlight in the oven.
    Ed~

  4. #4
    EP3 y0!!! 88crx's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Calgary, Canada eh
    Posts
    447
    Is the headlights too hot to handle with bare hands after cooking for 5 miuntes?

  5. #5
    myspace.com/avenida PayneSkillet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    north jersey
    Posts
    204
    Quote Originally Posted by 88crx View Post
    Is the headlights too hot to handle with bare hands after cooking for 5 miuntes?
    i would guess so

  6. #6
    eat me cow's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    the pasture
    Posts
    4,007
    Quote Originally Posted by 88crx View Post
    Is the headlights too hot to handle with bare hands after cooking for 5 miuntes?
    I took the headlights out my oven using potholders, but within a minute, they were more than cool enough to touch.

    They actually felt kind of good, much in the same way clothes feel against your skin once it's out the dryer.

  7. #7
    Site Sponsor oneglory's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    1,470
    I take them out and put them in my pants.




    you'll have to take them out with pot holders at first but they should be fine in a minute or so. Unless you have alligator hands.
    Ed~

  8. #8
    CIUDAD DE LA FURIA PuMpKiN_Ep3's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    332
    looks good.. i blacked out mine.... but only the =outside plastic.. with clear coating and black ink..

  9. #9
    Northeast Crew mario543k20's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    241
    nice write up. i think im going to do this sometime this week. i think im going to black them out and do the turn signal housing amber.

  10. #10
    無限SKOOGEN skoo74's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Lot 52, Thailand Refugee Camp
    Posts
    359
    I might have to do this instead of buying new ones....

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    12
    does anyone by cchance have a picture of a white ep with this done because i really want to do it but i wanna get an idea of what it would look like before i start pulling things apart

  12. #12
    eat me cow's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    the pasture
    Posts
    4,007
    Quote Originally Posted by soccerallstar06 View Post
    does anyone by cchance have a picture of a white ep with this done because i really want to do it but i wanna get an idea of what it would look like before i start pulling things apart
    you have a PM coming

  13. #13
    Revrs ur thnkn dood! Fallout's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Cincinnati Ohio
    Posts
    84
    So no sanding of the painted parts is necessary? Maybe it wouldn't flake anyway since it's sealed inside?

  14. #14
    I collect hatches... VegaS10's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    855
    I did this on my 05. VERY pleased with the results.


  15. #15
    ephatch member lostep3's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    EAST COAST
    Posts
    176
    Very nice write up, I think this is a very old write up. I did mine back in 02 and I think this was the write up I used.

Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •