16 replies to this topic

[chris_uk]

im gunna give this ago tomorrow, how hard is it to get the lense off the front? and putting it back has anyone tried it b4?

[andyroo]

If you do paint your lights, you wont be able to see very well at night The light unit is a sealed unit and can be cut open with a scalpel I believe, but then has to be re-sealed with silicone or similar. I'm sure someone more knowledable will come a long and fill in the gaps! The long and short of it is that it probably isn't worth the hassle to go from nice dry lights to misted up ones with flies and whatnot in them. If they already mist up and have a colony of bees living in them, then hey, what have you got to lose!

[jazzyjeff]

Sorry, but why would anyone want to paint their headlights???!!! JJ

[Crimson_Killa]

he means "tint"

[Pipo]

im gunna give this ago tomorrow, how hard is it to get the lense off the front?
and putting it back has anyone tried it b4?

It's rather easy to get the glass off. Just warm the glue up with a hot air blower, and wiggle a knife in between the glass and the black part. Go around slowly and the glas comes off. Then remove the original black sealer and clean it. To reseal it you can use black siliconerubber or a similar sealant.

Before repainting it, apply a layer of plastic primer first. And use a 2-component paint or one that is heat resistant, otherwise you can get bubbles afterwards.

[DEKKER]

Maybe try some strong fishing line rather than a knife

[robfenn]

I saw a new Ford Focus with tinted headlights. Under closer inspection the tinting was courtesy of some ladies tights This was outside an art gallery too! You'd think they'd have taste

[andyroo]

Sorry, but why would anyone want to paint their headlights???!!!

JJ

I assumed Chris wanted to paint the silver parts black a la tubby?

[Slickrics]

Just buy some Tubby Lights instead!!!! But I'd suggest leave them....the VX looks good enough without messing around with it!!!!

[chuno]

I'd be tempted not to bother for only a slightly darker shade of headlights, when there's £1500 worth of headlights at stake. Get it wrong and it could be expensive. Also, if they're too dark, surely they could fail the MOT.

Edited by chuno, 07 September 2007 - 12:34 PM.

[Stevoraith]

I'd be tempted not to bother for only a slightly darker shade of headlights, when there's £1500 worth of headlights at stake. Get it wrong and it could be expensive.
Also, if they're too dark, surely they could fail the MOT.

Surely, as Andyroo said, he wants to make his NA lights into Turbo lights, not tint the lenses?

[N3YLC]

Chris, I'd be interested in seeing what this looked like as I had thought about doing the same thing, might pop round for a gander if that was alright?

[chris_uk]

ok just to clear it up.. im paintint the silver parts black like the tubby, im not tinting the lights as i think that looks shite.. im not bad with spraying and i recon its gunna look ok in a matt black. so im gunna give it a try, my lights already mist up like mad and i have a cobweb inside one.. once this is done it will change the whole look of the car.. well i think it will anyway.. worth a shot. ill keep you posted tomorrow on how i go.

[SamVx]

Good luck, certainly worth a shot! I think it'll make the car look much better

[chris_uk]

it starts today! i will take pics as i go through it. im meant to be having a photoshoot this afternoon

[mandarinvx]

Cool, look forward to the pics


Be really careful when removing the lenses - the lense material is quite brittle, so you'll need a really sharp knife

I bought a secondhand rear light (which was already broke) to have a practice with, but ended up breaking the lense clean in half The black goo stuff they use is super hard

[N17VES]

I did mine the other year - transforms the look of the car! I used a very sharp knife to seperate the lense. Just take you time to not to scratch the plastic lense! Once off it's just a case of masking off the lights and spraying the surround saturn black (I found matt black does not look quite right) When I orignially did mine I use black silicone from B&Q, but after 6 months the lense on one of the rears dropped off on the motorway. My advice would be to use the strongest glue you can get hold off!!