DIY - Painting Your Headlights
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 480
Likes: 33
From: Canada
So I'm guessing they weren't sealed up all the way? Really shitty to hear man! And have you found any good prices on projectors online?
OK, so one of my headlights have condensation/water in them now (after 2 weeks of raning/car wash it was fine, not it starts up). Whats the best way?
Remove it? bake it? open it up, remove water/wipe condensation. and re seal it but this time hope to do a better job (i have silicone of my own).?
edit: opened it up. bout 2 gallons of water came out. tons of water in my hid ballast (which is probably why my low beams weren't working anymore since its fried. The lens itself has some dirt/bubbles/little haze that isn't going away with anything. dumbest ****ing idea ever. shoulda just bought projectors and called it a day
Remove it? bake it? open it up, remove water/wipe condensation. and re seal it but this time hope to do a better job (i have silicone of my own).?
edit: opened it up. bout 2 gallons of water came out. tons of water in my hid ballast (which is probably why my low beams weren't working anymore since its fried. The lens itself has some dirt/bubbles/little haze that isn't going away with anything. dumbest ****ing idea ever. shoulda just bought projectors and called it a day
OK, so one of my headlights have condensation/water in them now (after 2 weeks of raning/car wash it was fine, not it starts up). Whats the best way?
Remove it? bake it? open it up, remove water/wipe condensation. and re seal it but this time hope to do a better job (i have silicone of my own).?
edit: opened it up. bout 2 gallons of water came out. tons of water in my hid ballast (which is probably why my low beams weren't working anymore since its fried. The lens itself has some dirt/bubbles/little haze that isn't going away with anything. dumbest ****ing idea ever. shoulda just bought projectors and called it a day
Remove it? bake it? open it up, remove water/wipe condensation. and re seal it but this time hope to do a better job (i have silicone of my own).?
edit: opened it up. bout 2 gallons of water came out. tons of water in my hid ballast (which is probably why my low beams weren't working anymore since its fried. The lens itself has some dirt/bubbles/little haze that isn't going away with anything. dumbest ****ing idea ever. shoulda just bought projectors and called it a day
Ok so after sealing them up twice now, they're still letting water in when it rains hard (its fine when carwash or light drizzle, but a hardcore storm last night and i woke up to water inside). The silicone i bought from home depot obviously isn't working. Anyone have any recommendations? Also any tips on how to seal them good?
I've probably removed my bumper/taken off the lights about 9x so far realisticlly and its getting a real PITA.
I've probably removed my bumper/taken off the lights about 9x so far realisticlly and its getting a real PITA.
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 14,505
Likes: 451
From: NorCal
Did you put the three screws back in on the backside of the headlight? The ones around the edge
This is the best stuff to get if you aren't having luck with other products. You'll need to open the headlights up and put the sealer down in the groove where the lens sits.
This is the best stuff to get if you aren't having luck with other products. You'll need to open the headlights up and put the sealer down in the groove where the lens sits.
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 14,505
Likes: 451
From: NorCal
Yes. DON'T USE SILICONE!
You need to find out where the water is coming in. I suggest taking the headlight out, pulling as much of the electrical stuff out as you can, and putting the assembly lens down in a sink full of water. Just a little bit at a time until you see where it's leaking. Once you do, pull the lens off, remove as much of the silicone as you can, and put some official Nissan goo type stuff to seal it up.
Oh, one more thing, DON'T USE SILICONE. If you'd bothered to read this thread you'd see this mentioned numerous times. It doesn't seal as well as the offical stuff and it emits fumes that can cause buildup on the inside of your lens. Silicone is not meant to be used as a permanent seal in this type of application. The huge temperature swings and extended time in the sun will dry it out and break it down. The official Nissan stuff is designed for this kind of use. Don't be cheap. You didn't do it right the first time, so do it right now.
You need to find out where the water is coming in. I suggest taking the headlight out, pulling as much of the electrical stuff out as you can, and putting the assembly lens down in a sink full of water. Just a little bit at a time until you see where it's leaking. Once you do, pull the lens off, remove as much of the silicone as you can, and put some official Nissan goo type stuff to seal it up.
Oh, one more thing, DON'T USE SILICONE. If you'd bothered to read this thread you'd see this mentioned numerous times. It doesn't seal as well as the offical stuff and it emits fumes that can cause buildup on the inside of your lens. Silicone is not meant to be used as a permanent seal in this type of application. The huge temperature swings and extended time in the sun will dry it out and break it down. The official Nissan stuff is designed for this kind of use. Don't be cheap. You didn't do it right the first time, so do it right now.
Yea ima order that oem sealer. Is one enough for both headlights? Also how do you recommend to do it? Open up headlights all over, remove as much silicone as I can and then put the oem sealer and bind the lights back together..?
edit: also, do you guys think it would be a good idea to paint the clearance strip? My clearance strip starts white but fades to yellow (nothing I can do about it). If I was to paint it maybe grey (cause my car is DG) or white, how do you guys think it would look? And in regards to having an led bulb in there, how would the clearance strip light up with it being painted?).
edit: also, do you guys think it would be a good idea to paint the clearance strip? My clearance strip starts white but fades to yellow (nothing I can do about it). If I was to paint it maybe grey (cause my car is DG) or white, how do you guys think it would look? And in regards to having an led bulb in there, how would the clearance strip light up with it being painted?).
Last edited by Mark2K8; Oct 11, 2011 at 01:35 PM.
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 14,505
Likes: 451
From: NorCal
If you applied silicone inside the groove where the lens sits inside of, then yes you want to remove as much as you can.
Open the headlights back up, lay the sealer inside the groove, put lense back on as close to on as possible and rebake for 5 minutes then press it all together again.
I don't know how long a roll is for the sealer so I would just buy 2 to be on the safe side. I'll buy the other roll off of you if you don't wind up needing it.
Open the headlights back up, lay the sealer inside the groove, put lense back on as close to on as possible and rebake for 5 minutes then press it all together again.
I don't know how long a roll is for the sealer so I would just buy 2 to be on the safe side. I'll buy the other roll off of you if you don't wind up needing it.
Gotcha thanks
anyone know another website that sells that sealer?
one that preferably accepts paypal and doesnt charge you $13 for shipping...
edit:
since ima "do it right" this time, and hopefully the last time.
The headlights have these yellow/faded spots when you look @ them in an angle and in the sun. When theres no sun/shade, they look fine, but once the sun comes out and you look at it at an angle, it reflects weird yellow stuff. Anyone know how to get rid of these? They weren't there before I baked my lights and its not haze.
I tried my best to get a picture of it but my iphone sucks
https://i.imgur.com/h445V.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UypAE.jpg
Also, there is like little "grease" spots inside my lens.
https://i.imgur.com/POOTa.jpg
Can't really see it in the pic, but its like stains that are barely noticeable. They kind of appeared once I took of my lens and tried to clean it. Whats the best product to clean the lens from the inside?
anyone know another website that sells that sealer?
one that preferably accepts paypal and doesnt charge you $13 for shipping...
edit:
since ima "do it right" this time, and hopefully the last time.
The headlights have these yellow/faded spots when you look @ them in an angle and in the sun. When theres no sun/shade, they look fine, but once the sun comes out and you look at it at an angle, it reflects weird yellow stuff. Anyone know how to get rid of these? They weren't there before I baked my lights and its not haze.
I tried my best to get a picture of it but my iphone sucks
https://i.imgur.com/h445V.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UypAE.jpg
Also, there is like little "grease" spots inside my lens.
https://i.imgur.com/POOTa.jpg
Can't really see it in the pic, but its like stains that are barely noticeable. They kind of appeared once I took of my lens and tried to clean it. Whats the best product to clean the lens from the inside?
Last edited by Mark2K8; Oct 11, 2011 at 06:18 PM.
Also: do u guys think this would work (or matter of fact, can any rubber butyl work)
http://www.dkhardware.com/product-24...r-sealant.html
instead of buying it from mynismo and saving me around $20.
Last edited by Mark2K8; Oct 12, 2011 at 04:33 PM.
From what I hear, plastix will make an absolute mess out of the inside of the lens. The only thing you could really do is sand it down a lot, and polish it back clear. But that's gonna be tedious
NO!!! You'll take the UV film off completely if you do that. PlastX is a polish, i.e. a very mild abrasive. And DO NOT SAND THE INSIDE!!! You'll not only remove the UV film, it's highly unlikely you'll ever be able to get it polished smooth.
I'd get some very clean water and a soft cotton or microfiber cloth and gently try to remove that smudge. Do not use a paper towel, do not use any kind of cleaner, and do not rub it with much force at all, just enough to remove the smudge. Then dry it gently by dabbing it, not wiping it. Check it from multiple angles until you can't see it. And do all this without touching the inside of the lens with your fingers.
I'd get some very clean water and a soft cotton or microfiber cloth and gently try to remove that smudge. Do not use a paper towel, do not use any kind of cleaner, and do not rub it with much force at all, just enough to remove the smudge. Then dry it gently by dabbing it, not wiping it. Check it from multiple angles until you can't see it. And do all this without touching the inside of the lens with your fingers.