DIY: VIDEO!! Baking 370z Headlights for Paint, LED's etc

kazman

awesome vids and wright up. subscribed for future reference!

Bananaz

REALLY need to do this..just realized today how easy the front bumper removal is(for me atleast). Always thought it looked so complicated but it's really not. Time to order some paint matched spray!

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V1H

Hello all

For the UK residents among us. I've been unable to find a UK alternative for Krylon Fusion, arguably one of the easiest no-primer Plastic Paints to use for light housing painting. We know import goods restrictions make it very hard to buy Krylon Fusion from USA. But now I found a UK source for the stuff:
caswelleurope.co.uk
They will ship next day. I just order a can of Flat Black #KO2519

send an email to Linda: info@caswelleurope.co.uk
or Tel: 01420 474961
They have no PayPal though, good old Debit Card.

Happy Blacking-out!

370z1129

This was an awesome thread!! Thanks for the info and tutorials!

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Best Regards,
Josh

Dallaz

Thanks!!

Just finished the headlights on the STI yesterday, and did a buddies genesis headlight housings in all black as well the same day. if anyone has more questions please PM me or ask in this thread. After doing more and more sets it's not as scary as you may think.






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AeroJacket Lip Kit | GTR switch | NISMO S-Knob | Blacked-Out-EVERYTHING| 5% Tint | Carbon Fangs/Upper Trim | VOSSEN CV3's | Painted Headlights | CF Diffuser

AdamRacer

I followed your thread and video when doing mine and it helped a ton.

Mine came out great but after a few week's I had a minor issue that happened. Not sure if this had anything to do with it but my car was outside all day. So I noticed there was a spot that became foggy on the inside of the lense. It wasn't moisture because I added extra sealant and it was definitely sealed. The next weekend I opened them back up to clean the foggy area and it had eaten off the clear film on the inside of the lense. Its not noticeable unless your looking for it in the direct sun but its weird how it happened.

Any ideas why this would happen? Anyone else experience this with your lense?

Dallaz

First off, thank you for the compliment and I'm glad you got it done and they turned out good!

It may have been, emphasis on MAY HAVE because obviously I don't know what happened and didn't complete the process, that when your lights were opened and separated something touched the inside of the lens or maybe a chemical cleaner was used to clean the inside of the lens thinking it was a good idea to avoid fingerprints etc. once pieced back together that caused the damage. From my experience every time I've opened headlights up and painted/resealed them, the lights are slightly hazy sometimes to the point of being cloudy and I would recommend headlight restoration for the lenses, but the haziness or "cloudiness" is always on the outside of the lens instead of the inside which should never have had anything come in contact with it.

Did you by chance not do the specified oven temp? Chances are not but could have influenced it and ovens do vary

Did you use anything to clean the inside of the lens? Would be helpful info to someone wanting to do this in the future as I have only used a slightly damp (water) napkin to remove any fingerprints?

Are you 100% sure it was foggy on the inside and not the outside? I ask because sometimes the oxidation looks like it is from the inside but may actually be on the lenses outer surface and simply require a headlight restoration type kit to be removed.

I will add that I have never personally added any extra sealant to a headlight, although this doesn't pertain to the damage caused in this case, as there is a TON of sealant to begin with as you will well know if you have taken a set apart before, and to date, no set has accumulated condensation on the inside of the lens, unlike a friends who sent them to a company and got charged a ridiculous amount for them in the first place, but who added additional sealant and had condensation on the inside down the road.


Hopefully all information is helpful and AdamRacer please let me know if you get it fixed


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AeroJacket Lip Kit | GTR switch | NISMO S-Knob | Blacked-Out-EVERYTHING| 5% Tint | Carbon Fangs/Upper Trim | VOSSEN CV3's | Painted Headlights | CF Diffuser

370zHawaii

Thanks for the video, really helped out a lot. Because of you and Nut & Much, I was able to do this.

OldFart

Just sent you a PM, those came out great!!!!!

AdamRacer

Well as far as cleaning the inside of the lense I didn't use anything harmful just some microfiber cloths and water. To make a suggestion to others what I think happened is I did the whole process too quickly. What I mean by that is I opened them up early in the morning, took them apart, prepped and sprayed, and resealed them that night. I think the issue of that process was not allowing the paints to dry for a full 24 hours as most paint instructions call for. I let them dry for a little longer than a "dry to touch" timing (I'd say about 5 hours). The paint may have let off some chemicals as gases when baked to reseal since it wasn't fully dry. That's the only thing left I can think of. So if you're doing your lights I would suggest waiting a whole day before resealing them.

370z1129

Does anyone know of a shop or someone who can do this in Florida, but also add LEDs and HALOs? Really don't wanna outsource to another state, but if I have to I will for what I want haha. Please PM or respond by quote! Thanks

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Best Regards,
Josh

370zHawaii

You know I was thinking that myself, the chemicals released in the gases combined from the goop and the paint might have caused the protective film to corrode or wear/haze on the inside if there is any. What paint did you use? Then again the $$$$ "pros" do it in less than a day. Either way I plan on finishing these tonight!!!

Edit: Not tonight, no way as much as I wish, I'd rather have it done right, did some trial and error...mainly error ------ paint both housings at the same time before reassembling,...why the second one came out darker than the first which I had already sealed.... I like the darker one...

370zHawaii

Depends on your location in Florida there are a few shops, if you are near Tampa area I believe a user named Nut & Much does it, he does good work too from what I have seen. If you are in the SW of Florida I can help you and probably save you a few hundred bucks. If you prefer to have a shop do it, most Stereo and Tint shops know places that do it or do it themselves for $$$. Either way my recommendation is to get with Nut & Much, he does some nice work here in Florida.

carlitos_370z

man i want to do this soo bad but i dont have the balls to do it

370zHawaii

Yes it happened to me, from cleaning the inside of the lens. I had to restore the inside of the lens, very easy use 2000 grit in one direction, then use 3000 grit across the direction you went with on the 2000 grit, then a few drops of plastic x with a powerball connected to a drill, I also used a light spray of lubricant for HL restore to keep the powerball from drying up. Good luck, hope you get it fixed.