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Painted HID headlight housing (DIY) yea, i finally did it...

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Old Apr 28, 2008 | 08:47 PM
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shakeyourbrakes's Avatar
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Painted HID headlight housing (DIY) yea, i finally did it...

Well here we go, I got up the *****, and split open my expensive HID headlights. Everyones been talking about it, so I figured Id jump in. Steps and pics follow..

1. Remove the headlights..bumper first then 3 -10mm bolts
2. Unplug the main harness and remove the blinker bulb.
3. Remove all bulbs..Definitely dont forget the the HID one!!!!
4. Take the three small screws out of the back which help to secure the lens to the housing. Youll see them

4. Preheat oven to 220 degrees ( I tested a few, this was the magic number) tuck up all wires, lie down some aluminum foil and place the headlight in there for 6-8 minutes. Dont worry about the Ballast, It took the heat without an issue..I did a lot of research on this first
5. Take the light out and slide a butter knife around the edges, working the silicone and prying a little, but obviously not too much to crack anything
6.Keep repeating heating and opening the edges, and eventually youll get the lens off the front. (Much easier than I expected.)
7.Dissasemble the light into the parts shown

8. I used adhesive promoter, matched car paint, then gloss. When its all set, reassemble, and fit the lens back over the housing

9. Line it up as best as you can and put back in the oven at the same temp. 6-8 minutes in squeeze the lens and housing together creating a good seal again.This actually worked great.

10. Run some silicone to MAKE SURE theres no moisture getting it

Well here ya go..Day pics will follow. HIDs still work great..def the best mod Ive attempted so far!!











End result is great I think... I decided to keep the reflectors, for inspections and everything and to keep bulb brightness. Some pics look awkward because of the reflector shining with the flash...so keep posted for daytime pics!!!! Let me know what you think

Last edited by shakeyourbrakes; Apr 28, 2008 at 08:50 PM.
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Old Apr 28, 2008 | 08:49 PM
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pretty cool! let us know how they keep up in the weather
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Old Apr 28, 2008 | 08:52 PM
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so far so good, its pouring outside and not a drop in there..I sealed those things up with silicone better than Mazda did I think
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Old Apr 28, 2008 | 09:13 PM
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haha very nice! id like to see it with the other one on it too...

imo i woulda painted the silver accents black.. i think that woulda looked nastyyyy
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Old Apr 28, 2008 | 09:16 PM
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When I had the White 8 I always wanted to do that. I think the silver painted in black would have been the hit. Looking good!
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Old Apr 28, 2008 | 10:36 PM
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it looks real good. i might want to experiment with mine paint them winning blue.
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Old Apr 28, 2008 | 10:39 PM
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honestly..they look amazing on the car. I just came back from the bar and checked them out walking by again... I just have to do the other one tommorrow, I figured Id try one first and see if the ballast or anything could deal with the heat which it did without a problem.
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Old Apr 28, 2008 | 10:41 PM
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You have some ***** man.
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 01:19 AM
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Yeah paint the grey part black and it should look amazing.
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 01:31 AM
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Originally Posted by 9krpmrx8
You have some ***** man.
big freakin cojones fo sho. theyre somethin crazy like $600 right? wow.
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 01:37 AM
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ooh i really like that.
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 06:42 AM
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Looks great man! I, unfortunately, do not have the ***** to attempt this myself.
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 10:53 AM
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congrats. it looks a lil weird to me, but well done. nice DIY there too. i so need to attempt this.
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 03:07 PM
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pretty sweet, sounds like I need to tap my bodyshop connection and see if I can score me an extra set to experiment, wonder what matching headlight/taillights would look like? lol
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 04:22 PM
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probably good, but you cant bake the taillight open..the plastics fused. BTW I have some better pics, i ended up painting the gray pieces white which made them flow together pretty well
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 04:24 PM
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^ You can crack them open... How else would people be able to remove the water and moisture that builds up in there?
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 04:27 PM
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i haven't seen anybody crack open the taillight successfully.

you get water out by taking off the light from the car and tilting it... thus draining it through the bulb socket openings.
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 08:18 PM
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amazing. awesome job
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 08:38 PM
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nice work, u have done what no other man has done before!
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 09:03 PM
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great job, looks pretty good!

Ngo: when are we doing this to your car???
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 09:59 PM
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hahah, open it up to spray those parts black.

when i get a spare, we'll try it and paint the reflectors too! that'll look sick as hell!
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 10:12 PM
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moar pics plz
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 10:24 PM
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 11:43 PM
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Looks nice, but will anyone notice it?
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Old Apr 29, 2008 | 11:53 PM
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i honestly done like the white color but it does look awesome! great job!!! i would prefer just straight black. but thats just me, still, looks great!
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