Nissan 370Z Forum - DIY: how to make your headlights black housing with 20 bucks...

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- - DIY: how to make your headlights black housing with 20 bucks... (http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-do-yourself/5975-diy-how-make-your-headlights-black-housing-20-bucks.html)

Keep in mind, this is an $800 problem (per side) if you screw it up.

Has anyone done a video of how the light dispersion and intensity changes after a blackout like this?

^^^^ agreed.... i dont think anyone did yet?

I have a backup passanger side headlight that i purchased specifically for this mod. I did the passanger side first with that backup headlight and once I got it apart and back together, Then I knew what I was doing and proceeded with my own two headlights.

if anyone wants it, im letting it go for 250 dollars, cuz I paid 350 but I cracked the very tip of it (thats why I bought this headlight, glad I did!) . much better than the 800.

I noticed the reflector strips are slighter darker, did the poster paint those as well?

yes for my reflector strips i actually tinted the outside of my headlight..... and did a black outline around my whole headlight...

hey just finished doing mines thanks for putting this up helped me out big time later on ill put some pics up.. came out real good took me 11 hours to do it tho..

Quote:

Originally Posted by qunzdaice (Post 403961)

hey just finished doing mines thanks for putting this up helped me out big time later on ill put some pics up.. came out real good took me 11 hours to do it tho..

:tup: congrats bro!!! :D doesnt matter how long it took you man... as long as it came out great :happydance:

how is the light dispersion and intensity changes after a blackout like this? Do you feel the lighting is dimmer at night? or is it the same as before the black out? thanks

doesnt really change since the z... is projector style.... not like traditional headlights where it matters because traditional depends on the chrome backing to disperse the light the only thing that is really affected by blacking out the lights is the parking lights... seems a lil dimmer

Anyone else do this recently? I'm seriously tempted to since I'm getting my taillights smoked.

Oh, and any day/night shots with the lights on?

check my albums bro :tup:

nice MOD....I always wanted to do this but am really afraid I'm gonna break it...guess what i did? I tinted my headlight and now I can barely see at night. gotta sacrifice something for something...now hid kit..

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpyo2000 (Post 482698)

how dark did you go bro...? and doesnt your z have hids stock?

Thanks for DIY man! I did mine last weekend It took me a while to do it but the turn out is well worth it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by stunner253 (Post 482843)

Thanks for DIY man! I did mine last weekend It took me a while to do it but the turn out is well worth it!

:tup: good to hear bro

Thanks for the right up:driving::tup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by simota1 (Post 99088)

OK... hey everyone since quite a few of you requested this ill write it up... alright here goes...

BEFORE
http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...567-pi-068.jpg

AFTER
http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...ousing-011.jpg

FIRST off i just want to let everyone know... opening your headlights is really really scary if your not patient enough and you pry it to soon ull damage ur headlight.... This is actually my first time using the heat gun method on opening headlights so if i can do it you can do it... I usually use the boiling water technique really great!!! you dont warps on the plastic and its more clean.... the reason why i didnt do this technique is cuz well... i dont have a pot that huge... that technique is good for hondas cuz there headlights are tiny ok anyways.... the advantage of heat gun method? you dont have to remove the harnesses if you dont want to.. and the heat is directed only to were u point the heat gun... my friends do the oven technique also and it works great too but... i was super clueless in this technique thats why i didnt do it this way...

The tools you will need is as follows...

HEAT GUN
SILICON SEALER
FLAT HEAD SCREW DRIVER
CAN of satin black KRYLON FUSION!!!! (highly recomended no sanding!!! or prep)
and color you wish to paint your accents... you can color match your body if you want...

Before anything first remove your headlamp... below is a link to the removal of your headlights... created by digitonium

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...t-removal.html

please note: due to frustration and fatigue... i sort of didnt take a lot of pics during the process... soo this is mainly gonna be a write up... i only have a couple pics...

STEP 1 SEPERATING the lense from the housing (hardest part)

after you remove your headlights.... remove the phillip screws in the back of it holding it together.... now carefully start heating up the sealant on the headlight... now when its hot enough try carefully sticking your flat head in between the gap and prying slowly... if it moves just a lil then your doing it right... if not... then its proly not hot enough so heat that sucker good...

ok when you are prying... first start prying from the bottom of the headlamp...then work your way around your headlamp... breaking the seal is the hardest part.... but once u hear that crispy glue sound and u see u have a gap then ur life gets a whole lot easier...

please note do the boomerang area LAST the reason for this is that the ample amounts of sealant is mainly on the top and on the bottom... the boomerang area has very little....

so you guy get the idea... HEAT it up pry PRY PRY PRY keep prying... dont rush or else u might crack ur headlamp lense...

once ur able to separate the housing from the lense... there will be 3 phillip small screws holding the lense and the chrome housing together... unscrew them and pull the chrome housing up and away from the lense....

STEP 2 Take apart the chrome housing....

Now that you have the chrome housing out... begin to remove all of these things...

http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...ousing-001.jpg

unscrew all the screws in the back of the and pop everything out... the order to take it out is take out the clear lense below the amber reflector first... then the amber reflector... (u will the tab of the amber reflector if you try to take it out b4 u take out the clear lense....)then the big round silver thing and then the turn signal lense cover....

Step 3 Painting the housing

Now i recommend KRYON FUSION satin but you can choose any color u want... but just make sure u use the brand krylon fusion this is because its meant for painting plastics... if you use any other spraypaint it may not stick and peel off....

Do 3 coats of the satin black on your headlights.... WAIT!!!! 10 mins in between coats!!!! u dont want the paint to be wet inside then when u touch it when ur putting back ur headlights together ull have a ugly fingerprint on it...

http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...ousing-003.jpg

now for the accent pieces the two silver peices u can color match it to ur car or leave it silver... the way i did mine was i actually painted it a gun metal so it woudnt be so brite silver... i was tempted to color match but im thinking long term what happens if you change the color of ur ride... ur gonna have a green car with red accents on the headlight? lol yuck :roflpuke2:

Be creative and paint ur housings the way u want to... when your done wait till the parts are fully dry and put everything back together....

PLEASE NOTE!!!! and i cant stress this enough WHEN YOU ARE PUTTING THE HOUSING U PAINTED BACK WITH THE LENSE MAKE SURE THERE IS NO FINGER PRINTS ON THE INSIDE OF THE LENSE OR ELSE THEYLL BE THERE FOREVER...

Step 4 Resealing your headlights...

When everything is done and put back together its now time to reseal ur headlights... this is the most CRUCIAL part.... if you do this part wrong ull have moisture in ur lights and over time it will be a swimming pool in ur headlight so be very tedious when doing this part... ATTENTION to DETAIL......

first scrape off the old sealant.... and clean the passages of where the new sealant is going to be applied....

http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...ousing-005.jpg

now apply ur silicon in ample amounts DONT BE SHY jam that sucker with alot of it...

http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...ousing-004.jpg

now press ur headlight together and reinstall the screws... wipe of excess amounts of silicon... let it dry... now reapply a second coat of silicon around the headlight to INSURE no leaks will occur or even possible... let it dry and sit for 30 mins until dry... then reinstall everything.... and do it to the other headlight and ur done... :tup:

NOTES: please please please be patient when ur doing this... dont RUSH or else u might break something... this mod took about 6 hours to do from start to finish.. removal of bumper healights and black housing the headlights.... and remember the more silicon u use... the less u worry about moisture... and last but not least i swear to god ull do a :happydance: when ur done with this mod cuz ull feel so accomplished... and u can have a :driving: stroll around the city to show off ur sexy new headlights... :tup:

GOOD LUCK TO ALL

P.S i am not responsible for any broken headlights that occur this DIY is a guideline only!!! it is ur choice to try it out or not....

Has anybody painted painted both the housings and shrouds? I dont believe Ive seen anybody do that themselves, but rather have it professionally done. Its on my to-do list but if I can do that myself and save a few hundred bucks then thats all the better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kielbasa16 (Post 519849)

:confused: i painted both the housing and shrouds....? and a bunch of other people have done the housing and shrouds themselves.... :tup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by simota1 (Post 520121)

:confused: i painted both the housing and shrouds....? and a bunch of other people have done the housing and shrouds themselves.... :tup:

My bad! Im still undecided if I should do this on my own and save the $$ or get it professionally done. Great write up though Simota, love you car man.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kielbasa16 (Post 537381)

My bad! Im still undecided if I should do this on my own and save the $$ or get it professionally done. Great write up though Simota, love you car man.

thanks man :tup:

9 hours and some help from the Gf!

it was very easy to do and easy to understand took me 9 hours. and on painting the shrouds just do some masking and you should be fine. im not spending hundreds of dollars to have this done when i can do it myself! thanks simota1 +rep!

here are some pics. let me know what you guys think.

:tup: looks good bro :happydance:

I see that you used black RTV to reseal the lights. To my knowledge this can not be reheated and pulled apart if you needed to get back inside the lights for whatever reason.

Does anyone know what the best product to reseal the headlights would be?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaveup (Post 701867)

your correct... its cannot be reheated and removed.... maybe just dont remove the old sealer and reheat it so that itll fuse again? and maybe run clear silicon on the outside? :tup:

Hey, Simota! Thanks for the diy :) I'm gonna tackle the lights some time this week and see how it goes... but is it just as easy to do the rear lights?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sexZness (Post 877062)

Hey, Simota! Thanks for the diy :) I'm gonna tackle the lights some time this week and see how it goes... but is it just as easy to do the rear lights?

it is impossible to do the rear lights.... dont do it... my friend ****** up his jdm tails the rear tails are pretty much super glued to hell.... or some kinda adhesive that DOES NOT come apart

Hey thanks for this DIY Simota.i used it and my head lights turnd out great this is not as hard as you think. And it saved me monet to go to other mods.:tiphat:

for those of you doing this you can remove the chrome off the plastic housing with out ruining it,you use easy-off oven cleaner(yellow) top spray it on let sit for 1-2 hrs. rinse and repeat if necessary if done properly the housing will be clear when you are done giving you allot better surface for any paint to adhere.

Just thought you would like a tip:tiphat:

the stuff you should use to get them apart again is windshield adhesive, it melts near 200 somethin degrees which is how the get windows out. the tailights apear to be ultrasonic welded thermoplastic(they vibrate the top piece against the bottom piece until they melt together, it's like spin welding there is no glue)

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1slow370 (Post 892694)

I work in a body shop and our company also does glass removal and install and the stuff they are using for the headlights is not windshield urethane is what is referred to as ribbon caulk or aka butyl tape.

After a couple months of contemplating if I should do this or not, I jumped in and went for it. Took me a solid 12 hours (I enjoy taking my time) but it was WELL worth it. I cant stop looking at them!

I went with satin black housing, White Shrouds, and carbon Di Noc on the Reflectors.

Its really not difficult at all, just time consuming and boring in parts (removing old silicone) Just remember what the end result will look like!:tup:

many thanks Simota!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaredGraves (Post 895788)

no problem buddy!!!

^ Awesome. Can't wait to get to mine. I really hate the factory chrome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baer383 (Post 893216)

yeah but windsheild adhesive is cheap easy and will come apart again while providing an excellent seal. last i checked you can't by butyl tape at the autozone

trying this out today on my car :) got Bullitt coming over to help out...

So you got Bullitt and Billet lmao.... Might be doing the 2 silver pieces a BIT DIFFERENT then everybody else but hope I dont F" them up :/

Wish me luck.... Im baking me some headlight cookies today, the same way grandma simota1 makes them. :)

good luck bro!!!!! remember no rush and take your time :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1slow370 (Post 984103)

yeah but windshield urethane is cheap easy and will come apart again while providing an excellent seal. last i checked you can't by butyl tape at the autozone

Once windshield urethane cures it done heating it or any kind of softening trick you know of won't work,the reason why is when it cures the windshield now becomes a structure part of the vehicle.

Almost finished yesterday but need to finalize today. Below are some progress/teaser photos. We have to wet-sand some areas and finish up but this at-least gives ya an idea. Bullitt@UAMotorsports did an awesome job and I was glad to have his assistance. Two people are much better than one person lol

Great DYI :)