Crackin open headlight housings to paint ?

[X2]

Aye... who has done it before ?

I have tried it a couple times and just can't seem to get them cracked open undamaged.

My aftermarket headlight housings are starting to flake inside and I want to repaint them and reseal them.... anyone can help ?

I'm on a budget big time right now... a borrowed heat gun and a can of Krylon would fit the bill.... holla with any tips !

[wagonrunner]

x2, courtesy HOOK. i didn't trust my oven "bachy pad", so he organised them for me.

depends on whether it's plastic or glass

plastic I kno nothing about...glass is easy..done it loads of times

now, there's a greyish goo holding the lens to the housing that can be activated by heat...hence the use of the oven

1. remove the headlamp unit from the vehicle
2. remove bulb and all clips that may be holding the lens to the housing
3. pre-heat oven to 350F for about of 15 mins and turn off
4. place headlamp unit in warm oven for 10-15 mins (IMPORTANT: any longer and the plastic housing may bubble up or warp)
5. remove unit and carefully pry lens off the housing with a flathead screwdriver

when u're ready to put on the new lens, repeat the steps with the lens-less housing and the new lens, take them out and press them tightly together, replace all lens clips and allow to cool...when the goo cools, it'll seal the lens in place

NOTE: ensure that the mating surfaces of both the lens and housing are evenly lined with a bead of the goo before reassembly...if any part is bare, the hot goo can be smeared or transplanted to the areas that need it before it cools

it'a a lot simpler than it sounds...if u work quickly enough, u can replace the lens in less time than it takes for the goo to cool, so u don't hafta reheat the oven

[Hook]

as it turns out, the headlamps with plastic lenses is the very same procedure as for headlamps with glass lenses...follow the steps and u good to go...

NOTE: the crystal lenses have a tendency to be a bit thinner than the regular lenses with the corrugations on the inside so stick to a 10mins time frame to pre-heat the oven and once turned off, 10mins to warm up the goo just in case the lenses are easier to warp in the heat...15mins MAY be pushing it a tad

[X2]

So a full plastic unit would be fine to do this ?



I fraid boi...

[Hook]

go brave!