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painting headlight question

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Old 05-18-2008, 09:16 PM
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Default painting headlight question

ive been considering for some time now to black out my headlights. my question is does it matter what kind of spray paint i use. a friend of mine has some low gloss black dupi color engine enamal with ceramic laying in his garage. will this work? also where can i find a write up for the process? thanks
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Old 05-18-2008, 10:23 PM
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SEARCH is your friend.
From the thread: Blacked out my lights.
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=194501
Originally Posted by RoboX
really any paint will do. DO NOT touch the chrome with your fingers! AT ALL. itll cause you to do much more work! DO NOT sand the housing down! it does not need to be roughed up. i would use a semi gloss or flat black. LIGHT layers of paint. wait 10 mins between coats. let the paint dry 100% before reinstalling the housing. otherwise itll leave a rainbow like glare on your lens. after putting the headlight back together. reseal it with black silicone. and you should be good. heres the basic steps to take

1- remove front bumper
2- unplug headlight bulbs
3- remove headlights
4- there will be 3-4 philip screw on the back side of your headlights remove those
5- preheat oven at 350
6- place ONE head light in the oven for 6 mins
7- take the head light out of oven
8- there are a few tabs along the sides where the len meets the back part pop those off
9- start peeling them apart (flat head screw diver will help out
10- with glove pull the middle housing out and place on a piece of cardboard
11-spray light coats of spray paint on the lens
*at a fairly fast motion spray left to right, right the len until you have a light coat on. (just enough where you see it black but the chrome still come trough it a little apply that same ammount of paint after 10 mins. keep doin that until all chrome is gone. make sure you get all the little corners
12- after paint is dry place the housing back into its home
13- put the lens back on and press the back piece and lens together
14- place that until back into the oven for a bout 4 mins
15- pull out the until and press harder until the tabs resnap back together
*dont worry if the all dont
16- as its cooling reinstall the philip screws that you took out and youll notice itll that then lens will pull closer in.
*if needed manually resnap the tabs back on
17- let then until cool down
18- apply black silicone all around the edge to prevent fogging
*it just an extra step you can take not 100% needed
19- do the same thing with the other head light
20- put everything back together then BAM! mean look under $20 and not much time
I've also seen some people say 250 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, instead of the 350 degrees recommended above. (Less chance of melting anything.)
Originally Posted by broken_20_2
I was nervous too, but it's actually really, really simple to do. I did 250 for about 20 minutes. Have the 3 screws and the 2 "feet" already taken out. When you pull it out of the oven, just a flat head screw driver to pop the tabs and break up some of the glue. Then just pull it apart. One word of caution, when you are putting it back together, make sure and windex/clean the inside of the lens. I did not and now I have a few finger prints inside. I might bake them again...
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Old 05-18-2008, 11:33 PM
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I did mine at 250 for 10 min and they came apart just fine
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Old 05-18-2008, 11:55 PM
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Anyway I can see a picture of the after-product?
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Old 05-19-2008, 12:01 AM
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Originally Posted by cherish1007
Anyway I can see a picture of the after-product?
Click on the link in my posting above, just below Blacked out my lights.
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Old 07-24-2008, 04:31 AM
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Originally Posted by CIONIDE
Originally Posted by cherish1007
Anyway I can see a picture of the after-product?
Click on the link in my posting above, just below Blacked out my lights.
I like what you said about comon sence is not comon! I melted one of my head lights becuse of my own stupidity!!! I had the oven set at preheat 350, i just forgot to turn it to bake befor i put the headlight in. Wow im an idiot!!! but anyways i was wondering if anybody knew wher i can get a new headlight? The scion dealer wants $270.00 if i have to i will, But right now im calling every junk yard in the country.
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Old 07-24-2008, 05:55 AM
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Which side, bro?

http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_dmp...=&_trksid=m270
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Old 07-24-2008, 03:16 PM
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I did mine at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. Both taking them apart and putting them together.
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Old 07-25-2008, 09:23 AM
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The passenger side.
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Old 07-25-2008, 02:49 PM
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What brand/ kind of black silicone sealant did you guys use? Just the stuff in tubes from home depot? Does it have to be heat resistant? What's the best way to apply it?
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Old 07-26-2008, 10:31 AM
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Its Black silicone. You can find it at auto zone for cheep.
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