so I got my the headlights from bvp today. he took them apart and took the reflector out of them and in the process melted one corner a lil bit, so he gave them to me. I'm gonna pull them back apart and paint them black.


I'm thinking painting it flat or satin black.

 

what sylicone do you use to seal it back together?

 

Pick up some RTV from Canadian Tire. It comes in different colors and different temperature ranges.

I was really careful with my new set when I took them apart and didn't need to add any more than what the factory put on. I put them in the oven and it seal up real good.

 

pick up any old regular temp rtv. I didn't even stick it in the oven or freezer after sealing it. seals just fine, no water inside. make sure you get off all the old stuff first, otherwise it won't close right. my right one looks a bit tweeked.

flat or satin, it won't matter. the difference between the two is small and the lens will add more gloss than that anyway. mine is the same color as my truck, but without clearcoat. looks just as glossy through the lens.

and get the weakest painters tape you can find!! or you'll be kicking yourself for pulling off some of the remaining chrome from the light

 

 

Getting all the old sealant off is a pain in the a$$ and will take a very very long time. Jonny your case is different because I tried taking the sealant off and made a big mess of things. I then added RTV and made even more of a mess. You should be able to tell the difference between the oem sealant and the blue RTV I used. On my new set I just left the oem sealant alone and it was way easier than messing with tring to remove the oem sealant.

Trust me, leave the sealant alone and utilize the oven.

The reason why people suggest to remove the oem sealant is because if you dont the oem sealant will harden and will not allow the pieces to mate perfectly. If you put the assemblies in the oven the oem sealant becomes maluable and allows the pieces to mate perfectly.

When I was done with the mod I put the pieces back in the oven partially assembled. After ten minutes I took the assembly out of the oven and pushed them together. They didn't mate perfectly (i.e. not all tabs were engaged) so I put it back in for another ten minutes then took them out and pushed them together some more until the parts were mated perfectly.

Trust me, leave the sealant alone and utilize the oven!

 

gonna try that ^^

 

ok thanks for the tips. I'm gonna do it this weekend. I heard something about putting a ratchet strap around the light after you apply the silicone to put pressure on it to seal it nice and tight. can Ithegreenpainterstape?

 

I tried the straps because it takes a long time for the RTV to cure and a couple of the tabs were broken (sorry). I found it difficult because the assemblies are curved and the straps would not stay in place. You also have to be careful because the ratchet can damage your lenses. Tape might work but you may have to do a little residue clean up afterwards.

If you have good tabs and you can get them to engage you shouldn't have to strap or tape them. If you are using the oem sealant its even better because that hardens in a few minutes.

 

How long does it take to do the whole process.

I want to do it but don't want to start and not have enough time, I have very little patience.