X2 :tup:

I covered mine with 3M Carbon Fiber Di Noc, along with a couple other accents, including the "landing strip". Looks bad-*** IMO.:tup:

badass bro great idea

For those that have painted their lights - Did you use a primer on the housing? I plan on painting the housing Gun Metallic to match. If I use a primer do I have to sand it before applying the Gun Metallic coat?

I didn't use a primer, but you definitely have to sand down the plastic "chrome", otherwise the paint will not stick. Use a Scotch-Brite or similar pad, as opposed to sandpaper, so as not to sand down any of the detail in the plastic.

Hey Simota, nice write up, I just did mine today. I'm having second thoughts... Since you said you used Krylon Fusion and you didn't prep the chrome, I didnt sand it or anything either. Paint seemed to stick no problem, but over time will it? Have yours chipped off or anything?

I am attempting this today, first time baking a headlight for any of the cars I have owned, only problem is I cannot get the HID ballast and wires. All of the others wires and bulbs have been removes no problem.

Would I be able to bake in the oven at 225 for about 13 minutes? I have tried using a heat gun but everywhere I read seems to agree the oven is faster and easier as well as giving you more control.

-Ill

I did 250 for like 8 minutes and it worked pretty well. Every oven is different so around there should be fine.

I put a tray upside down on the bottom, another tray on top of that tray and some micro fiber towels on the top tray just in case the headlight melted :S

I've hd mine for a year now, still looks the same. The only thing I did was clean the chrome with alcohol and paint right over it.

Thanks!

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When you did it, did you leave the all the wires and stuff on? That is my only problem right now, I cannot get the ballast and wire out and I am afraid that the heat will melt them and not be functional afterwards.

I did. I was lazy

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Awesome. Here goes nothing:ughdance:

Yah call me crazy but I baked the whole thing with bulbs lol

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And no problems?

Neg. It was only in there for 5-8 min. I wouldn't say I recommend anyone doing it though.

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I see everyone is useing black sealant, I picked up clear silcone sealant. I would imagine this won't be visiable?

I'm going to attempt this tonight/tomorrow.

Also home depot didn't have krylon so I got rustoleum which apparently sticks to plastic as well, is this ok?

if its made for plastic youll be ok, if its not it wont matter what brand you got. I would also put some sort of plastic promoter on first because of the high temps. a little extra piece of mind

Good luck. It's a pain in the a@@ to do

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That looks really good! Where did u get the 3m carbon fiber?

so the chrome part on the reflective "Swoop" I'm going to paint white, and the reflective part black, as well there is a triangular peice towards the inside of the car that I'm going to paint white as well. My wife did some mock up's I"ll post later ad ask opinions. IMO it looks sick as hell.

Go here:
Carbon Fiber Gear | Carbon Fiber is the New Black
Get a sheet of Di-Noc. They sell similar stuff at WalMart for the same price, but it's not 3M. This stuff worked well.

http://i.imgur.com/de9P1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OnspJ.png

I'm shooting for this, what do you all think.

:tup: looks great bro ^^^^

Some tips for people reading this.

You don't need a screw driver, and in fact using one may bend the black plastic the clear plastic is attached to. If you must use a flat object, consider using a paint scraper or something. It's not necessary to use any tool though. I did my second one with nothing but my heat gun.

If you start at the very top of the head light, where the long plastic piece juts out for bolting down. You can heat that part up with your gun and eventually pop the top off, which breaks the seal. From there you gradually heat both sides and just sort of peel the clear part off slowly. This protects the shape of the bottom piece it's attached to and doesn't damage your headlights at all. Hope this helps someone.

I like!:tup:

:iagree:No tools, heat and hands only!!

Now that we've done this, wife said she would do it for forum members for a price, you pay shipping of course. If anyone isn't real handy but doesn't want to pay out the wazooh for painted headlights.

We will use krylon paint (any color you want, my ace hardware has a ton of them), and the same sealant as the OP. Turn around time might be 7-10 days upon receiving. Also we will use my no tool, heat gun method, so you will get your lights back in the same condition you got them.

PM me if interested.

Last week I decided to try this. They look great however I now have a problem. Last night a big rain storm came through and I noticed that there is some moisture in the housing and my HID bulb will not ignite. I am hoping it is just a bulb and not a ballast. My next day off I am going to try to reseal the lamp and replace the bulb.

It looks like carbon fiber in the corner section with paint outline.

HOW TO: Bake and Paint Headlights (FULL DIY!) - YouTube

Great DIY guys!!! I also found this video that talks about baking and it also says 250 Degrees for 8-10 min, no tools just hands. Thought this might help some people also. I think this is a Mazda 3 he is doing the mod to.

~J~

A bunch of us mid-atlantic people are going to get together and do this all at once. Should result in some amazing pictures.

Yeah it should be fun. How many cans of paint does it take to do a set? I'm thinking 1 or 2 should be enough.

I used less than one and I did a ton of coats on both. Still need to open them back up and finish the trimmings.

Also, I still recommend not using any tools but your heating source. Pull it off. If you have to use a flat object, use a long flat object, much longer than a screwdriver. Like a paint scraper, and be VERY gentle using it. When the black plastic heats up it is very formable. You can deform it quite easily. If you bend it, don't worry it sits under the hood and the fenders, you don't see the part that can deform, but if you're like me, you want it to be perfect.

Thanks! :tiphat:

Afraid doing it myself. I wish I had some help here why can't you guys live closer :(

Thats where that heat gun comes into play, you can heat certain areas directly, instead of baking the entire headlight.

man, I really cant wait to do this, Im sooo excited for this. Mentally, Im walking myself through the process of doing it, now all I gotta do is go out and actually do it. This sh1ts exciting!

I did my headlights and found that using a heat gun is just a pain. It's A LOT easier using the oven method and it requires less prying. I made the mistake of prying on my first headlight. Not pretty. Can't tell from the outside, but once the hoods up :/ Learn from my mistake and use the oven method. The plastic warps too easily.

How hard is it to paint the shrouds too? I want to either the whole thing black or do red/black like the guy at the top of the page to match the car's red/black theme.