Day #1:
In a never-ending quest to mod my car more, I've decided to tackle the headlights. I'm taking a combination of mods and doing them all at once. I've cleared out the orange reflector and am painting them flat black. I'm still comtemplating the angel eyes as well.

Pics are on my web-site in the headlights section:

http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/

The page will change over the next few days as the project goes on.

For opening the housings, I've figured it out:

1) Open the oven and move the rack to the lowest position.
2) Warm up the oven to 250 degrees.
3) Remove all light bulbs from the headlight.
4) Remove the ballast from the housing.
5) Remove the 3 small screws around the edge of the housing where the clear meets the black.
6) Wet a bath towel and ring out all excess water.
7) Place the towel on a cookie sheet with the excess hanging off the side.
8) Place the headlight on the towel with the clear side towards the cookie sheet.
9) Wrap the wet towel around the headlight. You should end up with 2 layers (the ends) of the towel where the clear part of the housing is.
10) Put the cookie sheet in the oven and bake at 250 degrees for 35 minutes.
11) Remove from the oven.
12) Remove the towel and light from the cookie sheet.
13) Un-wrap the towel from the headlight.
14) Wipe off the condensation from the headlight.
15) Using a regular-sized flat-headed screwdriver (or old-school butter knife that you don't want), pry the black surrounds away from the clear lens. You'll almost think that you are breaking it, but it's flexible enough not to break unless you put alot of force on it. Start at the bottom of the light (if it were mounted on the car) and work towards the hi-beam side. The corner-light side will be last.
16) After you have pried all the little tabs out, gently but firmly pull the clear cover away from the black backing. Pull the pieces apart as if you were peeling apart 2 pieces of bread on a sandwhich.
17) When you get to the corner-light side, put the corner-light side downward. Pull the hi-beam side's ends apart from each other, as if you were "splitting a wig". The corner-light end will come apart with little-to-no hassle.

Reinstallation instructions should be the exact reverse, but I haven't made it that far, so I can't say that they really are.

More to follow as the days progress...

 

i dont think u should have used flat black paint.....u should have done gloss paint....cause i tried the flat black and looked like ****......then i used high gloss black

 

I like the flat black approach.......good job

 

Before I started, I looked at both. On a lighter car, gloss will look much better than flat because of the color contrast. On a darker car (unless you are paint matching), the gloss paint will take away from the car's color. If this is the effect you are looking for, then go for it. I'm choosing flat black so that the lights disappear into the car's frame, not stand out. I only want the chrome light housings to stand out.

 

im excited to see the outcome andver good and detailed instructions....

-J

 

i used the flat black on mine.... i think it does look better on darker cars like u said...

 

After seeing studman's project...i'm really considering doing....i'm interested in seeing how project turns out.

 

Yo, make your sig smaller. Its HUGE.

 

Headlights are lookin good! I really wanna do this to mine but I'm so scared to crack them open...... I also dont know whether to use flat or gloss black to paint the housings. My car is black btw. The writeup doesnt look too hard to do but Im still so nervous that I will mess up my headlights, but I dont really wanna have someone else do em for me.... ARGH!! i dont know what to do !




-Steve

 

does anyone have any preferences as to what brand type etc. paint to use? i went to pepboys and autozone over the weekend but i was so confused cuz there was so many types of black...also what do you guys suggest for a green max...flat black or gloss black? i was gonna do it this weekend but it was tooo cold.

 

wow i really like ure Valentine 1 setup

 

Day 2:
Not alot gone done today as I was busy taking care of some other things. I did manage to tape off one of the headlights themselves and get 2 coats of paint on it. I've still got 2 more coats to go on it.

I've also finished the outer trim piece for the driver's side, as well as the corner lamp piece. Once the headlight is done, I'll reassemble the lights together to get a picture taken. I'm still waiting on my DDE angel eyes to arrive, so I won't be re-installing the headlights until the DDEs have been installed into the housings.

I've posted up some more pictures, but it was dark outside when I took them. Maybe tomorrow I'll re-take some of them and post those up in their places.

So far, the project has taken about 3 hours. It's very tedious to tape off every section that you don't want painted. I spent over 30 minutes alone taping off the HID and high beam housing so they wouldn't get painted. As for progress, I'd say that I'm between 25% and 33% done. The rest is all the easy work, as almost everything has been taped off, with the exception of the passenger's headlight (hi/low beam) areas.

The paint applies easily, but you have to use light coats with multiple applications. I'm using 4 applications to each piece, with a 5th layer added if I accidentally mess something up, which hasn't happened so far.

This project takes time and patience, as well as being without your headlights for a few days. I'm sure that you could do it in a day or so if you rushed, but I'm going for showroom quality, not quick-n-easy.

More to follow...

 

I got mine at Home Depot for $0.94 a can. I've used up 1 can already, and have started on the second can.

On darker cars except black, use flat paint. On lighter cars, use glossy.

Thanks.

 

If you complete it and don't like... i'll take it off your hands.

 

so you would use gloss black for a black car?
I think that would look sharp

 

Day #3:
Today was a quiet day for the project, but some interesting results came about. The driver's side headlight is finished, but not yet re-assembled. The passenger's side is done with the exception of the lens housing. The trim and corner pieces are finished. While removing the tape from the passenger's corner piece, some of the chrome trim came off as well. I'm up for solutions on how to fix this if anyone can offer one.

The angel eyes are the only thing that will delay the project from being finished in the next day or so. I will be busy in the evening tomorrow, so not alot will get finished. I am still planning to put the 3rd and 4th coats on the passenger's side headlight tomorrow, which means that it will be ready for re-assembly on Thursday.

I'm taking my time with the project, as I want to be sure that it's done correctly the first time. You can do this job in about 6-8 hours (including drying time) if you really want to, but I'd definitely recommend doing it over 2 days (at least).

More pictures have been placed up at my web-site. Also, some people haven't noticed that you can click on the words "Day 1", "Day 2", and "Day 3" to view a page specifically made for that day. Once you are on that page, you can click any picture to get a really really big picture.

I'll post even more as tomorrow night arrives...

For those who don't want to scroll up...........

http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/

........in the headlights section.

 

I used semi gloss high temp BBQ paint on mine. Its not bubbling or chipping. The paint itself is between flat and gloss.

 

Day 3.5:
Everything is right on track. The passenger's light will be finished tonight. The angel eyes have shipped and are due for delivery on Thursday. Assuming that they arrive in good condition, the car will be re-assembled Thursday night late. I'll have daytime pictures taken on Friday afternoon, so they should be uploaded by Friday evening.

I'll snap a few more pictures when the passenger's light is done later today.

 

hey studman,
I was just wondering what you used to cut the clear lenses outta the home depot lights. Im planning on using my dremel but dont know which bits will give me the best results. Thanks.



-Steve

 

Well, the first thing I did was lay the orange reflector over the top of the light. I traced the edge of the orange reflector with a sharpie. Then I used a small dremel bit to cut out the circle that I drew on the light. Because I used a sander to sand down the lens, I intentionally cut outside of the line that I drew. Once I had an extracted lens, I used the sander to sand the edges down until I reached the line. From that point on, I went back and forth between sanding and trying the lens in the housing. I made sure not to sand it down too much, or else it would possibly turn/bounce/fall-out/etc in the housing.

The sanding/dremelling takes some time. Remember that the faster you go, the worse it will look and fit. Take your time. If you don't have a drill press like I did, buy a small sander attachement at any hardware store. Put it on the end of a drill and sand away. The sanding pieces are available for around $10-15 at any local hardware store (or Sears).

 

Flat black..thats what i used...and mine look awesome...
so many of my friends like them

 

man jeremy, u live for modding ur car and u have no problem admitting it...im the same way just dont have the funds lol. anyway, looks awesome, cant wait to see it in person.

by the way, its things like ur website/tutorials that make the org great lol

-Kevin

 

I think im gonna go with a glossy black on mine and my car is black too. I think glossy will match better.



-Steve

 

Day 4:

Nothing happened last night. I put the forth and final coat on the passenger's side light. Everything is complete this morning and I'm awaiting the DDE Angel Eyes in order to re-assemble everything. I'm told that they should be arriving today. They will get installed (if they arrive) tonight and I will have night pictures available. Assuming that all goes well, I'll have daytime photos up on Friday.

Please remember that this is all assuming that the angel eyes arrive today. If they don't, I'll have to make a judgement call on when to re-assemble the car. I paid for 2 day shipping and they shipped on the 27th, so we'll see if they show up today.

No pictures were taken because nothing changed except a coat of paint.

 

Yeah...whatever works...
post up some pics when your done!!!!!!!!

 

Day 4.5:

The angel eyes arrived today, but one ring was broken. I've got a new ring coming tomorrow via FedEx. The painting process is completed. The passenger's side headlight has the angel eyes mounted and the housings are ready to be re-sealed. I also put together the driver's side housing (without the angel eyes) and took pictures. Once the replacement angel eye gets here, I will be installing it and re-sealing both housings.

I won't be working on the project very long on Friday evening, as I have made other plans. I do intend to have the car back together late late Friday night. Nighttime pictures will be posted either on Friday night or Saturday night, depending on how long the re-installation takes.

Daytime pictures will be posted on Saturday night as well, assuming all went well.

I've posted up 4 pictures of the lights today. They are not sealed together, but the pictures represent what they will look like when they are. I apologize for the lighting in advance, as it was 12:30 in the morning when they were taken. The pictures were taken with an overhead incandescent lamp.

The project is almost completed. More to follow soon...

(for those who hate to scroll... http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/ ...in the headlights section)

 

They look awesome!! Would you consider doing more if you are paid?

 

its funny you ask that. Even though I just had mine done, I asked him just for ****s and giggles.

His response was basically some long algorithm showing how even at minimum wage it wouldnt be cost effective for him to do the same exact process on someone else's headlights.

He came to the price of $150 to paint these over the course of 3 nights-but thats at MINIMUM WAGE....Studman makes NO WHERE near minimum wage

so basically to answer your question-NO!

 

Hey guys....not to hype up the project or anything, but his headlights look HOT! I passed by his house last night and "overlooked" the installation of the angel eyes and i have to admit. The paint looks factory, matches perfectly with any part not painted (except the reflector parts) in the housing. He did a very good job....so much i'm going to hate cracking my headlights open again in the near future because i want these now. Can't wait to see the eyes in and the headlights on the car. Great job!

 

Hey studman,

I just went and picked up everything I think im gonna need to do my headlights. I was just wondering what kind of paint you used. I picked up some engine enamel and the color is universal black and the cap shows it to be glossy. This engine enamel says its good up to temps of 500 degrees, did you use a high heat paint? Also, I picked up some adhesion promotor too. I plan on scuffing the surface with a fine grit paper then spraying the adhesion promotor then the paint. Did you do anything to prep before you painted? Thanks. BTW your headlights are looking awesome! I cant wait to get mine done. I think im gonna fit strobes in the high beams too Thanks again!



-Steve

 

Actually scmaxima2k i don't think you really need high temp paint....studman did not sand/prep the headlights. One side part that he sanded didn't really come out that good compared to the part he didn't sand, but i'll let him explain.

 

The flat vblack is nice just like the black on the AE lights. Good job...now get some DDEs.

 

can't wait to see it completed. while you are at it, might as well take a photo on how to install the rings, and put it in the faq or something. can prove useful time down the road.

 

Day 5:
The project is FINISHED!!!!!!

Nighttime, illuminated, and un-natural lighting pictures are now up at http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/ in the headlights section. I've also included a link at the bottom to the old pages. I'll get some daytime pictures up in the next day or so.

The reinstallation went without a problem. It's 1:48 in the morning and I'm tired, plus I have to get up at 8:30 (on a Saturday, no less). So I'll post more details later today/tonight.

The pictures were taken by E55AMG2's camera, which is a much better camera than mine. His allows for time-lapse shots, as well as better detail (more mega-pixels) than mine does. That may be why you notice some differences in the "working" pictures versus the "final" pictures.

More to follow later... enjoy the pictures.

Oh, and please don't say anything about the orange bulb in the cleared-out turn signals. They are only temporary until I can get the ones that I want ordered.

 

wow looks incredible...awesome job studman looks very very slick. DDEs look very nice too...i like that they're bright enough to see during the day but whiter then BMW's to match the HIDs. keep up the good work and keep us posted of any future mods.

 

Very impressive!! Excellent work!

 

Daytime pictures are now up. I'll change the page and add the descriptions over the next few days when I have some time.

 

For re-sealing the housings, here's what you do:

1) Open the oven and move the rack to the lowest position.
2) Warm up the oven to 250 degrees.
3) Put the clear cover on the light as best as you can.
4) Place the headlight on a cookie sheet with the clear side facing the back of the oven.
5) Put the cookie sheet in the oven and bake at 250 degrees for 15 minutes.
6) Remove from the oven - the light will be very hot (use oven mitts).
7) Snap the lense back onto the housing. Make sure all 7 clips are locked on the tabs of the front clear lens.
8) Re-install the 3 small screws that you removed.
9) Check the seal again to make sure that the clear cover is back to it's original position.
10) Place back on the cookie sheet.
11) Put the cookie sheet back in the oven and bake for 10 more minutes (still at 250 degrees)
12) Remove from oven.
13) Remove from cookie sheet.
14) Place the light face down (clear lens down) and let cool for 1-2 hours.

Then you just re-install the bulbs and ballast, then put it back in the car.

Notes:
1) The housings look great.
2) You can use only 2 coats of paint, but 4 works much better.
3) No sanding of the housings is required.
4) Taping off the reflector and chrome trim parts takes time. Each light took about 1 hour to fully tape off all the parts.
5) This process works much better as a weekend job. Open them up and get at least 3 coats on before night #1. Then paint them on day #2 (early) and re-assemble in the late afternoon/evening of day #2.

 

Hey studman

I dunno if you missed my last post in this thread, but I would appreciate your thoughts on this:

 

Actually, I used a flat black paint that was available at Home Depot. It's regular spray paint that costs $0.94 a can. It is not high heat paint, nor is it enamel. It's regular-old-everyday flat-black spray paint.

Do not scuff the surfaces. No sanding, prep work, etc is required except taping off the parts that you don't want to paint. I sanded one piece as a test, and it took 5 coats in order to cover the sandpaper marks. Also, you shouldn't need any adhesion promoter.

No problem. Sorry for the delayed responses, but the webserver's network has been under some major changes in the last few days, so e-mail and other services are a little delayed, and don't always get through when they are working.

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For everyone's info... I know that the server has been offline SuperBowl Sunday and Monday morning. We're relocating the network connections in the hosting facility to provide for a much-needed renovation and should have it back online soon. The server and site are still up, just not the network cable to get your browser to the site.