Colour you Headlights
Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 11:50 pmSo i've been considering doing this for a while since seeing all the US libertys painting there headlights but i could never really be bothered cause it looked pretty risky. Bit the bullet the other day and decided to try.
First off to access all the mounting points for the lights you need to take off the front bumper which is relatively easy. To start there are four plastic clips holding in your front grill which you need to remove. Then underneath the bumper there should be a few other clips that need popping out plus one on each side where the bumper mounts to the fender and it should come off now...
Then there is 5, 10mm screws holding the lights and its bracket on. 2 on the top face of the light, 1 on the side where it meets the fender and another 2 on the inner side of the light where the grill was if that makes sense. If not there clearly visible and now the light should come off.
Now ripping apart the headlights. First off you need to take off 8 silver screws located around the perimeter of the light..
Then you will need some heat to break the waterproof sealant. Some people put it in the oven for a few minutes but i didn't feel comfortable baking my headlights so i used a heat gun and a bit of force to pry it open. Once you have separated it then theres an additional 3 black screws which must come off in order to split it up into 3 separate parts and you should be left with whats in the photo...
This part is up to you really depending on what parts and colour you would like to paint. I opted to spray the whole case including the projector surround in a metallic charcoal. (Word of warning: If you want to keep your projector surround chrome watch what you use to mask it as the chrome layer on that part strips off even with the blue masking tape). Scuff up the plastic well with some wet and dry and mask up the areas. Make sure to leave the reflective part of the turn signal area chrome as you can see on mine so the blinkers will still be visible during the day. So i forgot to take pictures during the masking/spraying but this is the end result.
Now to put it all back together. Make sure there are no dust particles/finger marks on the inside because once its back together thats it. Heat up the waterproof sealant again so its sticky and quickly put the casings and screws back together so it reseals the lights. Once the screws are tightened reheat it again to properly seal the bond and eliminate and moisture entering the headlights. Then put the headlights on you car and refit your bumper.
End result. It is a barely noticeable difference to most but to me it gives the front end an aggressive and cleaner look.
First off to access all the mounting points for the lights you need to take off the front bumper which is relatively easy. To start there are four plastic clips holding in your front grill which you need to remove. Then underneath the bumper there should be a few other clips that need popping out plus one on each side where the bumper mounts to the fender and it should come off now...
Then there is 5, 10mm screws holding the lights and its bracket on. 2 on the top face of the light, 1 on the side where it meets the fender and another 2 on the inner side of the light where the grill was if that makes sense. If not there clearly visible and now the light should come off.
Now ripping apart the headlights. First off you need to take off 8 silver screws located around the perimeter of the light..
Then you will need some heat to break the waterproof sealant. Some people put it in the oven for a few minutes but i didn't feel comfortable baking my headlights so i used a heat gun and a bit of force to pry it open. Once you have separated it then theres an additional 3 black screws which must come off in order to split it up into 3 separate parts and you should be left with whats in the photo...
This part is up to you really depending on what parts and colour you would like to paint. I opted to spray the whole case including the projector surround in a metallic charcoal. (Word of warning: If you want to keep your projector surround chrome watch what you use to mask it as the chrome layer on that part strips off even with the blue masking tape). Scuff up the plastic well with some wet and dry and mask up the areas. Make sure to leave the reflective part of the turn signal area chrome as you can see on mine so the blinkers will still be visible during the day. So i forgot to take pictures during the masking/spraying but this is the end result.
Now to put it all back together. Make sure there are no dust particles/finger marks on the inside because once its back together thats it. Heat up the waterproof sealant again so its sticky and quickly put the casings and screws back together so it reseals the lights. Once the screws are tightened reheat it again to properly seal the bond and eliminate and moisture entering the headlights. Then put the headlights on you car and refit your bumper.
End result. It is a barely noticeable difference to most but to me it gives the front end an aggressive and cleaner look.
