Blacked Out My Headlights (PICS)

[ryan s]

you can do that around the housing/lens area...just keep in mind it will be a PITA (or even impossible) to open again.

 

[Sinful]

Hmm.. this morning (rainy night/morning) i got up to go to school, and i looked at my headlights and i noticed they were really foggy with condensation inside, i tried wiping it and found out it fogged from the inside. Is that possible if you've never opened up your headlights before? I dont think the previous owner has opened them up either, because the headlights still look oem. & i checked my moms corolla and my 5th gen's headlights and they weren't fogged. i'm gonna be black housing them on saturday anyways, but just wanted to know.

 

[xluben]

since the actual bulb doesn't fully seal into the housing, no matter how much silicone you use moisture can still get in. this is shown with the oem lights also fogging. i think some are just more susceptible than others (especially after being pulled apart).

i haven't had any problems with mine fogging, btw.

 

[Sketch o5]

i tried putting the piece of silicone back in but still...=/ is it a good idea to buy some silicone and squeeze some in when putting it back together for the second time?

ive heard of people saying you should scrape out all the old silicon, which i never quite understood and that could prolly be one of the dumbest, time cosuming things ive heard. anyway, ive never scraped the remaining silicon out in any of the headlights ive done, i have added some tho, cuz it wont hurt. i just looked for places in the groove that looked like it might need a little extra, and i added it. ive never had any problems with any headlights ive done, no condensation or anything. only thing that went wrong was the oven method on my accord headlights, i came way too close to melting one of em, haha, but its fine. i bought a heatgun after that.

 

[shavedaccord]

Butyl rubber for the win. The fumes from silicone can actually cause the fogging.

 

[DarkElegance919]

if the headlights have condensation inside, could the wetness burn out the bulbs?

 

[Sinful]

only thing that went wrong was the oven method on my accord headlights, i came way too close to melting one of em, haha, but its fine. i bought a heatgun after that.

ahaha, thats what i'm scared of, but i don't wanna waste $$ on a heatgun so im gonna stick them in the oven on saturday, and add some stuffing and cranberry sauce

 

[ryan s]

dude theyre like $30. you can use it for friends lights and charge them dinner and/or a 6pack. youll have the money back in no time

 

[Sinful]

i see you used gloss black krylon fusion. and the DIY used duplicolor paint. Anyone know what is probably the best paint to use for blackhousing?

 

[xluben]

krylon fusion is made for plastic, so i did absolutely no prep work (besides washing) and the paint stuck fine.

some of the tutorials i looked at online (like this one) suggest using a hi-temp paint (engine enamal, barbecue paint, ect) because of how hot it will get in the housing.

i figured, the housing is plastic, it does not melt, so most likely the paint won't melt

and so far it looks like it's holding up fine.